I took a Class in Medieval spinning with a distaff last Thursday. I originally signed up for the class before the COVID-19 lockdown. So I have been waiting a while to do this class. This was a 2-hour evening class. We were learning 2 things at once. How to spin in hand and how to use a distaff. Our teacher Judy said it’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time.
First, we got some distaffs to dress. This means we had to tie the fiberbatts to a stick. Judy had a couple of nice wooden ones, but mostly we had forked branches she had taken the bark off.
Judy brought several spindles with different whorls. The whorl is the disk that adds weight, so the spindle spins better. The whorls are removable. Once you have some yarn built up on your spindle, you can remove the whorl.
First, we practised twirling the spindle with the leader. You have to make a half hitch on the end of the spindle and then twirl it.
Judy showing us how to twirl our spindle
Lucie is seeing if it is easier standing up.
Then we practised the drafting and the twirling at the same time. milking cow motion on the right and twirling on the right. This is the patting your head and rubbing your tummy part. The only thing we had to bring to class was a belt to stick the distaff in. I do not own a belt, so I got some bailer twine and braided myself a belt for the night. You can see this great fashion piece below.
Then we started spinning. It’s hard to know where to look, at the hand that’s trying to twirl correctly or at the hand trying to draft the fibre down from the distaff.
Here I am winding on. The idea is to make a football (rugby ball) shaped cob on the spindle.
Here’s a close-up of twirling and short suspension. You can let it drop a bit on the last twerl before winding on. Usually, you need to keep it in-hand so you can twirl it again.
Here is what I managed to make by the end of the class. It’s lumpy and thick and thin just like the yarn I made when I first started spinning. I was just starting to wind off when I remembered to take a picture. I haven’t decided if I will ply it or not. First, I have to find my spindles. I’ve seen them recently in their little case. Of course, I couldn’t find them before the class. I will find them again when I am looking for something else. I hope I will be smart enough to grab them and not think I will remember where they are.
This post is from guest author and our multi-talented felting friend, Sarah Ritchie, please check out her website to see all the incredible things she does (it’s not all felting!): https://www.sarah-ritchie.com/
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being part of Deeply Felt (and the stories carried within) – a group exhibition by Auckland Felters, a Creative Fibre community of contemporary felters from across the Auckland region. The exhibition was held at Nathan Homestead Pukepuke in Manurewa, Auckland.
This exhibition was spearheaded by Teri Berry, whose vision and leadership brought the group together to present a cohesive and thoughtful body of work. Auckland Felters is a diverse group, and what makes this group so special is the breadth of practice within it. While we are united by wool fibre as a medium, the way each maker approaches it is entirely individual.
That diversity was evident throughout the exhibition. Works ranged from finely detailed fibre paintings and wall hangings, to sculptural forms and wearable works, each reflecting the interests, techniques, and creative voices of the felters involved. There was no single style or narrative, but rather a celebration of process, patience, and the tactile nature of fibre. It was also a privilege to bring fibre to the attention of the public as an artform – more than just a functional material or a craft.
As needle or wet felters and fibre artists, we all understand the time it takes to bring a piece into being. The process itself becomes embedded in the finished work. That sense of time and touch was present throughout the gallery, inviting visitors to slow down and engage with what had been deeply felt and carefully made.
This was the second exhibition held by Auckland Felters and it felt like a natural progression for the group. There was a sense of growing confidence – both individually and collectively – and an excitement in sharing felted works as art.
Held in Remembrance
Alongside the exhibition sat a special art installation titled Held in Remembrance.
The original idea came from Clare Hocking, who envisioned a collective work of handmade felted poppies to mark ANZAC Day. What began as a simple concept quickly grew into something much larger.
A call-out was made through our personal networks, social media channels and Facebook felting groups, inviting contributions from the wider felting community. The response was immediate and generous. 287 poppies were sent in by more than 50 felters from across Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. Each poppy was handmade and unique, and many were accompanied by messages of personal connection with the men, women and animals who served.
What arrived was not just a collection of objects, but a gathering of individual acts of making. Different techniques, fibres, and interpretations came together, unified by a shared intention of remembrance, and a remarkable generosity of time, resources, and care.
I had the privilege of leading the installation, with the support of Clare Hocking, Teri Berry, and Jaq Spirrett. Jaq also created the felted barbed wire that formed a central element of the work, adding both visual structure and symbolic weight.
