Sewing and Experimenting
I’ve been trying to continue with the things I learned during Ruth’s challenge for getting 5 minutes of fibre time into each day. I don’t always manage that and often end up with one or two days where I have a couple of hours fibre time, and 3 or 4 days without, but I’m organising my time better and having projects at different stages, ready to work on when I do have the time. On my desk I have a box of felt pieces that have been measured and cut and are waiting to be sewn. I also have a box of part made up items; things like purses, glasses cases and coin pouches which have been sewn on the machine and are waiting for me to finish off with blanket stitch. These are a few of the purses at various stages, the blue ones just have the back pocket mahchine stitched into place, the white piece on the left has some stitching around the pocket edges, and the one at the front is just in need of a button and buttonhole.
This is one of the camera cases I’ve been working on. The gray fibre is carded silk carrier rods. I blended some of the silk ‘fluff’ with merino and used some for surface texture.
I mentioned last time that I had one more felted piece using the pink synthetic fabric. It isn’t really meant to be anything but an experimental piece, combining nuno techniques and using a resist. This is a compilation of images.
Another experimental piece I did was one using some crimped acrylic fibre that looks like a synthetic version of laps.
It produced a really nice effect.
I have managed to finish off a few pieces and must get them photographed for listing on etsy. This ring pouch is one piece I finished. I first made some heart ring pouches a few years ago so I had somewhere safe to put my rings and bracelets when I take them off for felting. I’ve made a few more for gifts. They’re only small, about 2 inches high and 2.5 inches wide, this photo makes this one look huge!
If any of our UK readers use a lot of fabrics (I know we have some who are doing City and Guilds courses) you might be interested in a post I did on my blog the other day, about Abakhan, the fabric/craft shop I buy most of supplies from. I’m always interested in learning about others though, so if you have a favourite, feel free to share it, we all benefit from others’ experiences, especially if it saves us money 🙂
10 thoughts on “Sewing and Experimenting”
I love the ring pouch – I hope you do well on Etsy with those – would they make good wedding items?
The crimpiness of the acrylic fibre is superb – makes a stunning decoration on felt.
Is the nuno for the challenge? (I haven’t managed to produce anything yet.) I like the effect and I could imagine it as one side of a bag, or as a larger version, a winter scarf.
Thanks, Lyn 🙂
I’m sure the ring pouches would make good wedding items, I have thought about making matching pairs in a variety of colours too.
Yeah, I thought I may as well use the challenge for more inspiration and see if I could think of something a little bit different. That’s a good idea for using it as a feature on a bag! 🙂
These look wonderful. It is a challenge to work every day, but it really pays off.
Thanks, Judy 🙂
Now I just need a nice Ikea storage unit to keep everything nice and tidy, or at least keep my shoe-boxes nice and tidy 🙂
The bags look great, you are doing much better than me at keeping Ruth’s challenge up and with the nuno challenge. What did you use for a resist? The little ring pouch is great. It would be good in a purse too so your rings are easier to find.
Thanks, Ann 🙂
I used bubble wrap for a resist, I usually just use thick supermarket bags, but couldn’t find any.
You have been a busy girl Zed, the purses look great and i love the effect of your experiemental piece it might be nice to use as wrist warmers as well, the little heart pouch is so cute. 🙂
Thanks, Kaz 🙂
Don’t give me new ideas, I’ve got too many to do already!
Great work Zed – I love the effect you achieved with the nuno. And I really like the white felt in the first photo. You’re doing much better than I am for my challenge. I haven’t been able to do anything for weeks it seems like. Life getting in the way.
Thanks, Ruth 🙂
That white felt was made with some slubbed wool I bought years ago, I added some extras too it and thought it looked like faded road maps. It’s not fun when you have to go a long time without being able to create much is it?