Fish should not have squishy centers!

Fish should not have squishy centers!

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A few weeks ago, I turned my attention back to working on the latest Mer-person (the boyfriend for Miss Mer) and realised I had a small problem. It is very fixable, but I thought you might like to chat about what and how it happened.

 

A quick review of the newest Mer-persons progress so far;

3 fotos, the armature, head body and fist arm initial wrapping in white wool, second hand close up has 5 fingers and a thrumb... 3 photos: front and back of upperbody and head, adding first wrapping on tail1.1-1.2) 05-2025 Cangames (you can see what happens if you get distracted winding fingers…I fixed that too.)

mer-person (under layer underway) self stabing while holding a ball of core wool 1.3) 06-04-2025 Mer-boyfriend trying to get me to rush his felting

adding more fiber to fish parts at demo in Dunvagon Museum1.4) 06-15-2025 Blacksmithing weekend and felting the mer-boyfriend

visiting the guild mer-person lounging langudly on table (back vew)1.5) 07-14-2025 Social

Mer-Person with felting needle self felting his 6pack abs.1.6) 08-08-2025 Friday Twist shop and demo

As you can see in the review, I had a few problems with counting fingers and rushing to build up the shape. I do have an excuse, as I started this project, I was still heavily distracted by lingering anaesthetic. I think there may be a few tendrils of the stuff still clinging to bits of brain, but most of it has now left the building. (Yah!)

 

When I was wrapping, especially in the Fish parts, I had not kept the second layers of wrapping as tight as I would have liked. This was exacerbated by starting to block in the superficial features before getting the understructure as firm as I would like. This meant that the Fish parts were now close to the correct shape at the surface, but squishy if you applied pressure to the felt. Squishy does not suggest strong young fish!!! (Fish also usually do not have the ability to fold mid fish.)

 

Working on superficial features (shallow poking of the wool with 38T333 and 42T222 needles) gave me a nicely felted surface with a much more loosely felted under layer. (I got excited, I jumped ahead and started into the fun sculpting, before a firm under layer was achieved!)  Well, that is not what I was wanting. How am I going to fix that?

 

Diagram of superficial felting with a less felted core.2.1) Diagram of superficial felting with a less felted core.

 

Since I am still working on the understructure, I can fix this now without too much difficulty. I will need to move fibre at a deeper layer, and since I am making the under structure, not the finished surface layer, I don’t have to worry about surface pitting if I move to a courser needle (a 36T-333). Pitting is telling you to keep felting, until the raised area (the parts not yet felted) is even with the lower spot (which is felted more).

 

Why would I move to a courser needle? I want to move fibre, but I will not be adding more fibre superficially at this point. Also, if I work deeply with a finer needle, it is more sensitive to minor directional changes (which can lead to OOPS!!) I would prefer not to have to go searching out broken needle bits from his fishy parts.

Synopsis: A Courser needle is more aggressive when moving fibre, and is less fragile than a finer needle, especially when working deep into the under layers.

 

Diagram inserting the needle deeper to affect the under layer 2.2) Diagram inserting the needle deeper to affect the under layer

 

Synopsis: The barbs affect the fibre by grabbing one to a few fibres as they are passing through. If you only work to a shallow depth, you will only be affecting those fibres. If you are working to a greater depth, you will affect the fibres that are located there and some of the fibres above them.

 

There is another way squishy interior felt can occur;

As with Wet felting, some breeds of sheep have fleece that is less inclined to create a dense felt than other breeds. I have had trouble with a couple of the Rideau Arcott fleeces (created with a mix of breeds) I have used. No matter how much needle felting of that wool I did, it remained spongy, but it was holding together, so it was felted.  A Less than appropriate wool choice is not the problem this time, since I am using Corradale carded roving, which I have used before without problems.

 

Before I started to firm up the understructure of my fish person, he was able to fold his tail tightly in half and fit in the smaller project bag. Now, after hours of poking, he will have to go into the big project bag.

 

mer-person at wet felting workshop. he is face down on the table and may have fainted?3.1) 10-05-2025 Slipper workshop (I think the wetness was too much for him?)

 

He now bends and stays in position, but no longer stays when the bend is extreme. (The increase in felt stiffness has strengthened the wool. He is poseable, but the wool felt is getting closer to overpowering the wire. I can stop increasing the firmness now, and work on adding more of the understructure superficial detail and the missing fins. (I will return to shallow poking rather than deep stabbing!)

