Felting and Fiber Studio

A recent workshop saw a welcome return to my facilitating face to face felting sessions.

I was asked by our local felting guild, Feltmakers Ireland to run one of their Sunday Sessions.  These are social woolly gatherings.  They generally take place in the morning on the second Sunday of each month and last 2.5 hours.

I was given a free reign to present whatever topic took my fancy.  I thought a fun morning which I called ‘Demo and Do’ might fit the bill.  The topic was felt embellishments.  My idea was to demonstrate two basic techniques, then quickly show samples of how I had developed these techniques in my own practice to contextualise use, after which the members could have a go.

The first technique was ‘Cracked Mud’ which I learnt many years ago from the wonderful Lyda Rump.  This was quick and easy to learn so I allocated a smaller portion of the session to completing it. If you are unfamiliar with the technique, here are two of the samples I prepared for the session.  I used three colours, red, grey and black.  Alternating between the red and black (top and bottom layers) totally transformed the finished samples when I cut into them:

The second technique was the creation of a basic wet felted geode.  I was taught this technique by Marjolein Dallinga  at a superb workshop she gave when she travelled to Ireland many years ago. This technique was a bit more complex so the group spent longer working on it.  Again, so that you can have a visual on this, here are my samples.  I used the same colours as for the cracked mud technique samples.  The top of the photo shows some of the off cuts from the finished samples:

 

As time was short, I decided to make up packs which the participants could purchase if they did not wish to bring along the materials.  These packs comprised of a number of prefelts.  The cracked mud prefelts were industrial and the geode prefelts were handmade; three colours over six layers.  Each one was different (I bore easily so I wanted variety when I was making them).  Each square measured 20cm and weighed around 15 grams.  Here they are prior to wetting out:

 

And here they are after they had been lightly pre-felted.  They were all so colourful:

There was a lovely party atmosphere and altogether 20 worked on samples while 3 chose to observe.   Here are some photos from the morning.  Many thanks to Clodagh McDonagh of Feltmakers Ireland for taking these photos:

 

Just look at how focussed we all were! I promise there was a lot of laughter and misbehaviour  too!

 

A number of the participants were new to wet felting and luckily they all sat together so I was able to give them a bit more time and answer their questions following the demonstration.  I am very proud of them all as each one produced finished samples.

 

 

 

Here is a photo montage of the participants’ work.  Many of them brought their geode pieces home to finish but all of my ladies who were new to felting got theirs finished in time.  I am really proud of how hard they all worked.  I also prepared an electronic PDF of the technique for the participants which was sent to them later in the day.

It was a real treat to resume these activities and to meet up again with such a lovely group of women.

Have you ever gotten scissor happy with your felt!  Do you fancy sharing your results?  I would love to seem them. You can upload your photos here.

Thanks in advance and happy felting!

After years of deliberation I finally decided to take the plunge and purchase a drum carder.  This year’s AGM of the International Feltmakers Association which took place in March put it back in my mind.  My friends in the Felting and Fibre Studio cemented my resolve as they gave me lots of excellent advice during one of our get togethers.

So, research completed, I purchased from the German company Wollknoll  principally because they offered the best value for money.  While I was on their site I made some other purchases too, including a felting tool, some pre-felt, locks and a few other items.  The parcel arrived quickly and it was so exciting to receive it.  In fact it was like Christmas day only better because I didn’t have to stop what I was doing to cook dinner!

The exciting opening revealing all the extra ‘stuff’ on top!

I bought the Ashford wide (12 inch)  drum.  I opted for this rather than the 8 inch drum because there was less than €50.00 difference in the overall price.  It was very easy to put together and the box will be stored in the attic as I am given to understand that second hand carding drums have a good resale value in Ireland.  But for the moment I am going to enjoy it.

Once I put it together, Enda and I set out for Ikea which is not far away.  Jan had recommended purchasing one of their trolley tables on wheels for it as it could be secured to the surface and it would become its permanent home.  I found a lovely one.  (Thanks Jan ).  Enda helped me make it up and now they are sitting in my workroom.

