***Felted Scarves***



Nuno-felted scarf

Here is my latest nuno-felted scarf. It is a cobweb-style wet felted scarf with embellishments using silk chiffon. Below is a close-up of the silk chiffon incorporated into the felted wool.


Close-up of felted wool and silk chiffon

 

 

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Felted infinity scarf

I made this wet-felted scarf using several layers of wool roving and then felted the two ends together to make it an infinity scarf.

 

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Alpaca wool cobweb scarf

This scarf was made using dyed alpaca wool roving. Alpaca wool is very soft. I used just two layers of thin pieces of the wool roving plus the decorative wool embellishments, so the scarf is also very light.



*** 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.

*** Felted Purse ***

I am having fun being creative with wool. I've spent a lot of time watching felting videos and getting ideas for projects to make. One of my latest projects was a wet-felted purse. It was amazing to watch a fluffy pile of wool pieces shrink together to make a fun shoulder bag. I used the resist method in order to make it seamless.



Several layers of wool on the top and bottom with a design and a piece of cardboard (resist) in between

Wool covered with tulle and beginning the wet-felting process

 

After the fulling stage of wet-felting



Soaking in a water/vinegar solution in order to make sure all the soap is out

Seamless wet-felted purse

Now to add a wet-felted strap, button and loop

Finished wet-felted purse...another fun piece of art!

My next project was making a scarf using the nuno-felting method. More on that later....

* Sunflower Scarf/Shawl *

I had an inspiration this last weekend...a scarf design inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" still-life paintings. I designed the scarf to also be worn as a shawl.

I love sunflowers...they always bring a smile to my face. One summer I planted some in the front yard. A praying mantis decided to make its home among the tall stalks, camouflaged against the green. Each day it would venture out onto the yellow and brown flower heads to soak up some sun.

I just happened to pick out some nice roving in sunflower colors at The YarnBasket last week, so I was ready to start my next welt-felting project.

 



I used the darker green for the first layer and then the lighter green for the second layer.

 

Then I added some nice sunflowers...

After completing the wet-felting process, I re-shaped the scraf/shawl and set it out to dry.

I'm happy with the way it turned out...

 

 

Thank you for viewing my blog. : )

~ Discovering the World of Felting ~

I've decided to try my hand at blogging so I can share my new found passion...felting.

Over the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday, I attended the Christmas Craft Fair in Grass Valley when a certain artist's booth caught my eye...beautifully made scarves, shawls, wrist warmers and hats. The material was so soft and the colors and designs were beautiful, like works of art. I had never seen anything like it before. I love going to craft and art fairs to get ideas for things I could make. So, as soon as I got home, I began searching the Internet to discover how these beautiful scarves and shawls had been made. I discovered it was the art of felting. There is both needle felting, which is done using a single needle or a multiple needle tool, and wet-felting, which is a process that uses hot soapy water to bind layers of wool roving pieces together to make felt.

I find it amazing how so many beautiful things can be created all starting with dyed wool roving...

After watching numerous YouTube videos on felting, I decided to make hand-felted soaps for my first felting project.

So, off to HeartStrings Yarn Studio I went, where I purchased some wool and felting supplies. It's a nice little shop and they were very helpful in getting me started. The Yarn Basket is another nice place nearby to shop for felting supplies.

Here are my hand-felted soaps...



Harvest Festival scented soaps

Lavender scented soaps

Sweet Licorice and Wild Rose scented soaps

They packaged up nicely for Christmas presents...

Next, I decided to try needle felting, utilizing a single felting needle and a foam block. I love how I started with a piece of wool and by using a felting needle to repeatedly poke the wool, the wool started to take shape...and before not too long it became an angel.

Angel

I especially love my next two needle felting projects...a boy and girl bunny. It was fun thinking about and creating bunnies with character...

Benjamin-Bunny

Kari-Bunny

While bringing in the new year on vacation in Mendocino, I visited the Mendocino Yarn Shop looking for some nice roving to make some scarves. There was so much to choose from, but I narrowed it down to some beautiful 100% Blueface Leicester Top wool roving with a medium shade teal green to purple colorway (range of color) and a darker purple, blue and red colorway. I also found some superfine hand-dyed Merino wool with a peacock colorway.

My first wet-felting project was a cobweb scarf, which is made by taking a length of wool roving and gradually pulling the roving from the center to form the width of the scarf. The felting is accomplished by a process using a combination of hot soapy water and friction. In the future, I plan to post a demonstration video of one of my wet-felting projects.

Wet-felted cobweb scarf using 100% Blueface Leicester Top roving with a Big Sky colorway

Wet-felted cobweb scarf

The next scarf was also done using the wet-felting process, but it was made by pulling off small thin pieces of the wool roving and laying them in several rows to make the bottom layer of the scarf. Then a second layer of small pieces of wool was added on top with the pieces going crosswise (or perpendicular) to the bottom layer. I then added various pieces of wool to make a design, which turned out to remind me of peacock feathers.

Two layers of wool and design, getting ready to begin the wet-felting process

Apply hot soapy water and gently rub to felt the wool together

Scarf laying out to dry

Peacock feather-inspired scarf

Close-up of design

Wet-felted scarf

And then, after an inspiration from my son, Ben, I designed my next scarf based on the famous Water Lilies painting by Claude Monet.

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Monet-inspired scarf





The first two layers were the background and foundation.






First step of  wet-felted Water Lilies scarf





The third layer was the design incorporating the water lilies.

Adding the water lilies design

Part of the wet-felting process includes wadding the piece of felt (scarf) into a ball and repeatedly throwing it on the table. Good therapy for working out frustration. Ha!

Throwing the wadded-up scarf...

Afterwards, the scarf was rinsed in alternating hot and cold water, re-shaped into a scarf and set out to dry.

Water lilies scarf

It is such a fun way to see wool transition into a piece of wearable art!



Water Lilies - Claude Monet-esque

Wet-felted scarf - wearable art!



My latest wet-felting project was a shorter neck scarf, which included a ceramic button.

Wet-felted neck warmer

Neck warmer with center ceramic button



I'm looking forward to starting my next felting project...I wonder what it will be?