 

I should mention the importance of gauge choice and wire type for your armature. It is important to figure out the gauge of wire you need for the size of your sculpture, and the pose or position you would like your figure to be in. You can make a blind guess, an educated guess from previous experience, or you can make samples. (I know some fiber artists, I am looking at a couple of my weaver friends, who are vary avers to sampling but it can be both educational and inspirational even if you don’t get the result you expected.) 

 

I organised a study group during COVID to make samples of various gauges of mainly aluminium and Steel (floral) wire. It gives me a reference sample I can use to select a good wire gauge to try for a new project.  (Before the samples, I could adjust the armature to make it stronger by adding steel floral wire to a limb to give it more strength. This can be done over part of the wool under structure, as long as more wool would be added on top.) I have also had to add lateral supports when the lumbar spine of Mr. Mer broke (I wound up doing surgery with a sharp awl, inserting Harrington rods running up each erector spinae muscle and down into the upper Hamstrings.)

  awl inserting harrington rods (10g aluminum coated wire) lower section is imbeded from lower lumbar to below his glutes Mr Mer showing where the two rods is hidden on one side of his back4.1-4.3) 01-19-2022 Mr. Mer’s Fishy parts, augmenting armature after felting is well underway. (Insertion of Harrington rods in progress) fixing this far into felting becomes harder to hide the surgery, but not impossible.

 

With armature wire gauges and felting, you have 3 options for outcome.

1) Wire overpowers wool (felt):

  • The wire holds the wool/felt staying in position when posed.
  • A lighter gauge of wire could have been used and still held the wool in position (working with heavier wire than you need can stress your hands and may develop metal fatigue if you are moving the figure often)

2) Wire = wool (felt):

  • The wire holds the wool staying in position when posed

This is the balance you would like to achieve, since you will not have worked with over-stiff wire.

3) Wool overpowers wire (felt):

  • When posed, the wire is moved out of position by the density or strength of the wool.
  • Augmenting the armature might be possible if you catch the imbalance before you finish the understructure. It is increasingly difficult to strengthen the wire the closer you are to finishing the sculpture. (but you can see with Mr. Mer it is not impossible to strengthen the armature quite far into the felting.)

 

If you have the opportunity, you may also want to make samples of various gauges of wire or combinations of gauges if you don’t have access to a full range of aluminum and floral wire (there are sources online if you can’t find a range of wire locally).

 

Investigate locally easily available types of wire first. One of the English felters uses rubber-coated garden wire for armatures.  A few felters on YouTube, like pipe cleaners, but craft pipe cleaners are weak compared to the strength of other options. If you are doing very lightly felted structures  (a lot of the faceless fairies are only lightly felted), pipe cleaners might work to su0pport the wool. What pipe cleaners are very helpful for is wrapping around your armature, to help secure the wool as you wrap it. Cheap quality pipe cleaners, in areas of high humidity, have another problem: they can rust.

As you find more gauges and types of wire, make samples of them too. Keep notes, was it easy to shape or twist, or did your hands tire quickly? (Note: Uncoated aluminium will leave marks on your hands.) Also, try a gauge and augment it with a second finer wire too; it will give you more options if you don’t have access to a full range of aluminium and floral wires. I made a series of legs, with feet, and to test floral wire as fingers, I made arms with hands. I can now refer to the samples when I start a new project.

 

I have been puttering along, firming up his fishy bits and then moved on to work on his upper musculature. I will have to print off another set of photo-reference if I cannot find the book with the last set. (found it!)

 

Front vew of the firmer fish bits back vew of the firmer fish bits5.1-5.2) The fish parts are now quite firm. I think I am almost ready to start adding the little spikes.

I will try to remember to take some more in-progress shots while I figure out the fish details. I apologise! I am afraid that for this part of “stiffening-of-the-Fishy-under-structure” felting, I climbed into bed with a big pile of pillows and felted while listening to the end of the new Lynsay Sands vampire book. Then started the latest Wen Spencer (this one has a vampire and werewolves) audiobook, and forgot to bring the camera! (Needle felting in bed is not the suggested location for optimal felting and avoiding self-stabbing as you fall asleep while felting…. a table is really a better choice)

 

Photographic collection of some of the refference photos i have collected to help with the next part of the project adding the spikey parts5.3)Some of the sturgeon reference photos I have collected, focusing on the spines/spikes.

 

 

What’s next;

You may remember last year, about this time, was the Kanata games (and felting) convention (last year I found a sheep game). It is coming up, and I wanted to have most of the basic shape blocked in and firmed up so I could start working on the fiddly bits of the ridges and rows of spikes. If all is going really well, I hope I can start to add some of the colour layers during the convention.