Et Voila! Here it is all set up in its new home 🙂

On Easter Monday I finally found time to try it out using scraps of wool.  I am so excited with the results of my first experiments.

 

One of my reasons for adding to my order was that the overall weight of the package was not going to increase the transport costs.  Therefore, what I generally would ignore (because postage costs of buying small items made the price prohibitive) suddenly became attractive (with the ‘free’ postage).

My other purchases included some prefelt to experiment with.  I only recently found out that the Wollknoll merino  prefelt is a lot softer than DHG Italy product.  I’m an not sure why this should be important – it may be more malleable.    It certainly feels softer. I shall report back in this regard.  The grey one to the left of the photo is DHG Italy and the other is from Wolknoll.

 

I also purchased a new felting tool.  I like the feel of this beauty as there are no sharp edges to possible tear the felt (I have other felting tools that are quite pointed and rough).  I hope to test this one out soon:

Then comes the two ‘down the rabbit hole’ purchases.  first up, warp thread and then a concoction called ‘Foto Transfer Potch’  which I will need to read up about before attempting.

 

These should keep me out of mischief for a while.

Do you have any hints and tips for a novice drum carder?  Any assistance will be most welcome!

Latest experiments:

 Over the past few months I have been experimenting with felting on a ball.  This is just a personal challenge.  I wanted to see if I could make some pieces with different finishes which would be felted on the outside of the structure (the videos I have seen place the design against the ball then turn the piece inside out so that the design shows).  I am sure there are videos that show how to do this the other way around (where the design is already on the outside and there is no turning involved)but I have not been able to find them.  Here are the four I have made so far:

First Shibori and Ripples:

 

Next: Fantasy flower:

 

Here’s Geode Ball:

 

Finally, here’s Disco Ball using recycled coffee pods (my least favourite).  I used four different colour pods on this particular one.  You can see the different colours in the photo inset.  I did not like the colour of one of the sets of pods so I decided to use nail varnish to paint over it. Two coats.  It adhered very well.

 

I used a small yoga ball for my base.  It was handy as it could be inflated/deflated and it cost a fraction of what I would have paid for a felting ball.

Have you ever tried this method of felting on a ball? I would love to hear how you found it and see your pieces.

Happy creating!

Just before Christmas an article on the news caught my attention.  An expert in cybersecurity was warning the public about a scam.  Apparently thieves can hang out in public spaces armed with bank card readers.  As they pass through crowds the readers are searching for unprotected cards (credit or debit) which when detected are automatically scanned.  The cards are debited with small random amounts and when the transaction appears on statements the victim tends to ignore them, thinking they had perhaps one more coffee which they forgot about or alternatively that the theft is too small to report to the financial institution.  He mentioned that lots of money is stolen this way and the thieves are never caught.  Asked whether there are ways of safeguarding an individual’s cards, he mentioned that there were special wallets available (I checked these out and they are very expensive) or as a cheap alternative, placing aluminium (aluminum) foil around the card will work.  In the interests of science and before I started this post, I had my son check this out and yes, it does work.  When Carlene proposed this quarter’s challenge, and having recoiled at the price of the special wallet, I decided it was time to put my thinking cap on and come up with an alternative which could be made from scraps of fabric and a few extras.  I thought I would share the outcome and also a photographic guide on how to make one if you would like to.

The project is made up of two halves

• first of all, make the card pockets for inside the wallet.  There are two sets of pockets, each containing space for 3 cards.  The cards slip into the pockets with the short side facing out, the card is unlikely to easily slip out that way. The two pockets are then lined so that you have space to keep your paper money (bills) when the wallet is fully constructed.
• then the front section is made. This is where the aluminium foil is placed and attached to the inside lining of the front section with two sided stabilizer.  A front cover is then cut out, hems turned and sewn to both the inside lining and the card pockets.

