Here’s one from the vaults… I had started this entry a while back, but never actually published it ~*oops~*~
Last Winter (or thereabouts) I attended a Wool Felting Workshop at the Markham Guild of Village Crafts. Spanning the course of the morning, the class was taught by Christine Alexiou and covered the basics of felt making and dying with Kool Aid and All Purpose dyes.
There are several ways to make felt and different methods lend themselves better to different projects and desired results, but they all work on basically the same principles – agitating warm wet fibres.
The materials required are as follows:
- wool rovings or tops
- warm water
- a few drops of dishsoap
- nylon mesh
- bubble wrap
- a bamboo placemat
- a towel to absorb excess water
- a plastic covered workspace
Step 1: Laying out the Tops / Rovings
Start my covering the bamboo mat with the nylon mesh. The mesh should be about twice the size of the mat so that the mesh can be folded to cover the loose tops. Tops are then drawn out and laid parallel and slightly overlapping . Each subsequent layer is placed perpendicular to the last. This is demonstrated quite clearly on EBSQ’s Online Art Magazine. There should be a minimum of three layers. Be certain that the fibres in each layer are evenly distributed or weak spots or holes may occur (though that may be a design feature, if so, control your fibre distribution as desired).
Additional fibres can be added while layering, either between layers or on top of the final layer. The coloured fibres shown below were dyed after the fleece was washed, but before carding so they retain their curly texture. If additional rovings are silky they may not felt well in which case they should be placed beneath a layer of wool or they may require additional felting with needles at the end.
Once the fibres are laid out as desired, fold over the nylon mesh and saturate the sandwiched fibres with soapy water. The water should not be too soapy or else the fibres will slide and fail to mat. By wetting the fibres with warm soapy water you are raising the cuticle (the outer layer of the fibre) which makes the surface look much like the hook side of a piece of velco (on a microscopic level). By agitating the fibres against one another while the cuticle is raised, the fibres will stick to one another.
Step 2: Hand Fulling
Fulling is the process of rubbing the fibres back and forth against one another. Start by just rubbing the surface of the nylon mesh with your finger tips. This will allow you to lightly adhere the fibres and control the positioning of any additional coloured fibres you may have added. Open the nylon periodically to check the progress of your felt. If pieces are still dry, sprinkle some more water. You should also try lifting the felt up from the nylon mesh, this will keep the felt from adhering to the mesh and if it comes up easily, you know you are ready for the next step.
Step 3: Fulling with the Bamboo Mat
Re-sandwich your felt piece in the nylon mesh. Lie the covered felt flat on the mat and roll it up. Once rolled you can take this piece to the nearest sink and squeeze out excess moisture. At this point you should also lay out your towel on your workspace. Now pick up your rolled mat and roll it between your hands. Make sure you move your hands along the whole length of the mat. Occasionally unroll the mat and rotate the felt piece 90 degrees. This process further mats the fibres and some shrinking occurs. By rotating the felt inside the mat, shrinking will occur more evenly. To the left is a photo of my mother performing this step.
Step 4: Finishing
Once you have rolled the felt using the mat and the nylon mesh for about 5 minutes you will want to unroll the mat and remove the mesh. Place the felt directly on the matt and place the piece of bubble wrap (vaguely the same size as the mat) bubble side down on top of the felt and roll it back up. Roll again. This gives the felt one last vigorous felting. Once this is complete you can rince your piece of felt in the sink until the soap runs out. At this point your felt may be finished, or you can dye it to create additional interest.
Here is a sample which I dyed using Kool Aid. On the right is a photo of a finished purse made by the instructor, Christine Alexiou. More of Chistine’s work can be seen in magazines such as A Needle Pulling Thread. Christine also appears regularly at CreativFestival as a instructor.