 

PS: I can think of a reason you may like to have that firm outside and softer felted inside. I am sure one of my cats would have appreciated something to pounce on that squished in a satisfying way.

One way to achieve this would be; wrap your fist layer securely (around the armature, if you are using one, which will keep the felt from rotating around the armature), then wrap the next layer a bit looser. Then, focus the majority of your felting on the shallow depths, and you could recreate the squishy inside effect. If you wrap around a bundle of fresh catnip leaves, it will be even more appealing. Just make sure the outside is well felted, so no one can tear off and eat the wool, to get to the catnip!

 

Even from what is technically an anaesthetic-incused mistake, you can notice something and save that thought for later use. Who knows when it may be a useful idea?

 

I will update you on his progress at the convention!  Maybe there will be more felters this year! Stop by between games if you are there. I hope you too are enjoying this late summer/not-really-fall and getting the last of your summer fibre purchases washed, before the weather remembers to look at the calendar and realise we used to have snow in about 2 weeks from now. (Really, there is no rush! I am enjoying this not-fall and am perfectly happy not to be having snow any time soon!)

PSS, if you would like to comment on any of the posts you read in the blog but cant find the comments button, it has vanished from the end of the post! (it is either very shy, or trying to avoid work) since it is now hiding all the way back at the top of the post (where no one would ever think to look for it! silly button you have been found and will hopefully be put to work!)

 

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

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First, there are still a couple of days to sign up for the 3D multi-part resist workshop. It starts on the 17th, so hurry if you want to join us. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

 

On November 1 and 2 is our guild’s Annual Sale and Exhibition. https://www.ovwsg.com/sale/ Or her on Facebook FB Event The guild runs a booth for people who don’t have enough things to have their own booth. I have been getting my things ready for the booth.

I have a few needle books from several years ago. I had to check the tags, replacing some and adding price stickers. They have 4 needle pages, 2 pouches, 2 pins, 1 needle, on thread storage card, and one needle threader.

I also have some scissors cases with scissors. These are great little scissors, I like the big handles so you’re not tight to get your fingers in or out of.

And there are the sheep keychains. I told you about them here. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/09/13/this-and-that-5/

I had to iron their ears as they needed flattening. I thought I might need hairspray, but I didn’t.

 

I stamped the back of their cards

I put them into their plastic. I need to finish that. I think I need to get some double-sided tape to keep them centred in the bags. And for some, I may resize their bags.

 

I may put the other things in plastic, too. Do you think it would look more professional?

 

I still have to make felted soap. That is on the to-do list. But now I am out of time for today.

 

 

Ruth's stitched down branch with fly stitch leaves.
Hand Stitching on Paper

Hand Stitching on Paper

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Our group meeting this month was inspired by some Instagram tutorials that we saw by Neha Sachan. Here’s her Instagram if you want to see the videos we followed.

We started with white or painted heavy watercolor paper cut into approximately 5″ x  7″ pieces. I had collected a variety of twigs and sticks. Everyone chose their twigs and our friend Deb had donated some dried grapevines that were such fun shapes we had to use some of those too.  Then on to punching holes into the paper and stitching. It’s really fun and relaxing to sit and stitch with a group of friends.

Louise stitching back stitch through previously stitched fly stitch with small branch couched on paper.

Here’s Louise doing a bit of stitching. She’s doing backstitch in between her fly stitches.

Louise's branch with lichen couched down and fly stitch leaves.

Here’s Louise’s finished piece. I love the lichen that’s growing on the branch.

Louise's grapevine stitched down to blue watercolor paper and seed pod attached with stitching..

Here’s Louise’s other stitched down vine. The seed pod was a separate piece that she added as it seemed to fit perfectly. Not much stitching here besides couching down the various pieces.

Sally's two stitched pieces on paper. Top paper with branch couched down, fly stitch and back stitch. Bottom paper with larch branch couched down.

Here are Sally’s two pieces. She hadn’t finished the bottom piece but had attached a twig from a Tamarack/Larch tree.

 

Paula's grape vine couched down with back stitched branches and one branch with French knots.

This is the beginnings of Paula’s piece. She has since added a bunch more French knots but I don’t have the finished picture.

Close up of Paula's French knots

Here’s a closer view of the French knots.

Here’s photos of my piece with the twig, fly stitch and back stitch. I made it into a greeting card. I tried to send it in the mail but got it back as it was “unmachinable”. I had to add more postage to get it sent. Always fun at the USPS.