Constructing the installation was not without its challenges. Covering 3.6m wide and 2m tall, each poppy was attached to clear nylon thread and suspended between two battens. The felted barbed wire added a strong narrative to the artwork. Every poppy could be seen. Every maker’s contribution held its place within the whole.
The installation was created as a fundraising initiative for the RNZRSA (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association), supporting the health and wellbeing of New Zealand’s veterans of military service and their families. All qualifying donations will receive one of the poppies from the installation as a thank-you gift.
Apart from its fundraising purpose, what stands out most to me is the sense of international connection and camaraderie the project created. Felting can often be solitary, yet Held in Remembrance brought together a wide and generous community of makers – many of whom we have never met in person, yet are now connected across distance through a shared act of making.
The Open Day that wasn’t
We had originally planned to hold our exhibition Open Day on ANZAC Day itself, bringing together the Deeply Felt exhibition, Held in Remembrance fundraiser installation, a fibre market, and a workshop. However, we were advised (at short notice) that Auckland Council-run galleries would be closed that day, and the event could not go ahead (though, fortunately, the workshop ran as planned in an alternate location). This was immensely disappointing to everyone involved.
Clare and Beth demonstrating the art and magic of felt-making
And yet, in some ways, it felt fitting. ANZAC Day is, at its heart, a day of pause and reflection. While we had hoped to gather, the quiet absence of that event served as a reminder of the deeper purpose behind both the exhibition and the installation.
The finished poppy paintings – it’s hard to believe none of the participants had tried wet felting before!
What remains is the work itself – the hours of making, the shared effort, and the connections formed along the way. For Auckland Felters, Deeply Felt was more than an exhibition. It was a continuation of a collective journey, and a reflection of what can happen when individual makers come together with a shared intent.
In my last post I mentioned several pieces I was working on and some events that were coming up and I thought I’d use this post to update you on how those went.
I’d made several superfine Merino pendant samples in preparation for a wet felted workshop I had been asked to run for IFA Region 8 in Arnesby, Leicestershire. I had tried to cover options for all abilities from a very simple design that didn’t require a resist, through to a complex design requiring multiple resists. As it turned out all of the samples proved useful because between them my 10 students chose to make one of each of those designs. I was too busy on the day to remember to take progress photos (sorry) and nobody got fully finished before we left but these are some of the images Ive received since…..
One of the ladies, Leah, enjoyed making hers so much she’s gone on to make two more in a style very much of her own which I love!
Another project I’d been working on was Passage of Time, a wet felted Wallhanging inspired by a huge sandstone slab, for the IFA’s online exhibition “Time” which launched in March. You can see the exhibition here. I’d rushed to get this done to meet the deadline. It wasn’t as colourful as I’d intended and I knew it was far from finished! This was how you saw it last…..
After submitting it I continued to embroider and decorate adding colonial knots, free motion stitched mussel shells, machine wrapped cords and embroidered barnacles. As well as needing more surface texture I felt it should be larger and more irregular in shape so wet felted and embellished a second piece to hang adjacent to it. It’s now approximately 1m x 50cm and I’m much happier with how it finished up…..
The exhibition at Harding House in Lincoln went better than any of us could have imagined! Five months of planning and two days of setting up with my friend Jo resulted in an event that we were all very proud to be a part of. Fourteen out of the eighteen participating members travelled from various parts of the midlands to attend the launch party on Saturday 14th March.
We tried to cover as many different techniques as possible with our exhibits and included an “Education Station” with info boards, “touch” samples and the new promotional material advertising the International Feltmakers Association. We also ensured there was an artist in residence every day for the two weeks, either wet felting or needle felting. This meant visitors not only got to see felt being made but they had a point of contact if they wanted to learn more about the art they were seeing, about the IFA, or about Feltmaking in general.
We had a steady footfall throughout the fortnight we were there and it was wonderful to get to meet and speak to so many interested visitors, the feedback received was fantastic!
Earlier this month I travelled over to Risley in Derbyshire to spend the day with Material Girls and the talented, and very entertaining, textile artist known as Mr Finch. Finch creates enormous 3D fabric sculptures of animals, birds, insects, fungi and other fantastical creatures such as this owl and an onion complete with arms, legs and clogs!
He also brought along this Badger and I have to say that the photos really don’t do justice to these fantastic sculptures. To touch them they are rock hard and incredibly weighty, it’s hard to believe that they are stuffed with polyester stuffing! It was fascinating to see close up how he’d made the joints and details such as the paws and fingers.
