SR Piston how-to guide

SR piston reproduced by felt. We have videos for how to make both the life-size and mini versions.

Make a piston from felt

The piston is the heart of a bike. It creates power by strenuously moving a hollow cylinder in the engine up and down using gasoline combustion.
We have reproduced life-size and mini versions of the metal piston in felt.
See the patterns and videos and challenge yourself to make a piston.

You will need the following colours of wool

Prepare the sheet felt for the base and the following colours of felt. Mix these colours to create the piston and poke. See the how-to guide videos.

Light grey
Slightly darker grey
Dark grey
Charcoal grey
Brick red
Cream
Black

Required tools

In addition to the tools introduced in the guide to successful felting even for beginners, you will need to following tools to make the piston.

［1］Mat cover (a colour that makes it easy to see the felt) ［2］ Cushioning (made into a cylinder to use for the core) ［3］Masking tape ［4］Pins ［5］30cm ruler ［6］Wire ［7］Glue ［8］Pliers ［9］Permanent marker

Pattern

It is important to check the size of each part against the pattern. We have provided the pattern in PDF format. Please download and print out to use.
When printing, make sure to check scale and edge guide so that you get the actual size for the pattern.

Download the
life-size piston pattern Download the
mini piston pattern

Check the finished firmness

As you poke the needle into the wool, it becomes more and more firm. You may wonder how firm you need to make the wool.
The firmness of the 1.8cm ball made from 1g of wool as shown in the felt ball how-to guide in the Basic Needle Felting Lesson is the standard firmness for making the piston.
If the felt is not firm enough, it will be off-kilter when assembling or the finished item will fall apart so it is important to work the felt to make it firm.

Once you have prepared everything, you are ready to start making your piston!
The how-to guide differs for the life-size and mini piston versions.

1Connecting rod

2Piston

3Piston - Assembly

1Connecting rod

2Piston

3Piston - Assembly

1 Connecting rod

Big end (large circle)

Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern A
Poke dark grey felt round the edges
Poke light grey felt into one side
Mix brick red with light brown felt 1:1 with a little charcoal grey
Poke the mixed felt into the opposite side from the light grey felt until the base colour cannot be seen
Don't poke it too deeply or the mixed felt will go through to the grey side
Join the two ends of part A and insert a needle diagonally to hold them together
Place the same colour of felt over the temporary join and poke carefully
Poke the mixed brown felt into the groove shown on the pattern

Small end (small circle)

Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern B
Mix brick red with cream felt 1:1 to create the desired colour
Lightly poke the mixed felt over the whole shape
Join the two ends of part B and insert a needle diagonally to hold them together
Place the same colour of felt over the temporary join and poke carefully
The small end is complete

Make the rod

Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern C
Pinch and poke the felt to create an 0.3cm edge
Add colour according to the pattern photo
Mix both colours in the centre and poke to create gradation
Gradation is complete
Carefully poke the YAMAHA letters using felt the same colour as the base

Make the piston pin

Tear off a piece of felt 8cm × 12cm, roll it and poke it until it is as hard as you can get it
Wrap light grey felt around the cylinder and poke
Poke black felt to create an 0.9cm diameter circle on the end
Poke dark grey felt round the black circle on the end
Check that it measures 1.9cm in diameter

Assembly

Fix the big end to the wide end of the rod with a pin
Poke from the inside of the circle to fix
Add the same colour of felt to the join and poke to finish the shape
Fix the small end with a pin in the same way and poke with the needle
Add the same colour of felt to the join and poke to finish the shape
Bend some wire and wrap around the centre of the outer edge
Hold the wire with your fingers and poke felt the same colour as the base around it
The connecting rod is complete

2 Piston

Make the piston base

Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern E
Make one more in the same way
Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern F
Make one more in the same way
Prepare two pieces of wire 8cm long
Mark with a pen in the middle and 0.5cm from each end

Make the hole for the piston

Prepare a piece of cushioning: 0.2cm thick, 15cm long, 10cm wide
and fix with masking tape to make the core
Make marks so that you can tell the top from the bottom
and draw a line 6cm from the top
Tear off a piece of sheet felt 6cm wide
and pull to wrap around the 6cm portion
Turn and poke - make sure only to poke the felt, not the core.
Turn and poke the felt until it gets to a thickness of 1cm, keeping it within the 6cm line.
When it gets to a thickness of 1cm, remove the core
Cut the middle with scissors
Match to pattern G and poke the cut ends to tidy up
Poke the centre mark on the wire with felt to attach to the edge of part G

Assemble the piston

Put glue on the 0.5cm marks on both sides of the wire and attach part E
Press firmly with your fingers to fix
Poke the join with felt to fix
Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern H
Make one more in the same way
Attach parts H and F
Place part F between the two E parts and poke the joins to fix
Fold part H forward
Attach both H parts according to the assembly diagram
Poke both sides of part H to part E to fix
Take a little felt, fill in the gaps and poke to create a rectangle
Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern I
Make four parts the same
Place part I over the wire and poke just under the wire
Poke the bottom, left and right of part I to fix and join
Add felt to any places where you can still see the wire and poke to cover

Make the other side of the piston

Put glue on the 0.5cm marks on both sides of the wire and attach part E
Place part F between the two E parts and poke the joins to fix
Poke part H and I in the same way as for the front
Use the same procedure to make the other side of the piston

3 Piston - Assembly

Make the piston side

Poke to obtain the size and shape of pattern J
Make one more in the same way
Poke the bottom of the piston side to fix,
pin the attachment position and poke the join
Poke the indented part with dark grey felt then poke the whole of the piston with light grey felt

Make the piston head

Poke to obtain the same size and shape as pattern K and a thickness of 0.3cm
Make one more in the same way
Mix light grey with charcoal grey felt 1:1 to make dark grey felt
Poke one of the K parts with dark grey felt
Poke the other K part with the single light grey colour
Tear off a piece of sheet felt one size bigger than pattern L and form the shape by poking with a needle
Add felt and poke to make the protrusions in the middle
Check that the side view is the same as the pattern
Poke the whole shape with dark grey felt and the indents with light grey felt

Ring groove and finishing

Poke grey felt to a height of 0.5cm round the ring 0.2cm from the edge
Place the light grey part K on top and poke to fix
Poke light grey felt to a height of 0.3cm round the ring 0.2cm from the edge
Place the dark grey part K on top and poke to fix
Poke light grey felt to a height of 0.3cm round the ring 0.2cm from the edge
Place part L on top of everything and poke to fix
Check the positioning of the front and the indents
Poke a groove with dark grey thread to a height of 0.3cm and make it stand out
Make balls of black felt and poke so that the holes can be seen from the side
Poke charcoal grey felt around the piston 0.2cm from the top
This piston is complete