Ruth's grapevines couched to watercolor paper painted blue with "cotton" bolls.

Here’s my final piece with grape vine and little balls of wool stitched down.

We had a great time stitching together and once you have the holes punched in the paper, this is pretty simple. We have decided that this coming year, we will be working on creating a fabric book. We will be doing quite a few dyeing and surface design techniques to create our book pages. Our next meeting, we will be clamp dyeing on felt.

Jacket completion

Jacket completion

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To finish the back of my jacket, I needed to decide what pattern to stitch on the remaining back panel. I wanted it to have a similar look to the panel on the other side.

I drew another grid to help me with the design; it is a 2cm grid, again drawn with a Frixion pen. I used an egg cup to make the semi circular shapes.

The initial long oval shape I drew can be done in a portrait or landscape orientation, and it can be left like this if using a smaller grid, for example 1cm, and a smaller item to aid with drawing semi circles. I repeated the design in the opposite direction with the egg cup, and now it looks completely different.

The design has a tessellating feel to it, and I think it does look very effective; hopefully you can see this in the stitched pattern. I have taken the design up to the back yoke to match the other side. I have added some further stitching to the earlier patterns I made on the back yoke – two further circles stitched along with a pattern development on the completed circles.

Both side panels together, showing the different patterns achieved with a grid and a pen!

Extra stitching, and another couple of circles to the back yoke.

Again, I have used a variety of embroidery floss to stitch the design, and I feel that both sides compliment each other very well. Some of these patterns do look complicated to sew, but are really just a wavy line, and stitched on the diagonal. The tricky bit is where the lines meet, or cross over.

The inside of the stitched area is not too untidy, so I will leave it for now while I think about it for a little longer. I may add some lining to the yoke area especially, and I will probably sew that to the seams.

I will probably add more stitching to the jacket as time goes on, mainly to the front yokes, but I feel that it is fine for now, and time to look towards something else.

I am really glad that I made the decision to do some stitching on this jacket. I am having second thoughts about whether I should have used just one colour to stitch, but this is not classic sashiko, it is just some decorative stitching in the style of sashiko. I wear it out too.

My photos have turned out a little better I think? They look ok on here as I am typing this, and inserting them into the text, but what they will look like when posted is another story. Probably huge again. Pale denim with some stitching on does not make for good photography I feel. One photo looks a little blurred as I am writing this, but that may possibly be due to the remnants of the ‘seasonal cold’ that I have had for the last 2 weeks, but I am gradually recovering.

Felt Connect 2025

Felt Connect 2025

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As I write, nearly a week has passed since the 18th Southern Hemisphere Felters’ Convergence drew to a close but that peculiar mix of exhaustion, elation and excitement I felt as I drove home still lingers. I’m buzzing with so many ideas and happy memories! 🙂

The Felters Convergence is usually (pandemics permitting) a biennial event organised by volunteers from Australia or New Zealand. It is an opportunity for antipodean felt-makers to gather and share their knowledge and ideas. This year it was held in the beautifully quaint and historic suburb of Parnell in Auckland, New Zealand.

Before we arrived we were invited to “bring your smile”, a common refrain for anyone attending a social event but this time there was a twist…. We were to arrive with a smile and leave with a smile…. a felted smile! 🙂

Christine Roxburgh and Jenny Forrester (our very talented and incredibly hard-working organisers) put together an amazing, fun-packed program over the 4 days we had together. At almost any given moment there were 3 to 4 different classes or talks taking place and if that wasn’t enough, there was a room full of traders selling all manner of fibres, fabrics and felting equipment and a fabulous felt exhibition to visit. They REALLY crammed a lot in to the 4 days!

A small selection of pieces in the exhibition:

As Christine explained at the opening dinner, the Felt Connect title was a nod to the underlying philosophy of Convergence where feltmakers from far and wide come together to not only share their knowledge and love of fibre arts but also where new connections and international friendships form.

We had just shy of 100 attendees, 30 of whom were visiting from Australia and one came all the way from the US! Our headline tutors were equally international with Nancy Ballesteros from Western Australia, Katia Mokeyeva from Vermont in the US and Jacqui Collins from New Zealand.

Nancy taught for 3 very full days, covering topics such as:

  • colour theory for fibre artists
  • making properly fulled but beautifully drape-able felt in the Art of Drape class
  • the saucily titled, “Hanky Panky” session where she suggested lots of different ways to incorporate silk hankies into your felt
  • the Natural Rhythms class where she shared how she uses Fibonacci’s design principles in conjunction with her colour theory lecture from day 1. This allowed us the perfect opportunity to put some of what we had learned from her colour theory talk into practice while exploring wet-wool layout techniques.