Finch provided lots of laughs and kept the ladies entertained throughout the day as we learnt his tips for designing templates and creating fabric sculptures. If I’m completely honest I was disappointed that we were hand stitching and not using machines during this class so I’m looking forward to creating another hare very soon using cotton fabric and my machine, putting in to practise some of the useful tips and ideas I picked up from Mr Finch. I think you can see from the photos how much fun we had!
I’m hoping the featured image will make you curious!
Before I start into my post I want to mention my new course on wet felting which was recently launched with the Felting and Fiber Studio. It’s designed for felt makers who are new to using resists.
It’s fully supported by ‘how to’ videos and PDFs and we work with the simple circle. You will learn how to make a vessel and at the end I discuss with you the possibilities of how you can take it further.
So, you start by learning how to make something like this ….
Then I discuss a few variations that can be made with the circle and you could choose after the course, to make something like this ….
I discuss how to make this sculpture on the new course
I had set aside around half of the onion skin dye pot to try out on some fabric (I used the rest to make the pigment). I decided to experiment with a little margilan silk and some woven wool fibre. I mordanted these fabrics first, using an alum solution. The alum attracts the dye particles and the colour is less likely to wash out.
Margilan Gauze dyed with yellow onion skins.Woven wool sample dyed with yellow onion skins
I love the vibrancy of the results. I would describe the wool sample as deep orange while the silk sample turned out more of a golden colour. It is quite the challenge to get the photo to reflect the true colour of the fabrics. I now need to work out what to do with these two fabrics. To be honest, there is not a lot of either and I don’t have a toning fibre to use behind the margilan – I think I will have to make up another batch of the onion skin dye.
Once I finished dyeing the few bits of fabric, I transferred the remainder into a 5 litre container. I basically forgot about it and only remembered it when I came to put together this post. So it has been sitting around for two months.
Now I need to digress a bit. Our lovely little pooch, Archie developed a lump on his elbow a number of months ago. We have been keeping an eye on it as his vet warned that it would become impossible to remove if it grows much bigger. (there would not be enough surrounding tissue to easily sew up the wound). As fate would have it, it grew and Archie went ‘under the knife’. He was discharged wearing his ‘cone of shame’ which we quickly swapped for an inflatable version – much more comfortable for Archie and for the humans too – less bruising on our lower limbs. The only downside was that the cushioning around his neck caused him to snore. He sleeps in the bedroom with us and this was cute for about five minutes….. The cone was tied with an elastic bandage. I was having fun playing with the weave and thought it might be fun to felt with.
Archie in his blow up collar and sore paws
I made a bangle. First I laid down the bandage and wrapped it around a resist which matched the length of the bandage. Then I laid down layers of merino fibre – 6 thin layers in total. I felted it to fit my wrist and shaped it. The whole purpose was to see how it would take the old onion skin leftover dye. I did a cold mordant – I soaked it in 10% of its weight in alum and left it overnight. I rinsed it out and popped it into the dye bath, slowly bringing it to the boil.
Here is the result. The colour is a lot lighter than its first run. That said I decided to speed up the process as the smell of the dye bath was pretty awful. In fact it was pretty disgusting. I endured it for around one hour and then my nostrils got the better of me. I poured off the majority of the dye bath and then left the bangle to cool in the rest. I also lit a scented candle (it really did take away the stink – good to know going forward!)
Bangle made with merino and elasticated bandage dyed with yellow onion skins
While I like the colour, I think I will use it as a base to play with stitches. So I may be back to you on that.
I mentioned in my last post that I had just ordered a book on pigment making and that I might review it, if readers would like that. I know I am stepping away slightly from textiles and felt here but it is possible to combine pigment and textiles (alcohol inks anyone?). I was feeling quite excited as I had ordered the book and it was on the cusp of delivery. I got a positive response so here it is.
The book is called ‘Natural Watercolor Paint Making’ and it is by the artist Joanne Green. Some of you may already follow Joanne on Instagram (#joanne_green_art). I love watching her magically transform plant matter into pigments and then reconstitute it into a paint which she uses in sketches of the plant which has formed the basis of the actual pigment. Very clever and a great pleasure to watch.
