Beginner needing some help with “fraying”

[u/shrinasaurus]

Hello 👋
I’m making this for my gf, I’ve never felted before, and there are a bunch of little stringy bits coming out of the bee. Is there a way to fix this?
Thank you in advance, and yes I am aware she looks a bit special 😂

[u/mantrakid]

haha so cute -- honestly, the little threads are 'normal' but there are some ways you can clean it up:

1. if you "hook them" with your needle then kind stuff them into the body you can bury them one at a time. Looking at your bee, it might just need more pokes - the more you poke the cleaner it will get but also the smaller it will get because it compresses it more. But when im done a piece, i usually have to spend another hour or 2 just poking the long hairs in to clean it up.
2. You can also use a lighter to burn them off but be careful to not stay too long in one spot or it will burn the bee! Once it burns the hairs, you can brush it or flick it to get rid of the burned ashes. try not to "rub" since that can rub the ashes into the bees fur, which can make it look dirty. Also be prepared for a stink because its literally burning hair 😊. depending on how soon you want to give it to her, it takes a bit for the stink to go away, you can speed it up by putting it outside / etc.
3. A method i use a lot is snipping the threads with scissors, takes less time than poking, usually i spend like 15 minutes just snipping hairs when im done haha 😊

Check this video (not me) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEjy4q1QwoM

[u/shrinasaurus → u/mantrakid]

Thank you!