When Zed first told us the theme of the challenge, twist, the first thing I thought of was making a Möbius scarf. I have seen lots of these types of scarves that have been knitted but hadn’t seen any that were felted. So I thought I’d give it a try.
This is the result, a scarf with a twist. I was supposed to leave the ends dry when I was making it so I could connect them but I somehow forgot about that when I was wetting the wool down. So I ended up using my handy sander to felt the inner portions of the scarf and leaving the connecting ends alone. Once most of the scarf passed the pinch test, I connected the two ends with a half twist in the scarf and felted the two ends together. I used Merino wool and have left the scarf its natural color.
The scarf can be worn so that the top twist covers your head or it can be doubled around your neck. It is nice and warm and I’ve been wearing it with my black coat. So the scarf with a twist is a success. Have you been felting with a twist? We’d love to see what you’ve done. Just go to our Flickr group and post your twist challenge projects there.
This is my version of the Studio Challenge Twist,Twirls & Spirals
This was going to be a flat felt piece for a wall hanging but i really wasnt happy with it and about to throw it out ! When i folded it up i realised that it would be perfect as a book cover
Felted Book Cover
Felted Book Cover
Twists, Twirls + Spirals – Kaz
Blue is not my favorite color and i tried to liven it up with swirls of contrasting colors and then i added stitches and Beads in spirals and some twisted yarn, although i’m not sure thats very noticable.
A few months ago I revisited an idea I’d had a few years ago for using wool twists to add texture to felt. This led to developing the theme we’ve used for this quarter’s studio challenge: Twists, twirls and spirals. This could be anything from including coiled or twisted wool in felt or a mixed media piece, using or spinning yarns, creating a 3D object such as a twisty hat or vessel, or using a spiral design on a flat needle-felted piece. There’s no size limit and the piece can be in any medium.
I’m still working on my piece, but here’s a sneak preview of some of the merino and plastic fibre blends I’ll be using.
Plastic Fibre and Merino
Plastic Fibre and Merino twists
If you’d like to join in with the challenge, there’s a couple of ways you can do this. Firstly, we have a flickr group, if you have a flickr account, click to ‘Join This Group’ then add your photos. Don’t forget to tag them “Felting and Fiber Studio” and also “Twists, Twirls and Spirals” (using quotations around the tags keeps the words separate). The second way you can join in is by commenting on any of our Challenge posts and linking to your blog, website or photo hosting site so we can see your photo.
These challenges are just for fun, to make us think and try out new things, or even revisit old ideas with fresh eyes or different fibres. We look forward to seeing what you make 🙂
Hi I’m Ann and I live just outside the capital of Canada on a small sheep farm. Like Ruth, I had a journey to finding felt. At one time, we milked our sheep and I learned to make soap with the milk that wasn’t suitable for making cheese. On a soap list I followed, there was a link for how to felt around a bar of soap. I went and had a look and bought a kit to needle felt a sheep. I enjoyed making the sheep but felting around the soap really grabbed me. From there I took some lessons in wet felting and knew I had found what I was looking for. I’ve had a life long love of wool but hate knitting, now I could indulge my love of wool and hand spun yarn. These days I don’t do much needle felting, I spend my time exploring wet felting techniques.
Felting 3, 2 1
Q-3 Three types of fiber you can’t live without
Well, fine merino is my favourite wool for next to the skin applications. It is soft, easy to dye and felts quickly. I love silk; roving and hankies are my favourite way to make the wool sparkle. The third would have to be novelty yarns especially had spun ones. I am learning to spin novelty yarns for embellishing my felt.
Q-2 Two tools you use all the time
My reed mat is my best tool. I have a large one that covers my 4×8 table so I can do large pieces or several small ones. The second would have to be my Tupperware starburst lid. I use this lid to rub my wet felt; it really saves you wearing off your fingerprints.
Q-1 One fiber art technique you love the most
I would have to say nuno felting. I love the textured effect of the wool and woven fabric together. It’s so versatile; I can make a whole new fabric or decorate with it.
I am looking forward to working with my felting friends here and sharing with our followers. I am excited about getting pushed outside my box and expanding my horizons.
I thought I would talk a little about my life prior to discovering wool and felting. It just goes to show that you never know where you’re going to end up in life.
My path in life has definitely not been straight but it’s been interesting. I was never sure what I wanted to be when I grew up and could never understand how someone at the age of 18 or 19 knew exactly what they wanted to do for the rest of his/her life. I was encouraged to get a degree in Physical Therapy by my parents, as one of their friend’s daughter was a P.T. and she “had a good career”. I worked as a Physical Therapist for 15 years and then decided that I couldn’t keep doing something I didn’t enjoy. I then took a giant leap of faith by opening a fine craft gallery with my sister, moving from Florida to Northwest Montana in the process. Most people thought I had lost my mind (including my parents). But I think life is short and it’s really important to do what you love.
Felt Scrap Bowl
That was thirteen years ago and even though I had no retail knowledge, I have survived. It has been a real learning experience. I love hand crafted work but had never found any craft that I was passionate about until I discovered fiber and felting in 2007. It all started with a magazine article about making silk paper. I got the supplies and made several silk paper projects. Then I started looking online for other fiber arts and discovered felting. I started with needle felting and then tried wet felting, nuno felting, machine needle felting as well as a variety of mixed media techniques with felting. The first time I made my own piece of felt cloth out of a pile of fibers, I was hooked.
FELTING 3,2,1
Q-3 Three types of fiber you can’t live without
I love playing with lots of different fibers and different wool breeds. It’s so fun to see how each one reacts differently to the felting process. Limiting me to three favorites is difficult. One fiber I use frequently is Mixed 56’s and I like it because it is inexpensive, it felts easily and I can use it for felting the small cat toys and other production items that I sell. Another fiber I love is silk in all its forms. The sheen of the silk against wool is always beautiful. I have just recently discovered short fiber merino batts and they are wonderful. They felt so quickly, are simple to lay out and if I made beads or cords frequently, it would be a must have fiber.