Cover sleeve of Joanne Green’s book
Joanne’s book is beautifully presented and very readable. It’s a bit like sitting with a knowledgeable friend having a chat over coffee. The materials and supplies list is very comprehensive and I found that there’s really nothing on the lists that could not be sourced. With regard to the topics covered, I think the easiest way to show this is by sharing the contents pages. As you can see, there’s a whole section devoted to step by step instructions on how to make the lake pigment from the moment you have produced your dye bath through to turning your powdered pigments into watercolours and how to store your new treasures. Joanne is living in Canada but I can easily access many of the plants she uses in her recipes in Ireland.
Photography (primarily by Canadian photographer Tegan McMartin) – is sumptuous and a pleasure to view. It’s interspersed with Joanne’s tiny watercolours that are a feast to the eyes.
I am so pleased that I made the leap and purchased this book. I found it easy to source too. If you are a fan of Joanne’s social media postings or are curious about producing pigments, then it is a worthy purchase.
Teri’s online classes are open for registration today. The classes will begin on July 17. Teri teaches two great classes, one on how to felt concertina style hats and the other one on how to create felt bags. Both of these classes will teach you methods of improving your felting techniques so if you have felted around a resist before such as to make a felt pod, you should consider taking the next step on your felting journey.
Have you taken a look at other student’s hats that have taken Teri’s class? There are some really fun hats and the variations are quite creative. Take a look at the student hat gallery here.
Teri’s felt bag class is an excellent way to learn how to create a variety of shapes of bags, as well as features such as straps, multiple compartments and pockets. You can find more information and register here.
So what are you waiting for? Jump in and learn some new felting techniques.
Or if you’re just starting out and want to learn the basics, try our Wet Felting for Beginners class. This class can be taken at any time with unlimited access. For more information and registration, click here.
Have you wanted to be a little more experimental in your fiber art practice? Do you want to learn new techniques and add embellishments to felt or other fabric? Why not try an online class all about embellishing felt? Anyone from anywhere in the world can take these courses, no need to show up at a certain time (you can even wear your pajamas) and the classes are 6 weeks long so you have plenty of time to learn a new technique and try out an experimental approach. My online courses are 4 stand alone classes under the title Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach. You can take just one or work through all of them. The classes are only $45 US for 4 weeks of video and written PDF’s plus 2 weeks extra time on the class website with full instructor support. Registration is now open and the class begins on May 16, 2025.
The first module is called Nuno Felting with Paper Fabric Lamination. The bark I created above used this technique.
You will learn the technique of Paper Fabric Lamination and then how to use these pieces in nuno felting. As you can see from the examples above, there are many possibilities with this technique. Click here for more information and to register for the class.
The second module is Experimental Screen Printing on Felt.
You will also be able to use these techniques to screen print fabric such as silk to use in nuno felting. These same techniques can also be used on cotton fabric to use in fabric collage or quilting.
The third module in Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach is Printing, Stenciling, and Playing with Thickened Dye on Felt.
This one is really fun and experimental. Learn to make stamps, stencils and how to use a variety of objects from around the house to create your own unique surface design on felt. Develop your own style with designs you have created.
The last module in the series is Free Motion Machine Stitching on Felt.
In this course, you will learn the basics of free motion machine stitching and how to use this specifically on felted projects. Does the thought of machine stitching seem a bit scary? If so, you should take this course to get a handle on how to use your sewing machine to create wonderful embellishments on felt paintings or other felted items.
I hope you want to expand your fiber art skills. If so, click on any of the links above to read more about the classes, see the supply lists and to register. I look forward to “seeing” you in class!
And don’t forget, if you are a beginner, our online class Wet Felting for Beginners is always available.
This class teaches you all about wet felting. You’ll learn how to make a piece of felt, how shrinkage works and how to calculate it and the basics of felting, fulling and creating felt from wool fiber. Click here for more information and to sign up.
For a long time, I have been promising myself that I would take a workshop to get some sort of grip on how to use a spinning wheel. My friend Trish Kerr runs Irish Alpaca Yarns and she has for a long time been offering me a space on one of her spinning workshops – the stars never aligned as, invariably I was busy on the day. Then, in December, the offer was once again made and, I was actually free! The beautiful venue was not far away, Cornstown House (https://cornstownhouse.ie/) which was not far away from me. Happy days! Unfortunately there was a huge storm the night before but, despite fallen trees, we awoke to a clear bright day and I negotiated my way to the venue.