Our sessions with Katia were a technological leap forward for Convergence, having someone teach 100 felt-makers from a different continent was novel and gave us the chance to learn from an expert that most of us will never have the opportunity to meet in person.

An example of Katia’s “Sea Waves” technique from her website

Katia provided us with pre-recorded videos of her signature “Sea Waves” technique and answered our questions over a Zoom call. Jenny did an amazing job of bringing it all together and resolving the inevitable technical issues that required her to hold the speaker jack in the computer so the room full of keen students could hear Katia’s replies to their questions from half a world away.

After our online session with Katia we were set free to experiment with our new learnings in the main hall.

Jacqui provided 4 full days of teaching, her classes were so popular many of them were over-subscribed. She covered a wide range of topics including, how to:

  • felt a fedora style hat using alpaca fibre,
  • make a wet-felted necklace,
  • painting on silk
  • construct and hang 3D wall art

And of course then there was the army of more than 20 volunteer tutors who offered to share their knowledge, a technique or ideas on how to develop your own style in new directions. There really was something for everyone!

A raffle was held to raise seed money for Convergence 2027 and the prizes were drawn on the final day:

Photographer – Pip Sturgeon

The final gala dinner and fashion show was a hoot, with heartfelt closing speeches from Jenny and Christine followed by the very funny “Glitter Sisters” AKA Lynn Evans and Sharon Fergusson, who hosted the felt fashion show with more than 20 stunning creations paraded among the enthralled diners.

L to R: Lynn Evans, Jenny Forrester, Sharon Fergusson and Christine Roxburgh. Photographer – Flo de Ruiter
Just a few of the fabulous felted outfits on display in the fashion parade. Photographer – Margaret Joppa
Bernice Mitchell modelling one of the three outfits she presented during the parade. Photographer – Margaret Joppa

Attending a Felters Convergence has been on my bucket list since I first read about the 2015 event and 10 years later, I’m pleased to say, Felt Connect 2025 massively exceeded my very high expectations and was worth the 10 year wait! Now I am hooked and Adelaide 2027 can’t come around soon enough! 🙂

Thank you so much to everyone who attended, organised and / or volunteered at this event, you are all utterly marvellous!

Ann’s Slipper workshop: from the students perspective

Ann’s Slipper workshop: from the students perspective

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I am very lucky to have a local weaving/spinning and felting guild in the city.  I know many felters are not so lucky.  As you have already heard, it is quite an active Guild, with meetings, socials, and workshops. Today we will have a chat about one of the felting workshops.

Ann will be teaching a few wet felting workshop this fall, including teaching wet felted slippers.  I had signed up quickly after registration opened, for both her slipper and hat workshops this fall. As you probably have notice I tend to be mostly a dry or needle felter, but occasionally I will get my hands damp or almost even wet and try a wet felting workshop.

It will be the first time running this workshop in the studio space, now that the floor looms have moved up stairs. This will allow for a slightly larger class size, we usually have 6 students for this workshop the extra space made it comfortable to try 8 students.

Ann had emailed the students a couple weeks before the workshop, to select their fiber colour. We would be using Corriedale for the slipper and she would have other fibers available to embellish them.

I gathered my wet felting bag from Living felt (Thanks Marie!) added some extra needles (just in case) found the camera, a Mer-boyfreind (in progress) and a large towel ready for the morning.

wet felting Kit from Living felt1.1) the Wet felting kit from Living Felt. I will be using the purple Ball Brause Wet Felting Tool.

6am, October 05, 2025 arrived much more quickly than I had anticipated.  I did a bit of computer work, then Glenn got my stuff into the car. I headed off to let Ann into the building, so she could set up for the class.

I heard the weather report as I was heading in and found out the sweater I had layered on, would not likely be necessary….. (The temp at 3pm, was 29.7c, which beat the 1941 record of 27.2 C.)

On Monday (the guild meeting day) we are expecting a high of 30 C and a humidex of 33c.  Did I forget to mention this is OCTOBER and its usually Much cooler by now. I am not complaining!!!! This gives me a bit more time to get the garden organized for winter.

I did arrive ahead of Ann but not by too much. She quickly got the tables up and started laying out the supplies for the workshop.

