***Felted Hat***

Wet felted hat made with Alpaca wool and a ceramic flower button 

I've been wanting to make a felted hat for the longest time. The other day I was in the yarn shop and, low and behold, they had alpaca wool, something I have been looking for and wanting to try for felting. I have watched several videos on how to wet felt a hat, so here is a combination of techniques that I used to make my felted hat...

Step 1:  Partially fill a water balloon with warm water and then blow it up to about twice as large as you want the finished hat to be and put it tied end in a bowl. The bowl and water in the balloon will help to keep things from moving around too much.

Step 2:  Wet and cover the balloon with a thin layer of dish soap.

Step 3:  Place sections of wool (I used alpaca) over the balloon.

Step 4:  Continue placing the wool over the balloon going in the same direction.

Step 5:  Complete one layer of wool around the balloon.

Step 6:  Using a spray bottled filled with warm soapy water, wet down all of the wool.

Step 7:  Wrap pieces of wool around the balloon going in the opposite direction.

Step 8:  After spraying the wool, add a layer of thinner pieces of wool going in the original direction. Then you can add decorations or embellishments to the outside of the hat.

Step 9:  Spray all of the wool to gently wet it down and then cover it with tulle (or you can use the top part of a pair of pantyhose), making sure that all the wool is covered.

Step 10:  Turn the balloon and wool over and tie the pieces of tulle together where the balloon is tied.

Step 11:  Fill the sink (or a large container) with warm soapy water and gently make sure all of the wool becomes wet. Then gently press the wool against the balloon to get as much water out as you can in order to move the balloon to your work area.

Step 12:  With your hands and fingers, gently rub all around the tulle being careful not to move any embellishment. After rubbing for about 10 minutes or so, do a pinch test on the wool. If the wool is sticking together, you can take the tulle off to continue the felting process.

Step 13:  After you have removed the tulle, continue rubbing the wool on the balloon using bubble wrap. When the wool and embellishments have felted together and you can see the wool is starting to shrink, pop the balloon (over the sink) and remove it. Rub inside and outside of the hat to make sure all of the wool is felted.

Step 14:  This is the fulling stage. Fold the wool piece in a square and throw it flat in the sink. Keep turning it over and re-folding it to make sure it that as it shrinks, it maintains its shape. After several folds, refolds and throws, start rinsing the wool. Alternate rising in warm and cold water, first in warm water and then in cold water, and keep checking the shape and size. As the wool hat starts to take form, gently squeeze it to get the water out and also squeeze it in a towel so you can try the hat on to make sure it is forming into the size and shape you want for your hat.

Step 15:  After you make sure all the soap has been rinsed out and the hat is the size you want, shape it and let it dry. You can trim off the edges or unwanted extra wool, but be sure to rub and felt those areas were you cut so they are not left open.

Step 16:  Now it's time to add a little something extra. I have a friend who makes beautiful ceramic art and things, so I decided to add this very cute ceramic flower button she made to my alpaca wool felted hat. If you are interested in purchasing a ceramic button for your hat, please check out Lauren Mesa's Facebook page...

 

https://www.facebook.com/LaurenMesaArt 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Here are some photographs of my hat so you can see it from different angles.

 

 

 

 

Alpaca Wool Felted Hat with Ceramic Flower Button
♥ I thought it looked cute sitting atop a rock in our garden waterfall ♥

***Felted Vessel***

I continue to be amazed at all the things that can be created using wool. My latest felting endeavor is this vessel...

Wet felted vessel with needle felted embellishments

 

Wetting down the wool fibers (resist method).

Adding embellishments.

It's starting to take shape.

Shaped and ready to dry.

 

Added needle felted embellishments.

 



Wet felted vessel with needle felted embellishments

I love that every felted project is a unique artistic creation...no two are exactly alike. Currently, I'm working on two wall hangings...stay tuned....

Thanks again for checking out my blog.

*** Valentine's Day Scarf ***

Valentine's Day has always been special to me... a time to give that little something special to your loved one that tells them you love them and hold them dear. I know, for some people it's just another day of commercialism - business for the candy, flower and card industries, but for me it's the act of giving that token of love and affection that brings a smile to my face.

