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There is a new book out about working with felt titled Feltique. I am excited to announce that I have contributed three tutorials to this book. I have not had a chance to see the final product yet, but judging by all the amazing artists that contributed to it, I know it will be fantastic.
I completed the last project I started at the last LA Fiber Guild's Felt Study Group last month. We all worked on the resist method.
The bag is made in one piece. I used a pre-felt fabric from Outback Fibers for the branch design that I cut out and wet felt onto the bag's surface. I sewed two short seams into the corners of the bag to give it more of a boxy structure. I added rivets to secure the handles in place, and made a felt ball for a toggle closure. I used wool blend yarn to sew a blanket stitch along the top edge of the bag for extra durability. I am really happy with how it turned out and am looking forward to making another.
If you are interested in joining us, the next meeting is at Sunday, March 2nd at 11am.
The second meeting of the Felting Study Group for the LA Fiber Guild is this Sunday, February 3d. Meetings are from 11am - 4pm and take place near downtown LA. There is also more info on their LAFguild yahoo group.We are going to be doing the resist method. I have plans to make a bag. I have just purchased a bunch of fibery goodness from Outback Fibers and I am ready to go. All are welcome. If you choose to join us, there is a small fee to join the guild.
You can see what I made at the last meeting here.
I just stumbled across another tutorial for making felt balls with the wet felt method over at Coco Knits. She used wool scrap just like the tutorial I posted awhile back, but her balls have a Styrofoam ball center, so less wool is used. Coco Knits also has a few other great knitting tutorials too.
I have received a review for the Wool Breast Pads I made last February for my friend who was having a baby shower. She liked the larger size, but the colors from the silk or dyed wool ended up bleeding when she released milk. They ended up only being appropriate for dark colored bras.
Interweave Knits is coming out with a special edition magazine all about felt called Interweave Felt! It is due to hit the newsstand on July 17th. Yeah!
A few days ago an anonymous person left a comment on the post I wrote about my favorite felt artists. The comment included a link to a site that features some amazing handmade felt. The site is called Enchanted Earth. I really like how the work has a fairy or elven like quality to it.
Last weekend I was in San Francisco and came across the Peace Industry store. They manufacture an amazing array of contemporary hand felted rugs. I had already seen the film they made with a felt master in Iran a while back. Unfortunatly the video link is not working right now. They were all so beautiful, I would have liked to purchase many of them.
One of my dear friends is having a baby shower this weekend. When I looked at her gift registry, I saw she had organic wool breast pads on her list. It got me thinking….
I have wool and I felt. So, I came up with these felted breast pads. I used a Merino-Corriedale wool bat for the base and embellished the top with colorful tussah silk top and merino wool roving. Because this is an experiment, I made them in two sizes. I hope they work out well for her.
I have been knitting predominantly with wool and alpaca yarns lately. It occurred to me that I do not have to throw away all those little scraps of yarn because they will felt. So, I started collecting a pile of loose yarn scraps to make into little felt balls. They can become beads, cat toys, or whatever you like.
How to:
Wad-up the scraps of yarn, reserving a few longer strands. Wet the wad down in very warm water, squeezing out some of the water. Use the reserved longer strands of yarn to help firm up and bind the ball together. Pour a little liquid dish soap on your palms and gently begin to rub and roll the ball around in your palms. Keep running the ball under hot water and adding soap as needed. As the ball begins to shrink and get firmer, use a little more pressure as you roll it around in your palms. When the ball seems solid, rinse in cold water to remove any excess soap. Rinse again in vinegar. Squeeze out any excess moisture and set aside to dry. Enjoy!
Here I am in my hand felted Gnome hat. This is the first felted hat I have made, and I adore how ridiculous it is. It is made from Merino and Corriedale wool. Do you want one too? I will take special orders for them. The cost is $75. Send me and e-mail if you are interested.
This weekend I took a feltmaking class with Gail Crossman Moore at the San Gabriel Bead Company. We created a flower lariat like this one from her website. We learned several wet felting techniques along with needle felting and bead embroidery. It was fantastic. http://www.gailcrosmanmoore.com/
I completed the last project I started at the last LA Fiber Guild's Felt Study Group last month. We all worked on the resist method.
I just stumbled across another tutorial for making felt balls with the wet felt method over at Coco Knits. She used wool scrap just like the tutorial I posted awhile back, but her balls have a Styrofoam ball center, so less wool is used. Coco Knits also has a few other great knitting tutorials too.
I have always been enamored with the work of Gail Crosman Moore. Her felt flowers have been an amazing source of inspiration for me. Last year I was lucky to have the opportunity to take on of her classes at The San Gabriel Bead Company. Craftzine featured an interview with her a while back.
Last weekend I was in San Francisco and came across the Peace Industry store. They manufacture an amazing array of contemporary hand felted rugs. I had already seen the film they made with a felt master in Iran a while back. Unfortunatly the video link is not working right now. They were all so beautiful, I would have liked to purchase many of them.
I have wool and I felt. So, I came up with these felted breast pads. I used a Merino-Corriedale wool bat for the base and embellished the top with colorful tussah silk top and merino wool roving. Because this is an experiment, I made them in two sizes. I hope they work out well for her.
Whether it be made from loose fibers, knit, crochet, or commercially made, I adore felt. Creating a fabric by wadding up a bunch of fibers seems like magic. I have created a few knit and hand felted items, like this, and this, in addition to a few scarves, but would like to explore the medium more. Here is a list of a number of felt artists that I find truly inspirational.
I have been knitting predominantly with wool and alpaca yarns lately. It occurred to me that I do not have to throw away all those little scraps of yarn because they will felt. So, I started collecting a pile of loose yarn scraps to make into little felt balls. They can become beads, cat toys, or whatever you like.