Ann cutting plastic with sisors2.1)  Ann prepping plastic for the workshop

bubble wrap, plastic sheet and pool noodle on table waiting for students2.2) bubble wrap, plastic and pool noodle

large storage bin in wagon in the studio2.3) Ann Brought not just the fiber for the slippers, but a wagon load of fiber.

Ann got the bag of 100 gr balls of the requested colours and handed them out.

distributing 100gr balls of wool in 3 photos  2.4) 100 gr balls of Corriedale fiber

She showed us sample of different types of slippers and showed the resist that would make that shape.

3 photos of sliper samples 2.5) slipper samples and patterns

We each selected our slipper shape and then traced our feet. Ann estimated the shrinkage and added it to the resist. We had the slipper with heal, the slipper without heal and a couple ankle high boot slipper shapes too. For high arch feet she had to add a bit of extra space.

Ann tracing foot shapes to create the resist shape 2.6) ankle books resist shape

this hart shape will create 2 slippers without a heal 2.7) heelless slipper resist

this is the shape with little off set wings that will make the slipper with heal2.8) slipper with heal resist.

We cut out our resist, (that’s floor underlay), it works well since we can feel it through the wool.

Next we divided the wool, fist in half (half for one side half for the other). I had to then spit each side in half, since I have two separate slippers, rather than one joined resist shape. For most, each side was divided into 4 equal lengths, since we will be adding 4 thin layers of fiber in alternating direction.

half fiber is devided into 4 balls, sitting on resist. one half of the fiber is still in a ball on the other resist3.1) starting to divide the fiber

Jumping ahead I have added 2 layers and was just starting the 3rd layer on the first side.

half the fiber is devided between the two resists. the same amount will be used on the other side of the resist.3.2) laying out the first side of the resist, last of the 4 layers starting to go down

 

After completing 4 layers over each slipper resist. I gently wobbled the fiber and then moved it off to one side and started what will be the other side.

thin even layers alternating direction there are now 4 shapes which are the top and bottom of both slippers.3.3) 4 layers on each slipper on each side

Once we had both sides with 4 layers of changing direction, it was time for lunch.

I mentioned Ann had brought a bit of fiber to embellish our slippers…. Ann’s wagon is obviously related to the Tardis! Boxes just kept emerging, and fiber appearing out of it! she covered the table with options, Marino top, Throwers waste, shredded hankies, sari waste top, locks and curls, silk blends, trilobal Nylon, her own hand spun yarn, and some mixed bits of odds and ends. We will get back to this distracting pile of clolours shortly.

another student looking through the embellishment fibers spred out over a 6 foot long table3.4) embellishment fibers filling the table

Next, we were getting into the really scary bit. We added water under the resist turned the edges and then added the second layer. The water even dripped on the floor!!!

this is a ankle boot shaped resist, Ann is carfuly tugging the fiber extending byond the resist on top of the resist.4.1) wetting the first side, and carefully wrapping the extra fiber around the resist

my resists sitting on wetted wool 4.2) my slippers start to get wet

plastic over the wool that has been added above the resist. the plastic keeps the fiber from sticking to my hands as i push the watter into the fiber.4.3) using the plastic to help spread the water (so the fiber doesn’t stick to your fingers)

the boot resist, wraping the fibers around the edge of the resist being very carefull not to make stong fold lines4.4) wrapping the second layers edge fibers around the wool rapped resist

Once we had the front and back wrapped around the edges of the resist,  it was time to consider embellishments.

3 photos of embelishment options.5.1) some of the embellishment fibers

Once the embellishing was added and in some cases wrapped to the other side, we wet the new fibers. I had chosen silk and wanted to give it a better opportunity to attach, so added thin whisks of hand blended merino wool over top of the silk.

after adding embelishment fibers more watter was added 5.2) embellishments added and then more water added

Maybe if I move the plastic you will get a peek?

Peekeing under plastic to see silk and wool added to slipper5.3) looking under the plastic at one of the tows of the slippers

Ann has been able to find a collection of the old Tupper ware lids. I will have to keep my eyes out for them too. We used them to gently rub from the edge of the resist towards the center. At first very lightly then adding just a tiny bit of pressure.

2 slippers in progress. tupperware lid used as rubbing tool.6.1) the rubbing with Tupperware lid

By this point the water was making a brake for it or a frontal assault, I’m not sure which. I employed the power of the towel and tried to keep the wetness in check! The towel did not stay dry long!

towl wrapped aruoung buble rap and plastic holding slippers/resists a bit of dampness is visiable on towl6.2) pinch test after rubbing is successful and it’s on to rolling!