Here is what is needed for this project:

For the pocket:

• piece of cotton fabric measuring 60cm by 16cm
• matching or coordinating fabric for the back of the pocket approximately 24cm by 20cm
• light weight iron on interfacing (one sided)

For the cover:

• lining material approximately 20cm by 18cm
• piece of aluminium foil 20cm by 18cm
• Double sided stabiliser 20cm by 18cm or slightly smaller (to avoid marking your ironing board and iron.
• Cover fabric of your choice

Tools:

• Fabric scissors,
• Other scissors for cutting up the foil
• Small clamps (or small pegs will work too)
• Iron and Ironing Board
• Ruler
• Card (bank or ID card) for measuring depth of pockets
• tailors chalk
• sewing machine with matching thread and heavy duty needle.

Tip: I kept all my fabrics light to medium weight so that the machine could handle the thick layers at the final stage of sewing.

Here are step by step photos for putting the wallet together.  I am presenting each photo separately so apologies for this rather long post (there are lots of photos but I think each one is important).   Each photo has some instructions/clarifications.  If you decide to make the wallet, please check out the photos and let me know if anything needs further clarification before you start the project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought it might be fun to make a second wallet and to wet felt a cover for it.  I basically followed the instructions for the interior of the wallet except this time I hemmed the internal fabric (the red fabric) and used this to secure the pockets.  I wet felted a rectangle using merino wool, loose weave cotton, and batting and shrunk it to fit the wallet.  Once this was dry and ironed I did some random stitching all over it with red cotton thread.  I then sewed the two pieces together.  Here are some photos of the result:

The wallet cover – photo was taken at an angle so it looks a bit wonky.  You may need to focus in on the stitching if you want to see the various patterns.

The front of the wallet:

 

Finally, the inside of the wallet.  I decided to have a bit of fun and colour co-ordinate it!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy holidays everyone!  I hope you are all getting some well deserved R & R following the hectic run up to the holiday season.

Customs:

Here in Ireland, today (December 26^th) is known as St Stephen’s day but in certain rural areas, traditionally it is Wren day,  a festival day when Mummers  take to the streets in their disguises.  In my area, the Mummers perform their play every St. Stephen’s day in pubs and clubs in the county.  This tradition originated within three local families and numbers participating have increased down through the years.

The costumes are generally a mix of rags together with woven straw.  The head pieces can be very intricate and beautiful.  Here is an example of a mummer’s headpiece. (Photo: Courtesy Museum of Ireland)

 

I checked the mumming origins for this time of year and it appears to be an ancient European tradition.  If you would like to find out more it is worth checking out these links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wren_Day  or, local to my area https://nationalinventoryich.chg.gov.ie/mummers-of-fingal/#:~:text=Mumming%20is%20a%20masking%20or,found%20in%20European%20carnival%20tradition.

Challenges

Project No: 1:

I want to extend a big thank you to Lyn and Annie whose current challenge has spurred me on to complete three unfinished projects in time for this post.  The first project is a crochet throw.  I have made a number of these, principally for family, and feedback is that they are really cosy.  So I thought it was time to make one for myself.  The problem was, that because it had no timeline for finish, it stayed on the hook!  So when I saw the challenge, the timeline materialized and I got it finished before the year end.  Happy days!

Please forgive the angle of the photograph, I was up on the ladder trying to get it!

The throw comprises of one very large granny square made with six large balls of fibre.  It fits on top of a kind sized bed and I think it will be staying there for the current cold spell!  Its making is pretty mindless and once I get into rhythm it can be made watching foreign crime series (complete with subtitles).  My favourite at the moment which has just finished is the French series Astrid.

Project No: 2:

My next  project was planted in my consciousness following a blog post by Ann in November 2021. Here is the link to her post https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2021/11/15/an-international-project-by-line-defour/ .  This international project, which was titled “Fate, Destiny and Self-determination” intrigued me but it took me a while for the seeds to bear fruit.  I contacted the Artist/Co-ordinator, Line Dufour,  last September and she confirmed that she was still accepting pieces for the on-going exhibition.  She did mention any piece should not be a regular geometric shape (square, rectangle, circle etc).

So I got to work on my piece.  I started off by making a piece of pre-felt over a rectangular resist.  Then I started randomly stitching and gathering the prefelt, my idea here was to lose total control over the shape of the piece and let the random stitches determine this.  Finally I felted it up.  The final shape was anything but regular.  I hated it because while the shape was ‘interesting’ the colour was boring and it would be lost against a white backdrop.  So it sat there, and it waited patiently for Lyn and Annie to spur me into action with the challenge. It was time to start hand-stitching!