My eye is drawn to hearts...I love them. So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I designed a wet-felted heart scarf.

  



Valentine's Day wet-felted scarf



It still amazes me to watch how a scarf (or any other project) changes as it goes through the various steps in the process of wet-felting. For this particular project, I wanted the finished scarf to be a thicker felt, so I laid out three layers of thin pieces of wool, plus the hearts and a variety of small pieces of various colors of wool.

Wool roving in thin layers and design

View of hearts design

Close-up of hearts

I used a lavender scented soap in the hot water to start the felting process, so the room was filled with the lovely aroma of lavender...

Working the wool pieces together

After completing the felting, rolling and fulling process, I re-shaped the scarf and laid it out to dry.



It being winter and the felt being a thicker, it took a little longer to dry. As it was drying, the colors of the scarf started to come alive. It's like magic!



I designed the scarf so you can fold over a portion of the top to create two rows of hearts. I am very happy with how it came out.

Showing the top of the scarf folded down to make two rows of hearts
 

  

Valentine's Day wet-felted scarf (front)

Valentine's Day wet-felted scarf (back)

I hope everyone has
a Happy Valentine's Day and remember... 

 

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,

A song is no song 'til you sing it.

And love in your heart

Wasn't put there to stay -

Love isn't love

'Til you give it away.

 

-Oscar Hammerstein, The Sound of Music

*** Nuno Felted Scarf ***

Nuno felting is the blending of wool and light weight fabric such as silk chiffon or gauze into one fabric using a variation of the wet felting process. The result is a beautiful, soft, light fabric that can be used to make a variety of things including scarves and clothing. The process takes a little longer than regular wet-felting depending on the type of fabric you use for your project. I wanted to find some natural silk chiffon fabric but, unfortunately, I could only find synthetic "silky chiffon" at the local fabric store. From my research on nuno felting, I knew the process of incorporating the wool roving into synthetic fabric would take longer than if using natural fiber fabric and even though the nuno process did take longer than regular wet-felting, the result was well worth it...



Nuno-felted scarf

The process involved five layers; a bottom layer of bubble wrap, a layer of plastic wrap, a layer of very thin pieces of wool roving, a piece of silky chiffon, another layer of very thin pieces of wool roving, and a piece of tulle to cover the top. As I did not hem the edges of the silky chiffon fabric, I used the wool roving to finish the edges.



Top layer of wool roving pieces with a layer of silky chiffon and another layer of wool roving beneath

In order to not disturb or move the very thin pieces of wool roving, I used a ladle to gently pour the lukewarm soapy water over the tulle to begin the felting process, periodically lifting up the tulle to adjust the wool pieces. Once all of the wool and fabric was saturated with the soapy water, I used a pool noodle and rolled up everything to begin the rolling process. I rolled the project several times, alternating the direction each time. About halfway though, I checked to see if the wool was felting into the fabric. It was, so I removed the tulle and continued the rolling process several more times.

Halfway through the felting process

When the felting was complete, I began the fulling process, which is done by thoroughly wetting the project and throwing it into the sink, over and over, and then alternately rinsing it with hot and cold water. The process of throwing the project onto a hard surface shocks the wool fibers, which draws them closer together. In nuno felting, when the wool starts to shrink it causes the fabric to gather in places, resulting in a wonderfully textured light fabric. The more you want your project to shrink  or have more texture, the more you throw it. It was like magic watching my project take form. When it was the size and texture I liked, I thoroughly rinsed it again and then soaked it in a water/vinegar solution to make sure all the soap was out. Making sure all the soap is out protects the wool fibers from becoming brittle and shortening the life of the fabric.

After rinsing the scarf thoroughly one more time to get all the vinegar out, I reshaped it and set it out to dry. I was very excited to see the final project after it dried.

I think the scarf turned out very pretty...not only do I love the colors, but it is soft and light. I'm really looking forward to making more nuno felting projects.

Nuno-felted scarf using silky chiffon fabric

Thank you for checking out my blog. I'd love to hear your comments, tips or suggestions.