We were spinning using alpaca fibre. I hadn’t realised it until then but some people who have an allergy to wool fibre can wear alpaca. The irritant in wool apparently is the scales and alpaca does not have scales.
There were 5 students and some had previous experience. Luckily Trish is an amazing teacher. I had warned her that, given my hideous coordination when learning something new, that this could put a serious strain on our friendship. She laughed it off. Trish has great patience which she got to draw on in bucket loads when it came to teaching yours truly!
We were working off Louet wheelswhich she supplied. She is quite an expert on the older more traditional wheels too, and she was able to offer good advice on how to get an old wheel which a student had brought, back working again.
A traditional wheel one of the students brought in for some advice
What a beauty, owned I think by our host Fionnuala
All she wanted were cuddles
Trish got us all set up and was very attentive throughout the morning. The first skill we worked on was treadling, as a first timer it took a lot of effort but after a while I had the wheel moving in a clockwise direction. She set us up with alpaca fibre and soon we were all spinning. Some (by this I mean most) much better than yours truly here. But I was having fun.
Trish started us all off drafting setting us up with Alpaca yarn
The morning flew and we stopped for a delicious lunch and tour of the farm, both supplied by our most gracious hosts, Fionnuala and Dominic. The tour was great fun, featuring lots of Alpacas, some rare breed sheep (including one that loved to be patted, a cow and donkeys. The farm offers Alpaca Trekking and workshops along with other events. When I explained that I primarily was a feltmaker and showed an interest in the Teeswater, Dominic disappeared for a few minutes and arrived back with some raw fleece for me to play with when I got home.
I had to include this photo. The pumpkin was still going strong!
She just wanted cuddles
Chatting up the girls!
The donkeys were very friendly, and happy out if you had a carrot in hand!
Just look at that pretty face!
What a beauty!
Those eyes!
When we returned from our tour, Trish gave us a presentation on alpaca fleeces which was very interesting.
So soft and of course no lanolin!
Trish showed us what to expect from a quality fleece
We plied our yarn in the afternoon. Now that I had ‘mastered’ the clockwise, introducing the ‘counter-clockwise’ was, let’s say, interesting. This is what I produced. It is, I believe, kindly referred to as ‘Art Yarn’. Now, I am in the horns of a dilemma. I want to spin more but I don’t want to ever spin a nice even ply. The general consensus in the room was that once you perfect the spin you can’t return to the Art Yarn. Now, while I appreciate that at my learning speed, perfection is a long way down the road. I don’t want to get there but I would like to spin more art yard and, if I’m honest, I would love a new toy in a spinning wheel. Any ideas?
My plied alpaca art yarn
I played with the Teeswater when I got home. Here is the result:
Scouring the teeswater
Final view
another view,lit by LED
A view of my experiment with Teeswater
Last year, I wrote up a number of posts about various dyeing workshops I had attended. In one I dyed a lot of fabric samples and wondered what I should do with them. I think it may have been Ruth who suggested that I could think about stitching into some. I have never embroidered by hand before but decided to give it a try over Christmas. Here is my first effort. I was inspired by a photo online. Once completed, I padded it with some cotton batting and backed it with linen. I might frame it at some stage but I will need to find a suitable frame.
Using the dyed fabric samples, I tried my hand at embroidery over Christmas
I totally enjoyed my day spinning, even though I was pretty dreadful at it. But I love the result and for once, I really don’t want to improve greatly at this. Long live Art Yarn!
Do you agree? Any hints and tips on how I can retain my current standard? All suggestions will be very gratefully taken on board. I’m just looking for an excuse to buy a wheel.
Sorry For the late post, I thought today was tomorrow.
Last weekend I had four ladies for a techniques class. This is not an advanced class, but it is also not a beginner class. People had to already know how to make felt.
First, we did inclusions. They used a piece of thicker prefelt and elastics to enclose some large glass beads (the kind they are used in the bottom of vases for decoration) and a felt ball. Then laying out a base and top they enclosed some glass beads, a felt ball, a circular resist with a hole and a squashed tasimo pod with a resist over it. Sorry, I forgot to grab the camera until they were at the rubbing stage. Part way through they cut some holes on top of the beads and pod.
When they were laying out I had them cover a pebble with 2 layers in different colours. I had them put a resist on top of the first layer and wrap it with the second colour. They popped them into a piece of nylon stocking to contain it all and make it easier to felt. You can see the first sample on the table in the picture below. They mostly felted the pebbles during lunch while eating and chatting. Once it was mostly done they cut a hole in the top and after healing the cut edge removed the resist and cut a smaller hole to reveal the pebble. Similar to the one below that I made a few years ago.