I decided that I wanted the piece to reflect my Irish origins and what it means to be Irish in contemporary society.  To paraphrase the actor Michael Caine,  not many people know this but Ireland is one of the largest countries in Europe when our seabed territory is taken into account.  People perceive Ireland as being that little quaint island off the west of Europe but our marine territory is ten times the size of the land mass and I decided to reflect this in the piece (bottom section).  Secondly, Ireland is renowned for its agriculture and food production which it exports worldwide; this is represented by the abstract depiction of a tree to the left of the piece.  Then, there are its people, their tolerance and acceptance; the central section celebrates the fact that in 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalize same sex marriage by popular vote. (I could have included many other aspects of what it means to be Irish but it is a small piece at 12cm x 13cm.)  I purposely left a section to the right of the piece empty – this represents the future, the unknown.  I will post (mail) this off to Line in the New Year.

 

Project No: 3:

I love rummaging in haberdashery departments when I am away on holidays (I also love fabric stores but that is another story!).  It is a real treat because it can be a challenge to find interesting ‘stuff’ locally.  I came across a small square weaving loom when I was in Paris a few years ago and it has been sitting at the back of my cupboard since then.  2022 was to be the year when I rediscovered it and started the project.  All the yarns were from my stash and and I rescued the boucle from my late mother in law’s house when we were clearing it.  The small piece of weaving has been waiting for me to get my act together and finish it off.  So, no time like the present challenge to make that happen!  The finished piece measures 9cm x 9cm.  I think I might just frame it.  Has anyone any other suggestions?

 

 

Creativity

Before I sign off for 2022 I would like to share with you some of my friends’ beautiful handmade items which they have gifted to me for my tree over the years.  I cherish them not only because they are beautiful items but because they were made with love – nothing will ever come close to handmade, especially when made by gifted friends.

Here is my friend Annelien’s work.  Annelien, who is from The Netherlands, and I first met during a week long textile recycling workshop in Finland back in 2013 and we have been firm friends since then (we have even managed to meet up in person twice since then).  (Apologies, I think the felted Angel is blurred.)

 

Next, Sara’s work.  Sara started crocheting a little while ago and recently gifted me one of her angels.  I love her! (actually I love both of them!)

Next up is Kate.  Kate loves working in glass and gifted me the trees many years ago (I have taken a photo of three of them).  More recently, she made me the little houses.  They are so delicate and pretty.

 

 

Thanks for reading this post and for reading and commenting on my various posts throughout the year!

Wishing you good health, happiness and peace during 2023.  Not forgetting a whole lot of creative spurs and fun!

 

 

 

 

In the first part of this post I wrote about finally making the decision to buy some tear away stabilizer, using the free motion function on my sewing machine to ‘draw’ some copyright free doodles I had sourced from Shutterstock onto white linen fabric I had in my stash.  I did some slow stitch embroidery on one of the face designs.  Here is a link to Part 1, in case you might have missed it. https://wp.me/p1WEqk-dUs

I wanted to do something a little different with the bird design.  My decision is the focus of today’s post.  Here is what the bird looked like once I transferred the design across onto the linen.

 

Just to recap, I had pre-washed the linen and attached some cotton batting to the back of the fabric prior to letting loose with the free motion embroidery.

It reminded me of a hummingbird and, as a result I wanted vibrant colour to inspire its completion.  I came across a set of iridescent acrylic paints in TK Maxx before the summer.  I thought I might try to use these shiny paints on the embroidered bird.

Before doing so, I needed to play with the paints so that they would work on fabric.  I did not have a Fabric Medium in my stash so I did a bit of research online and discovered that I could make one out of a few household ingredients.  So I thought it might be worth experimenting.  The recipe, which came from Paint topics, https://painttopics.com/can-you-use-acrylic-paint-on-fabric/ called for equal parts vinegar and glycerine mixed with two parts water.  I mixed the home made ‘medium’ and added it in equal parts to the paint.

