We have a guest post today from Cathy (Luvswool on the forum) about Nuno Felting.
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CATHY’S NUNO FELT PROJECTS:
Following are my three attempts at nuno felting, none of which has been very successful. I am posting here, hoping to get some recommendations. Any advice offered will be welcome. While I understand it’s difficult to compare processes–you will not know exactly what kind of wool I used, what temperature the water was, the quality of my silk–still I hope the photos will help explain.
After having watched numerous videos and studying books on nuno felting, I purchased some silk scarves (silk gauze) from an Etsy shop. These scarves were approximately 12 x 57 inches and particularly recommended by the shop owner for nuno felting. I wanted to make a scarf that looked light and lacy with some silk showing, so I used wisps of Merino wool and some silk hanky pieces which I lightly placed on top of the peachy/orange silk scarf, just one layer. (Sorry, no “before” photos)
After following the nuno felt instructions carefully, I ended up with some of the pieces felted and some not, as you can see from above photos. Not a good start. Figured it could be the silk quality or the water temperature? Not enough wool? I set the project aside.
Project #2 – I had some silk scraps from vintage Japanese kimonos, and thought I should do some samples before attempting another “real” project. So I used white and red Merino wool on top of silk, lightly nuno felted to make “pre felts”. Silk scraps literally peeled away when I lifted the corners to check on my progress.
Project #3 – I purchased a remnant of beige silk chiffon from a nearby shop, Vogue Fabrics, which has an amazing selection of fabric, including lots of gorgeous silks. Huge remnant section so I did not need to break the bank. Clerk did a “burn test’ so I was assured to be purchasing silk, not synthetic fabric.
I used three layers of wool, not being sure this was actually Merino, since I bought this on ebay and the seller was unsure what type of sheep’s wool. It felt a bit rougher than the soft Merino I usually use, but nothing to lose, right? Although I did not photograph my first go-around, there were approximately 20 “holes,” that is, I could see the beige chiffon through the wool (nickel to quarter size holes), and it did not look good. Underside after nuno felting:
Next I needle-felted the same wool, along with some light green Merino wool, onto the holes.
Then I wet-felted the entire piece. After rolling, I rinsed in hot and cold water, fulling (throwing in sink), vinegar dip & cold water rinse.
Now it looks better, but I still do not consider it to be a successful nuno felt project.
Project #4 — Here is my piece of light green silk gauze (as purchased from Etsy shop mentioned in Project #1) ready to be nuno felted. Awaiting your suggestions and comments!