Next was cracked mud. I had them layout two 10×10 pieces( top and bottom) they added painter’s tape in 2 widths and then added the top
Naturally, because it was a wet felting class, they had to do some rolling.
I had them cut the mud sections at different stages of felting, prefelt, mostly done and done. so they could see how that affects it. I think they could have used more felting before the fulling but we had limited time and had to move on to book resists. I had them make a four-page book resist using half circles. they managed to get it laid out and wet down but then we were out of time so they had to take them home to finish.
3 students sent me pictures of the finished pieces. The first one she manipulated to look like origami.
And this one, She says it needs more fulling but wanted to get me the picture.
The third student got creative and combined her samples into a tea cozy.
All in all a good class. I just wish I could squeeze more techniques in. But no matter how fast you want to be felting takes time.
Have you wanted to be a little more experimental in your fiber art practice? Do you want to learn new techniques and add embellishments to felt or other fabric? Why not try an online class all about embellishing felt? Anyone from anywhere in the world can take these courses, no need to show up at a certain time (you can even wear your pajamas) and the classes are 6 weeks long so you have plenty of time to learn a new technique and try out an experimental approach. My online courses are 4 stand alone classes under the title Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach. You can take just one or work through all of them. The classes are only $45 US which is a tremendous deal for 4 weeks of video and written PDF’s plus 2 weeks extra time on the class website with full instructor support. Registration is now open and the class begins on January 10, 2025.
The first module is called Nuno Felting with Paper Fabric Lamination. The bark I created above used this technique.
You will learn the technique of Paper Fabric Lamination and then how to use these pieces in nuno felting. As you can see from the examples above, there are many possibilities with this technique. Click here for more information and to register for the class.
The second module is Experimental Screen Printing on Felt.
You will also be able to use these techniques to screen print fabric such as silk to use in nuno felting. These same techniques can also be used on cotton fabric to use in fabric collage or quilting.
The third module in Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach is Printing, Stenciling, and Playing with Thickened Dye on Felt.
This one is really fun and experimental. Learn to make stamps, stencils and how to use a variety of objects from around the house to create your own unique surface design on felt. Develop your own style with designs you have created.
The last module in the series is Free Motion Machine Stitching on Felt.
In this course, you will learn the basics of free motion machine stitching and how to use this specifically on felted projects. Does the thought of machine stitching seem a bit scary? If so, you should take this course to get a handle on how to use your sewing machine to create wonderful embellishments on felt paintings or other felted items.
I hope you want to expand your fiber art skills. If so, click on any of the links above to read more about the classes, see the supply lists and to register. I look forward to “seeing” you in class!
And don’t forget, if you are a beginner, our online class Wet Felting for Beginners is always available.
This class teaches you all about wet felting. You’ll learn how to make a piece of felt, how shrinkage works and how to calculate it and the basics of felting, fulling and creating felt from wool fiber. Click here for more information and to sign up.
In my last post I talked about a 4 week dyeing course that I attended a while ago at Sharon Wells studio https://www.sharonwellsart.com/ . The first week was dedicated to acid dyeing and we have fantastic results from it. Week 2 was all about natural dyeing, our colours were more subtle and totally restful. If you missed part 1 you can catch it at adventures-in-colour-part-1
I talk about the third and fourth sessions in this blog. I hope you enjoy!
Week 3:
This week’s session was all about the production of pigment. Sharon started off by showing us some ‘tools of the trade’; the glass mulling tool and tempered glass which, along with an old coffee grinder, she uses to grind elements into powder. We learnt about the difference between dye (dissolves in water) and pigment (disperses in water and so needs a carrier). Then we discussed types of pigment; earth and animal both of which can be ground into powder and animal, which needs a totally different process. We mixed various powers and produced test sheets using the pigments as both oil and watercolour paints. We also tried artificial pigments. It was very exciting. Here is a quick look at some of the day.
All the processes for making earth pigments
Linseed, used as the medium for oils
The water colour medium
A new student dropped in, but had other things on her mind
Ground down sea shells. There is still some grit in the mix so it was not fine enough
preparing the sea shells to accept the medium
Artificial pigments containing mica, they made delicious colours
The mulling tool is used for fine grinding and mixing the pigment with the medium.