The first thing I noticed was that the paint became very easy to apply.  I was worried that the iridescence would be lost in the mix but the vibrancy returned once the paint had dried.  Also, the black thread used when at the free motion embroidery stage acted as a barrier between the colours.  The paint itself was absorbed into the top layer of the fabric – there was no soakage into the batting.  I left the paint to dry out for about 5 minutes in between layers. The different colours sat nicely on top of each other.  I then left the picture overnight to dry completely and then ironed it to heat seal it.

I am really pleased with the result.  The cotton backing adds an extra dimension to the work as does the iridescence.  The texture of the paint is similar to what might be found on T shirt prints.   The only issue is, because this is an art piece (rather than a ‘functional’ one).  I have not tried washing it but I am happy that it is suitable for art work.

My only disappointment is that I could not get all the creases out of the pre-washed linen fabric.   Next time I might opt for a cotton fabric.

Have you ever used acrylic paint on textiles?  Have you used it with or without mixing with a textile medium?  Could you let me know how it worked for you.

I don’t make New Year Resolutions, there’s absolutely no point as I have the attention span of a puppy at that time of year.  Instead, I opt for trying new things around my birthday.  It’s a good way for me to treat myself to supplies that I normally would not try.  There is a bit of a downside in that I soon won’t be able to open presses without an avalanche of goodies hitting me but we will push that thought aside and bury it, along with the passing years  (under the goodies at the back of the press).

This year, I decided that I wanted to try tear away stabilizer.  It’s one of those products I had heard about but it is not stocked locally.  As a result it had fallen into that category of ‘mmmm that looks interesting’.  Followed by a long period of totally forgetting it existed.  So, when I finally happened upon it on Amazon, I decided I should make the purchase before I forgot all about it again!

I opted for 8 inch square sheets which came in a packet of 100 and cost less than Stg£9.00 (less than $10.00).

I love my sewing machine!  It’s a huge heavy yoke from Janome that I bought comparatively recently.   Like many machines these days, it has the facility for free motion embroidery.  As a sewist, I have lots of coloured threads so I was ready to get to work.

Next, the design.  I opted for copyright free doodles that I sourced on Shutterstock.  I was attracted to two designs which are achieved without lifting the pen too often.  This meant that there would not be too many gaps when it came to the free motion work.

I printed off my chosen designs and then transferred them onto the tear away stabilizer using a permanent marker.  I decided to use some white linen from my stash as my background.  I washed one of these pieces and left the other two alone.

I then pinned cotton batting to the back of two of the pieces of linen – the third piece of linen was left with no backing on it.  I wanted to see if I needed the batting for extra structure.  After this I pinned the pre-traced design/stabilizer onto the fabric and used the free motion embroidery function on the sewing machine to transfer the designs across.  I worked my way slowly along the lines of the drawing going back and forward a number of times to get a thicker outline.  Here are some photos of the back and front sides of my pieces:

 

 

I was very pleased with the resulting ‘embroidery drawings’.  The tear away stabilizer came away quite easily on the ‘face’ although I did use a pin to raise the paper on some of the smaller sections of the drawing.  The ‘bird’ (more in Part 2 of this post) was a bit more of a challenge as there were a lot of small areas where the stitching crossed over the design so I needed a bit of patience to make sure these were all removed.  The back of the pictures were quite neat too.

So, I had to make a decision on what to do next.  I don’t have any embroidery thread but I have lots of cotton perle thread so I chose this.

I meant to take photos of my progress but got carried away.    I stitched the eye with the free motion embroidery function.  It is my first attempt at an eye and I am pretty pleased with the result.

Here is the finished piece.

 

So far, the second face – the one that is backed with the cotton backing, is not filled in.  I would welcome your suggestions on what approach I should take.

Thanks in advance!

I will show you how I finished the bird in Part 2 (November 20th).  Here’s a preview of what he looked like ‘naked’.

I recently won something!  As a person who hasn’t won a raffle since I was 6 years of age this was an exciting development and might finally encourage me to buy a lottery ticket.  My prize was two tickets to a birthday party.  Fatale Events, a super cool Irish events company were celebrating their 10^th birthday with a big party.  The first part was a screening of the 1970’s film Cabaret which was followed by dancing until the wee hours of the morning.  The dress code was in the period of the film (early 1930s).

