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Author: zedster66

Degumming Silk Throwsters Waste

Degumming Silk Throwsters Waste

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A few years ago I was given some gorgeous multi-coloured Throwsters waste in a fibre swap. I’ve always used it sparingly, worried it’d run out and I’d have to begrudgingly pay a ridiculous amount of money for a tiny handful. Then a few months ago I was ordering wool and fibres from World of Wool and thought I’d take the plunge and order some gummed throwster’s waste since it cost less for 100g than most people charge for 10g dyed. I had no idea it’d be so stiff and dull! The complete opposite of what I was used to. I had absolutely no idea how to de-gum it either 🙂

A couple of days later after a few hours searching the internet, I was confident I’d pieced together enough info to try de-gumming for myself. I thought I’d probably have to try it a few times before getting it right, but was pleasantly surprised to see it work first time with excellent results 🙂

If you’d like to try it yourself, or are just interested in the process, I’ve made a tutorial with lots of photos and an easy to follow table for working out quantities.

Degumming Silk Throwsters Waste

I’ll be following up later this week with a tutorial for direct dyeing small amounts of animal fibres with acid dyes, which can be used  to dye your degummed throwster’s waste some gorgeous colours 🙂

I have to say Thank You to foragingfibers whose pictures convinced me it was worth trying to degum my own throwster’s waste 🙂

New Felting and Fiber Forum

New Felting and Fiber Forum

Comments 1 comment

When we started working on this website/blog, one thing we were all really keen on was having interaction with likeminded people, sharing our enthusiasm for felt and fibres with others and helping each other out.
The website is a great way for us to share and connect with others, but it does have its limitations…So, we started working on building a forum. Now we have a place where we can have more interaction, where anyone can start topics, ask questions, get help and support from a wide community, share great photos, advice and info, meet friends and have fun! 

We’d love it if you came and joined us at the Felting and Fiber Studio Forum, and shared your enthusiasm, curiosity, knowledge and photos. Whether your interests are felting, mixed media, spinning, weaving, freeform crochet or something we probably haven’t heard of and need to see, we’d love for you to be involved in our new community 🙂

To register, just follow the link at the bottom of this post, or click the Forum button in the side bar. Once you’ve registered, we just have to ‘approve’ you… don’t worry, it’s just a measure to keep spammers out 🙂

http://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/

Plastic Fibre twists

Plastic Fibre twists

Comments 11 comments
 
Plastic fibre twists

This is my finished twisted plastic piece for the Studio Challenge. I’d originally planned to make a smaller piece, but once I started making the twists, I really liked the look of them so I made more to make a larger piece. I blended merino wool and recycled plastic bottle fibre with hand carders, then separated small amounts and rolled into twists.  The base is 3 layers of merino tops, and the merino and plastic fibre twists were layed on top. I layed the twists so that the wispy ends met in the centre and went over the edge of the base by about an inch.

Plastic Fibre Twists Close Up
 
 
 

I’d used the plastic fibre a few times before and expected this to be more ‘spongy’ than it was, it does have a nice look and feel to it, it feels nice and thick, but lightweight. We’d love to see your work with twists, twirls or spirals 🙂

Studio Challenge

Studio Challenge

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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.

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 🙂

Hello

Hello

Comments 5 comments
Rainbow nylon on black merino

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 🙂