The real excitement happened when we started making botanical pigments. Sharon boiled up some onion skins and in no time we had a beautiful golden brown coloured liquid which she shared out among the group. She then dissolved aluminium sulphite (alum) and soda crystals in two containers. We added the alum to our onion skin liquid and then watched in fascination as the soda crystals reacted to the liquid when we poured it in. The pigment separated from the liquid and we were, in the end, left with clear liquid. We then strained our pigment and dried it. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of the fun we had:
The onion skins were left to simmer for about an hour
The strained onion skin dye bath
measuring the aluminium sulphate before dissolving it
The aluminium Sulphate and soda crystals (in the peanut butter tub). The onion skin dye bath is in the background
The chemical reaction once the alum and soda crystals get going
Separation of the onion skin pigment.
The pigment attaches to the alum once the soda crystals are added to the mix.
The onion skin pigment drying at home
The final pigment was filtered through a coffee filter and left to dry
The bottle contains bluebell pigment which was prepared from the flowers in the tutor’s garden
Olive leaf pigment produced a lovely colour
Four botanical pigments: 1. Marigold 2. ‘wild Eve’ Rose 3. Olive leaf 4. bluebell
preparing the sea shells to accept the medium
The whole process had us all enthralled and ready to try it at home!
Week 4:
The final class in the dyeing series focussed on Procion Dyes . The class was led by Anne Jefferies, and Irish Textile artist and tutor. We used cold water dyes this time and worked with plant based fibre including different weights and textures of cotton, linen and silk. We also experimented dyeing a variety of different threads. Anne explained the full process and provided excellent notes so there was very little need to write which was good because our hands were very busy. Anne prepared the various solutions and we got to work using pure primary colours. We divided our samples into three lots and tied each piece of fabric into whatever shape we fancied then we got dyeing. We started with the lightest colour, yellow and dyed our first batch. Then we removed and rinsed these and retied a number of them, ones we wanted to overdye and popped these into the the dye bath to which some red dye had been added. We then added our second batch of undyed samples and watched the magic occur. We then removed all of these and set up a fresh dye bath for the blue. Here are some of the photos taken on the day:
Preparing the fabrics
The prepared Procion dyes mixed and ready for use
Stirring the yellow dye into the fabric
Stirring in the yellow dye – starting with the lightest colour
Work in progress on a messy table. Good reason to keep everything covered!
Dye testing a variety of threads
The thread experiment with dye added
Adding more red dye to the bath
Next experiment: red has been added to the mix and the fabrics have been retied
A two person job! stirring the bath and adding the fibre.
Some nice surprises when we opened our little parcels
A colourful table!
More samples ready for dyeing
Here is a slideshow of my dried samples. I can’t decide which is my favourite! Having said that, I am showing them all as some were disasters but still deserve an airing.
Definitely one of my favourites. Reminds me of strobe lighting!
I tied these with some string (but you guessed that already)!
Not a great result. If I stare at it long enough I might see something!
This is a bigger piece of light cotton. The pattern is a little more uniform. I might use it for nuno. Decision yet to be finalised
The pattern caught nicely in places but not in others
Subtle? Interesting? not sure
Sunburst circles a little too subtle I think!
Not a great result but it is one of the experiments so it is being included
These look like clouds, lined up in rows!
The longer I stare, the more patterns I see with this
Interesting subtle finish on this one.
The colours are not as faded in the sample. Love all the squares.
This one has a lot going on. Spot the paperclip!
Perhaps not one of the best samples but it’s good to see this too!
I find this quite attractive. I wish I could remember how I achieved the lines and squares!
Lots going on here. The colours are richer than the photo
A real sunburst, pity the piece was cut from the bottom corner!
One of my favourites! reminds me of bamboo cane
A heavy cotton lace again a tiny piece. I might add it to some nuno sometime!
I like the diagonal lines in this sample
This is a small piece of silk. I wish I had two meters as it would make a fabulous top!
I loved these classes. They were a mix of great fun, camaraderie and fantastic learning. They have demystified some of the processes around dyeing and I now feel confident in trying them myself. Thank you Sharon https://www.sharonwellsart.com/ for facilitating this wonderful experience!
Here’s a close-up of twirling and short suspension. You can let it drop a bit on the last twerl before winding on. Usually, you need to keep it in-hand so you can twirl it again.
