Good, quality needles are very important when it comes to needle felting, not just in how well they work, but also their durability. Yes, felting needles can, and do, break from time to time, but cheap needles will break far more often. A needle felter can never have too many needles, and for this reason, I offer you several options for top-quality needles that will leave the recipient feeling stabby - in a good way. These are the two needles I use:

• FeltAlive Needles: for those who prefer holding the needle as is, without a separate needle tool - these are long-standing top-quality needles and have been around longer than I've been needle felting. The shop is run and owned by Kay Petal, a needle felting artist herself, known for making wonderful caricature art dolls based off famous people. I own a set of these needles, and they've been some of my favorites. I recommend either the smaller sampler pack, or if you want to splurge, get the big studio pack. Note: I've been informed that the quality might not be what it used to be. I am basing my opinion on my purchase from 2015. I am leaving this up here for now, but I'll need to test out a few again to see how they compare these days.
• Groz-Beckert Needles: some of the highest quality felting needles available on the market. These needles are manufactured in Germany, and are extremely durable. While many suppliers don't list which manufacturer they sell, the following do mention they sell this brand:
  • Woolery
  • Feltingartandfun on Etsy
  • Sweet Pea Dolls on Etsy (note: typically you want to get uncoated needles for any felting tools, but since only the very tip is coated and not the shaft, these should work!
  • Desert Breeze Distributing Co on Amazon sells color-coded as well, but these will not likely work in most felting tools as the coating goes down the shaft of the needle, so get these if you don't use felting tools or if you make your own (like with a make-up sponge).

• Rosie's Needle Felting Tool: a solid cherry wood handle finished with Danish oil that screws open and closed for a secure fit, which can hold up to 8 needles at a time, and comes with 8 36 gauge needle.
• Felted Sky's Wood Ball Tool: if the needle felter in your life has recently been complaining of hand pain while felting, you may consider getting them this tool that can hold up to 7 needles (which come with the tool). This also unscrews to open, screws to close to keep the needles securely in place. Many consider this to be much easier to hold and less of a strain on their hands.
• Aluminum Felting Tools: I'd recommend either a two-needle or a six-needle tool for those who seem to already have all the other tools but may want to try something different, maybe even a bit fancier. Bear Creek Felting also offers a wonderful single-needle felting tool that looks really sharp (in the fancy sort of way).

• Large 18x24 Foam: For the needle felters for whom the "satisfying crunch" of the foam is part of the whole experience - we don't need to take that away. Just go bigger. This will give them all the space they need to work, including making big felt paintings if that's what they enjoy making.
• Soy Felting Foam: For the eco-conscious needle felter (not just for purses, despite the product name). This foam is still crunchy, just slightly less than the high-density one. I think it's a fair compromise.
• Felted Sky Thick Wool Mat: For the ultra-eco-conscious needle felter who's willing to give up all the crunch to stop contributing to world pollution by moving to a durable, chemical free, fully bio-degradable 100% wool pad. This one's really thick, too.

Forget the dog brushes I keep recommending (because I'm conscious of people's budgets) or cheap fiber blenders marketed to needle felters - this is a gift guide after all! We're going to get some proper hand carders, but in a size best suited for blending fiber.

• Schacht Mini Hand Carders - I'd reccomend the mini in the 72 TPI. The higher TPI is for fine fibers only, and will tear up your fiber otherwise. The 72 can handle it all.
• Ashford Small Hand Carders - slightly larger than the mini's above, but smaller than your standard hand carders. These are a good alternative.

For the "canvas," I would suggest one or more of the following:

• Wool Felt Fabric By The Yard: There are so many different colors to choose from, far more than your local big box sewing shop will carry. You can check your little local sewing shop (granny quilt shop) to see if they have any as well. When buying by the yard, you're not limited by size - and a yard of material can go a long way.
• 100% Organic Plant-Dyed Wool Felt Sheets: made in Germany, these felt sheets are 100% organic, and they're dyed with plant dyes. The multi-pack of felt sheets will allow the recipient to use whichever color is called for in their project.
• Wool Blend Sheets: If the recipient is okay with blends (100% wool feels more "premium" though), you can get multi-pack sheets in wool blends of many different colors.
• ALL THE FELT: The Felt Store on Etsy, based out of Canada, specializes in making felt. They have 100% wool, wool blends, rayon, acrylic, and even ones that come in patterns.

For 3D needle felters, the bulk of what they felt on will be core wool. They will need a lot of core wool.

• 1lb Core Wool: You can get a little over 1lb of core wool (500g), which is a blend of undyed wools, for a fairly decent price by buying this one - this should last most needle felters a good while. This link has both (unbleached) white and natural browns - most needle felters prefer to work with white for their core.

For the color and texture, I recommend checking out:

• Living Felt's Designer Packs: this is how I quickly built up my palette for 2D felting starting out. It's so hard to pick just one! They're all amazing.
• Felting Farmer Lady's Locks: unless something's changed, Felting Farmer Lady has been known for years as the queen of locks in the fiber world. Her locks are to dye for. Absolutely gorgeous! She even offers a 2-D Felting Palette.
• Peace Fleece Batting: this is a very popular needle felting wool (that's great for 2D or 3D felters alike)
• LivingFelt MC-1 Batts: these are also extremely popular for needle felting, very soft and pleasant to handle, and easy to work with
• WeirCrafts EcoSoft Roving: a custom blend of fibers great for both wet and needle felting, very soft and pleasant to handle and work with! Many great colors to choose from as well

Photo for thumbnail image by Seyi Ariyo on Unsplash