I kept loosing track of my counting to 100 then flip and rotate the resists. You can see the slight rippling developing, there is some shrinkage happening.

during brack in rolling, opened plastic to see if there was any sign of shrinkage. only the fantest rippling present 6.3) checking everything is still attached and looking for signs of shrinkage

towl is now heavily saturated with water there is a faint lighened arria in one part of the center of the towl which is still dry.6.4) The water was making a valiant effort to soak me but I dogged as much as I could! The towel, on the other hand has only a small patch that is still dry, the rest is quite soaked

Mer-Stergon in progress turned away from the camera showing extencie gluteal development (he has a nice butt for a fish-person)) 6.5) Even the latest Mer I was working on, did not seem interested in getting wet! (Unrelated dry felting glute shot!)

Since Ann was having the other students stick their feet in the cold wet slippers, I used the original unscaled up foot tracing to check if my shrinkage was getting close.

laying paper foot shape over slipper shape to check asmount of shrinkage7.1) checking with foot size agents the length

this is another student trying on her bootie stile slipper, Ann was checking the fit and is now pulling the bootie off7.2) try it on

Once a slipper was close focused felting and shrinking were done to ether length, width or both.

Ann is rubbing the foot section side to side to reduce the width of the slipper7.3) adjustments

Mine still need more work but its getting closer.

2 slippers still need more shapping but are starting to look like slippers 7.4) still needs work but they now look like slippers, checking amount of shrinkage

I still have more work to do, but I can heat them up again and keep working on getting the heal a bit tighter. You can see I have had quite a bit of shrinkage I will work on them more this week.

But for now I have to head to bed. There is a guild meeting tomorrow as I am writing this, and I will need to leave extra early since there is expanded construction on the queens way today. I will give you an update on the slippers when they fit just a bit better (they are close but the heal is a bit loose, on one more than the other)

Ann was a fabulous teacher, as usual! She is very mellow and we didn’t feel rushed or confused.  In fact this is the second time I have taken the felted slipper workshop (and I stuck to the plan and actually made a set of slippers this time, not boots!  I think I have taken her hat class 5 times so far, each time making a totally different hat. this will be hat class #6. I still have to decide if I want to make a replacement for my stolen hat or make something new.) If you have the opportunity to take a workshop with her I would defiantly suggest it! and I do feel safer  from the evil wetness when I wet felt in a group!!

Have fun and keep felting!!

Woven Fabric

Woven Fabric

Comments 22 comments

My local quilt guild had a male speaker a couple of months ago. I really enjoyed his presentation, his honesty and his work. His name is Mathew Boudreaux, aka Mx Domestic. He and Tara J. Curtis have written a book called Fabric Weaving and Mathew has also created a new weaving tool, Mx Weaver, that works quite well with his weaving process. He has quite a few videos on YouTube as well. He also has an online fabric shop and I really love his fabric choices. I’ve even purchased a few of his traditional quilt kits because I loved the fabric choices. And on Saturdays he has been doing a Facebook live that I enjoy watching.

https://mxdomestic.com/collections/mx-domestic

The book has a large number of projects using a variety of different types of weaves. I thought I would try a tumbling block (aka triaxial) weave. His project suggests cutting it up and making it into coasters. I love the weaving on the cover!

Fabric Weaving book

First thing I had to do was draw a grid. This will be attached to a piece of 24” x 30” foam core board that is at least ½” thick as you will be pinning into it. This is a photo of my second grid drawing. The first I didn’t have the lines extended out to all the edges which made it difficult to line the fabric strips up with. As I progressed with the weave, I found out how important that detail was! One good thing is that I can reuse this grid later.

Paper grid used to lay strips onto

This project required 3 different fabrics, light, medium and dark. I decided I wanted to work with a turquoise pallet.

Once I picked my fabrics, I needed to cut them into 1” wide strips and then use my ½” bias tape maker to make 12 strips out of each color.

3 fabrics used, light, medium and dark value

Photo of my 1/2″ bias tape tool doing it’s job!

1/2" bias tape tool making strips

Photo of all the medium color fabric strips ready to go!

bias strips of medium colored fabric

Lots of prep to do prior to any actual weaving…

Finally I could start laying the strips down on the grid. First the medium color was placed vertically . The drawn grid lines are 1” apart, so 2 strips fit in each section.

This photo shows the first layer going down onto the grid.

1st fabric strips layed on grid

Layer #2 requires using the Mx Weave tool and starting to work diagonally. Here is a photo with the Mx Weave tool.