Like Cinderella, I had nothing to wear and, as the Fairy Godmother is away on extended holidays, it was time to don the thinking cap and start creating.  To be perfectly honest I have been going through a really dry period creatively so I was glad of the challenge.

So it was time to head online to check out the fashions of the time.  The brief stipulated “flapper”.  Now, I will readily admit that I am no spring chicken so the gorgeous pieces I saw online would have to be toned down a bit.  Think Downton Abbey, now visualise somewhere between Cora and Violet Crawley (though to be fair,  maybe closer to Cora!).  Anyway the fashions of the time were a bit ‘matchy matchy’ which made the job a lot easier.  Flapper dresses were unstructured, sometimes with a fuller skirt.  I visualised a longer style, a bit above the ankle.

Next, a pattern.  There was no time to source a vintage one (which would have needed adjusting anyway).  I found an unstructured dress in one of my books from an early series of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Recommended fabric for this dress was silk but since this was a ‘costume’ I was ready to break rules.  As an aside, I sometimes design and make for the stage.   I felt that I could do a hacking job on this pattern so the first step was to trace it.  A bit of a challenge as, while the book offers lots of great patterns, they are all drawn on a few pages rather than individually.

I measured to just the top of my legs and made this the cut off point on the pattern as I was going to add a full skirt.  Once I traced the pattern from the book, I adjusted the front to form a deep V shape and drew a corresponding V pattern piece.  I also made the corresponding adjustments to the neck facings.

Then, having calculated my fabric requirements I headed off to make the purchase.  I chose a stretch velour because it was cheap and this dress was a one-wear costume.  The colours were chosen to tie in with a gorgeous jewelled appliqué that I bought a number of years ago.  They were also colours which fitted in with the period represented by the dress.

Then it was time to get cutting, making sure that all pieces were laid in the same direction. (The velour is like velvet in that it is different shades depending on the direction it is viewed from).

Once the bodice was cut out I sewed the two fronts together and then top stitched the seam.  I used a zigzag stitch on the seams throughout.  Then I got to work on the V front.  I was a bit nervous as this was my first godet but it worked, even though I was working with stretch material!

I then sewed the back together and also topstitched it.  The pattern top had a yoke and, as I don’t believe in making life easy for myself, I decided to insert a co-ordinating piping in the front and back shoulder seams using the gold fabric.   I felt that this would add stability to a stretchy fabric.   I cut the strips on the grain where there was no stretch and prepared the piping by sewing cord into the strips.  Then I attached to the yoke.

I then sewed the yoke to the main bodice.  Next, I added a light interlining to the neck facing and attached it to the bodice. I then cut two strips of the gold material and added it to the sleeve area to give some colour balance to the bodice.  At this point I sewed the front to the back and hemmed the sleeves.

Once this was done I was able to decide on the length I wanted the dress to be.  So, having measured this and allowing for seam and hem, I cut two widths of the green fabric which I sewed together.  I then decided to hem it before sewing it on to the bodice as I reckoned that there was enough fabric to negate any slight deviation that might occur in the hem length (plus the dress was going to be worn in a dark club).  I then gathered it having divided the skirt into four sections so that I could control the gathers a bit better when attaching the skirt to the bodice.

Once that was completed, I sewed the appliqué onto the front.  This was a bit of a challenge to get straight but I got there in the end.

 

And here it is!

The dress felt great on but I was missing accessories.  So I felted a hat.  I called upon my youngest son, Cian to pick out merino wool fibre colours which would blend with the dress.  He did not disappoint.  I made a cloche hat, then added two bands of the green and gold velour to pull the outfit together.

I had made a bag some time ago in a mustard colour Corriedale fibre which finished off this ‘matchy  matchy’ theme.

 

I popped on my brown buckled shoes, feeling very pleased that, despite not wearing them too often, I had decided to keep them rather than send them to a charity shop.

The night was tremendous and great fun.  Happy birthday Film Fatale!  I wish you many more years of cool events and spreading happiness.  Thanks for a great evening!