Wednesday the "Critique Group" composed largely of members of the California Fiber Artists group I belong to invaded the Dye Studio and proceeded to tear and twist and rub and mangle wool into submission. Here is Peig and Pam showing off Peig's newly acquired jacket courtesy of Louise. I got about 10 jackets myself out of the deal. You will see them soon as I figure out what to do with them. Awesome deal of the day.
Louise and Pam discuss bowling techniques. I don't know....you tell ME what they are talking about! Marcail and Marjan start digging through the supplies...Notice the opossum fur on the design wall?
Deb begins the demonstration of how to felt wool. First you lay it out, crossing the fibers.
After adding some dyed wool, you sprinkle HOT, soapy water on the wool.
Then cover it and press firmly...
Next, roll up the bamboo mat...
And then start rubbing it back and forth. This is the secret to success- friction and heat!
Then roll it the other way and repeat the rubbing and rolling process.
Next step- shock it with cold water rinse.
Cool! The colored wool has joined forces with the undyed wool and the piece is ...well...felted!
The next project was brought to us by Marjan. She likes to make felted balls so you start with the base which can be Styrofoam or a whiffle ball.
Wrap the felt around the base.
Once it is completely covered, carefully slide it into a knee high. Tie a knot. (Notice how enthralled we all are??)
You can put many balls into one knee high or thigh high. Aren't they cute?
Into the washer they go. HOT water. Then cold rinse. Synthrapol was added.
Fun and messy!
The large piece I made on a silk scarf has fabulous parts and still some loose parts I may redo. I combined 2 different qualities of wool and it's true- the better the wool, the better the felting. I am thinking I will do some machine stitching over the wool to secure it better and to add some interest. It will make a great winter scarf. Or a Santa beard.
It was a fun day playing with my fiber friends. We packed the house and are looking forward to next month when we play with silk shredding for paper making!
Next, roll up the bamboo mat...
And then start rubbing it back and forth. This is the secret to success- friction and heat!
Then roll it the other way and repeat the rubbing and rolling process.
Next step- shock it with cold water rinse.
Cool! The colored wool has joined forces with the undyed wool and the piece is ...well...felted!The next project was brought to us by Marjan. She likes to make felted balls so you start with the base which can be Styrofoam or a whiffle ball.
Wrap the felt around the base.
Once it is completely covered, carefully slide it into a knee high. Tie a knot. (Notice how enthralled we all are??)You can put many balls into one knee high or thigh high. Aren't they cute?Into the washer they go. HOT water. Then cold rinse. Synthrapol was added.
Fun and messy!
Some end results. I learned a lot about how to not do it. The key factor in my failures was not enough friction so now I know.
The large piece I made on a silk scarf has fabulous parts and still some loose parts I may redo. I combined 2 different qualities of wool and it's true- the better the wool, the better the felting. I am thinking I will do some machine stitching over the wool to secure it better and to add some interest. It will make a great winter scarf. Or a Santa beard.
It was a fun day playing with my fiber friends. We packed the house and are looking forward to next month when we play with silk shredding for paper making!
Visit the CFA web site: www.cafiberartists.com
Thanks for looking!
2 comments:
Marjie, i love felting and the first time i wet felted by hand is when I did my art quilt was this way and probably the future ones too as I do not see them coming very well in the washing machine..lol looks like you all had a great time. Don't you just love it and you will love the next project you all do too..glad you got some wonderful gals to do it with..Enjoy, hugs, Lorraine xxoo
how cool is this!!!
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