***Felted Vase***

It is really true, the sky is the limit when it comes to felting things out of wool. In fact, there are so many projects I have swirling around in my head, it's hard to decide what to make next...With each project, I am fine-tuning the process and deciding what works best for me to get the desired result.

I am very excited about my felted vase. It was my first resist felting project in which the vessel needed to fit around a cylinder glass vase. I have to admit that after cutting out the resist based on calculations for shrinkage and prior to completing the fulling and shrinking part of the process, I was skeptical as to whether or not the felted wool vessel would fit snuggly around the glass vase. Amazingly enough, it did...AND the vessel turned out to be reversible.

Felted Vase (outside/purple side)

Felted Vase (inside/blue side)

For this resist project I decided to use plastic shelf liner rather than cardboard for my template and it worked very well. Plus, I will be able to reuse the template for future projects the same size. To calculate the measurements for the width of the resist, I added together the width and depth of the glass vase and multiplied by 1.2. For the height, I added the width and height of the glass vase and multiplied by 1.2. For this particular vase, the glass vase measured 3.5 inches wide by 10.5 inches tall. I wanted to add some extra felt at the top, so I added an additional 1.5 inches to the height measurement. Therefore, my resist cut-out measured 8.5 by 18.5 inches. In order to make the edges at the bottom of the vase smooth, I cut rounded corners at the bottom of the resist.


8.5" by 18.5" resist on top of bubble wrap (bubble side up)

First, I laid out the design for the outside of the vessel because for this particular project I was going to turn the vessel inside out for the final stages of the process. 

 

Then I laid out thin wool pieces around the edges, making sure half of the piece was off the edge of the resist in order to make the sides seamless.

 

To complete this side, I laid horizontal rows of wool to cover the rest of the resist.

 

Next, I covered the project with tulle and wet the wool down with warm soapy water followed by rubbing a bar of olive oil soap over the top and, in a circular motion with the tips of my fingers, started gently rubbing the top to start the fibers felting together.

 

I carefully removed the tulle making sure the wool fibers stayed in place and turned the project over. After folding over the overlapping wool with wet soapy fingers, I repeated the process of laying thin pieces of wool around the edge and horizontal rows to cover the resist. I repeated this another time on both sides, only this time I placed the thin wool pieces in vertical rows, making a total of two layers of wool around the resist. For the third layer, or inside layer, I decided to use different colors of wool. The result was a reversible vessel. 

 

As with wet felting projects, the next step was rolling. I rolled the project between bubble wrap (bubble side toward the wool) with the resist still inside 30 times on both sides and in both directions (vertically and horizontally). When the "pinch" test indicated the wool had felted together, I removed the resist and turned the project inside out and rolled it 30 more times on each side and in each direction, periodically checking to make sure the inside was not felting together.

 

After shocking the project by throwing it into the sink about 20 times, it was time for fulling and rubbing the wool until it molded around the glass vase. Once again, I was amazed at how the vessel started to take shape and how much it "shrunk to fit."

 

After rinsing the project in hot and cold water and letting it soak in a water/vinegar mixture (1 qt. water/1 tb. vinegar), it was time to shape it and let it dry. 

 

Here is the finished vessel vase. 

Felted Vase

Glass vase and felted vessel vase cover

Felting is an amazing way to be creative and make your ideas come to life. I hope my blog inspires your creativity...  

 

 

***Cat Cave***

Cat Cave...the perfect felted vessel that serves as a comfy hiding or sleeping place for kitty, as well as a piece of felted art...My inspiration came after visiting family and learning that their cat likes to sleep on top of the bookcase in the living room. I started thinking how cool it would be to have a felted vessel serve not only as a place for the cat to spend time, but it would also look like a nice piece of art on top of the bookcase.

Felted Cat Cave



Here are the steps I followed to make my cat cave using the resist method.

1.  Cut out a 20-inches across round piece of thick cardboard for the resist and place it on top of a piece of bubble wrap, bubble side up. (The final project after shrinkage will be approximately 15-inches across and it will take approximately 6-8 ounces of wool roving.)


2.  Place thin pieces of wool roving around the edge of the resist making sure half of the wool is hanging over the edge.

 

3.  Place rows of wool roving horizontally to cover the resist.

4.  Cover with a piece of tulle and sprinkle with warm, soapy water just enough to wet the wool. After all the wool is wet, gently rub olive oil soap on top of the tulle. 

5.  Gently rub the top with the tips of your fingers in a small circular motion. When wool has started to felt together, remove the tulle.

5.  Lay down another piece of bubble wrap, bubble side up, and flip over the resist and bubble wrap.

6.  Remove the bubble wrap and then with wet, soapy fingers wrap the overlapping fibers onto the top of the resist.

7.  Like before, place thin pieces of wool around the edge of the resist making sure half is hanging over the edge.

8.  Place thin pieces of wool in horizontal rows to cover the resist. 

 

9.  Like before, cover with a piece of tulle and sprinkle with warm, soapy water just enough to make the wool wet. After all the wool is wet, gently rub olive oil soap on top of the tulle. Now both sides of the resist have a layer of wool. 

 

10.  Repeat this process on both sides again. This time lay the wool fibers in vertical rows to fill the middle.

 

11.  The next two layers will form the outside of the vessel. At this point, you can mix or blend wool colors or add decorations.

 

 

12.  Make two more layers of wool in the same way as before only on the last layer, do not overlap the edge, just lay the wool to cover the top of the resist. Now there are 4 layers of wool on both sides of the resist.

 

 

13.  After the last layer of wool has started to felt together, remove the tulle and put a piece of bubble wrap on top with the bubble side against the wool. Sprinkle a little soapy water on top of the bubble wrap and gently rub the top in a small circular motion for 5 minutes, making sure to also cup your hands around the edge.  Turn everything over and rub the other side for 5 minutes. Repeat another 5 minutes on each side making sure to periodically reposition the bubble wrap so the bubbles are in different places.

 

 

14.  Roll up everything using a pool noodle and tie it together.

 

 

15.  Roll gently 30 times. Unwrap and turn the project 1/4 turn, roll up and roll another 30 times. Repeat rolling (30 times) and 1/4 turn for 4 times. Turn the project over and repeat the rolling (30 times) and 1/4 turn 4 times, gradually increasing the pressure. Repeat until the resist starts to buckle.

 

16.  Carefully cut a hole where desired being sure to only cut to the resist and not through it. Gently pull the resist through the hole. Rub the cut edge with soapy fingers to join the fibers together.  

 

17.  Put the project between two pieces of bubble wrap, bubbles toward the wool, and roll 30 times each 1/4 turn. Run your fingers inside the project to make sure no fibers are felting together. Turn over the project and repeat rolling 30 times each 1/4 turn.

 

18.  Complete fulling and shaping using your hands or a tool such as a metal spoon. You can also use the bubble wrap to create friction with the wool to be able to shape the project. The area of wool that was at the edge of the resist will need to be worked out to remove any wrinkles.

 

 19.  Rinse the project alternately in hot and cold water several times. Soak the project in vinegar water (1 tablespoon vinegar/1 qt. water) for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly. Gently squeeze, but do not wring it out.

 20.  Re-shape the project and set on a rack to dry.

 

 

 Here is the finished project...

 

Felted Cat Cave

 

Felted Cat Cave - Vessel

 

 I hope kitty enjoys the Cat Cave....