Q-2 Two tools you use all the time
Lately, I would have to say that the most used tools have been my sewing machine and a borrowed drum carder. I love to use felt as the base for free motion machine embroidery. The textures you can create with thread and felt are amazing. The drum carder is an absolutely wonderful tool and I have one on my wish list. I recently washed a Merino fleece and have been carding the wool. It is also great fun to combine and blend a variety of fibers to make one-of-a-kind batts.
Q-1 One fiber art technique you love the most
Again, it is difficult to choose just one technique. I love to experiment and try different techniques so that would probably fall under Mixed Media. One part of Mixed Media that I have been experimenting with recently is surface design techniques on felt such as screen printing, stamping, discharge, and use of resists such as flour paste.
I am really excited to be joining these other talented felters in our “studio”. I hope you’ll follow along and jump into the felting and fiber fun with us.
Hi, I’m Zed and I live in North West England, in the UK
I’ve been felting for about 3 years and love trying out different fibres and incorporating them into felt to achieve unique effects. I also love trying out different wool breeds and other animal fibres to create texture and add interest to felt.
Felting 3, 2, 1
Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without!
The two fibres I use the most are Merino wool and silk, so I’d have to include them. I don’t know which to choose for the third, I have a different favourite each week, this week it’s nylon 🙂
Q-2 Two tools you use all the time!
This is a hard one too. I think I’d find it very hard to make felt the way I like to without netting, my rubber mat and wooden dowel.
Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most!
Definitely wet felting, it still fascinates me that I can add some soapy water and some agitation to a pile of fluffy fibres and have a unique piece of strong fabric half an hour later.
I’m really looking forward to working with Karen, Ruth and Ann and sharing our love and knowledge of felting with lots of friends across the world 🙂
Hello my name is Karen and I live in the Coastal Town of Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia
I call myself a practicing fibre artist because I am fairly new and still have a lot to learn. I only discovered felting in 2008 and I’ve fallen in love with anything to do with fibre and felting. My collection and knowledge are growing every day and I’m so happy to be a part of this team of extremely talented ladies.
Felting 3, 2, 1
Q-3 Three types of fibre you can’t live without!
My favourite fibre I’m using at the moment is a blend of merino and blue faced Leicester, it’s an absolute dream to work with and the colors are amazing, I use it for all my background layouts. I also enjoy working with Romney Fibre as I find it nice and strong , but soft and luscious
Q-2 Two tools you use all the time!
I’m not sure I’d call them tools but I can’t live without bubble wrap and my trusty wooden dowel because without them it would be very hard to create a nice strong sheet of felt.
Q-1 One fibre art technique you love the most!
I’m concentrating on mixed media right now as I love how you can incorporate lots of different mediums into one piece like all different sorts of fibres, beads, threads, sequins, yarn . I think the possibilities are endless !
I’m in my element and I’m looking forward to this new adventure with my Fabulous Felting Friends who’s generosity and encouragement have meant the absolute world to me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New Album Cover
This is a sneak peek at my newest WIP. Its going to be an album cover for my Daughter In-laws mum to give to her for the birth of OUR first grandchild in approx 5 weeks time !! The white stitching is just the outline blocks so i stitch inbetween them with my pattern. I’ll hopefully be able to show more of this piece in my next post 🙂
Hello and welcome to the Felting and Fiber Studio. This site is the collaborative effort of four fiber artists from different corners of the world. My name is Ruth and I’m from the US, Ann is from Canada, Karen from Australia and Zed from the UK. We all enjoy felting and working with fiber. Our aim is to share our knowledge and love of felting with you and we’re eager to begin this new venture.
Nuno Felted Shawl by Ann
We have some very exciting plans for this site including studio challenges, tutorial based challenges with prizes, felting tips, and tutorials on a variety of fiber art topics. We love seeing what everyone else is up to in the felting world so we’ve started a Flickr group. You are more than welcome to join in and post photos of the various challenges that you take part in along with your other fiber art projects. Just click on the link and click on ‘Join This Group’.
A Mixed Media Piece in Progress by Karen
Please check out the various pages as we have lots of information about fiber and felting already available. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. We may use your questions in our posts if the topic is one that is frequently asked. There are a few tutorials already posted and we’ll be adding more as we go along, so please check back often. (To make it even easier, you can follow our blog by clicking on the follow button on the sidebar.) If you have a request for a specific tutorial, please let us know and we’ll do our best to organize one. We will be posting on a variety of topics including felting, book and product reviews, guest artist features, fiber samples, the business end of selling fiber art, sheep farming facts and what we’re up to in our own studios.
Wet Felted Book Cover by Zed
Once a quarter, the four of us will be challenging each other with a theme for the next three months. These studio challenges will hopefully push us out of our comfort zone a little and encourage us to try different approaches to our felting and fiber art. Throughout that quarter, we’ll be posting periodically about the studio challenge. Please feel free to join in and challenge yourself as well. Post all the photos from the studio challenges in to the Flickr group. Please make sure to label the photos with the name of the challenge.
Silk Scarf by Ruth
In the next few posts, we’ll be introducing ourselves and answering a few questions about our favorite techniques, tools and fibers. We’ll also be posting the current studio challenge soon. You are more than welcome to leave a comment and introduce yourself. We are only able to reply to comments if your email is attached. We have lots of other exciting plans for being more interactive but we’ll let you know about those as they become more developed. We hope you really enjoy our new site and finds lots of information and inspiration. Please don’t forget to join our Flickr group and Thank you so much for stopping by!