2nd layer of strips being woven

Second layer progress…

2nd layer of strips after fixing grid

2nd layer complete

2nd layer complete

Now for the 3rd and final weave. I switched to the smaller Mx Weave tool for the third layer and used my Purple Thang to help get the tip through in the proper places.

Purple Thang photo

Purple Thang tool

1st couple of rows of fabric 3…

1st two strips of 3rd fabric

I’m getting excited to see the tumbling block pattern come to life! Hope I’m not boring you with all my progress photos. I found the whole process fascinating!

3rd layer of weaving showing weave error

When I got to this point, I realized a few mistakes that I had made along the way.

One blatant one to my eye was that the strips were not laying in a straight line from edge to edge. You can see in the above photo how the blocks are bigger on the right side. It’s an interesting effect but not what I was looking for in this project. And since my drawn edge lines didn’t extend out far enough past the ends of fabric #2, I couldn’t see what I was doing. And all those pins to deal with! I tried to fix things and finally decided I would start the 3rd layer over again after I redrew the grid to make it bigger. This was a pretty scary move at this point because I had to remove all those pins. Worse case scenario was that I would have to start all over again and I was prepared to do that if necessary.

I was successful in transferring the 2 layers to the new grid. I think it was a good move to do this as I was much more pleased with the new block consistency.

3rd layer strips almost completed

And here it is with all 3 layers woven together.

3rd layer of strips completed

Much more consistency after redoing layer #3. I can live with this version!

I had laid some woven fusible interfacing down before I started adding the strips. Once I removed all the pins, I taped the edges, gave it a good steaming to get the fusible interfacing to adhere a bit and then sewed all around the edges to keep it from coming apart.

Now…onto the coasters. How in the world could I cut this up to make coasters??? Oh my.

But I did. These are almost 6″ x 6″ which is a bit large for a coaster but here they are. All done!

6 coasters made from finished fabric 6" x 6"

I learned a lot from Mathew’s process. I wish I had taken a class from him first, as I’m sure he would have passed on a lot of his success secrets and do’s and don’ts. I will probably try another one or two of his woven projects from his book.  That was fun!

Happy creating!
Tesi Vaara

Registration Now Open for Hanging Felted Spiral Online Class

Registration Now Open for Hanging Felted Spiral Online Class

Comments 5 comments

Helene is teaching another session of her Hanging Felted Spiral online class and you can register now. Registration opens today and class begins on October 18.

This is a four week online course and you don’t have to be present at any certain time. You will have access to videos and Helene’s support throughout the four weeks and will be able to download the PDF’s for future reference.

 

Have you wanted to learn more about sculptural felt? This is a great way to learn about how to layout fiber for more elasticity, how to use a book resist with multiple “leaves” and Helene’s ideas on how to further these ideas into future projects.

Here are a few of Helene’s students own spirals. Aren’t they fantastic out in nature?

Jump into spring and learn to make a spiral with Helene. Online class starts on October 18. Learn more about the class and register here.

 

Helene also has an ongoing class, Wet Felting a Vessel Using a Simple Resist which can be taken at any time.  If you know the basics of wet felting but want to move forward into creating three dimensional objects with a resist, this is the class for you. Click here for more information and to register.

If you are a beginner and want to learn the basics of wet felting, our beginner class is always available and you can sign up here. This course has unlimited access and is a great place to start if you want to know how to wet felt.

Registration for the 3D multi-part resist workshop is now open.

Registration for the 3D multi-part resist workshop is now open.

Comments 10 comments

Hi, I’m Ann McElroy. I have been doing in-person teaching for about 20 years now.  After hearing much demand for a workshop like this from people who do not have access to in-person teachers and much nagging encouragement from my fellow bloggers, I put this class together.  Doing multi-part resist is great fun, and there are so many possibilities for this technique. Registration opens today, and class starts Oct 17.  You can register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

Have you ever wondered about working with more than one resist? Have you tried one resist and found that only one is not enough? Do you want more? I can help! Why have a single resist when you could have a full book of them! This fun course will expand your felting horizons. This step-by-step course will guide you from building the multi-part resist to the finished piece and give you the skills to continue. Why use only one resist when you can use more?

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 British Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.  Here is a link to the material list: 3D supply list.   You will likely already have most or all of this. Registration and contact information are at the bottom of the page. Registration will open on October 1 2025.

This course is designed for Felters who have felted over a simple resist before. An experienced felter may be able to complete this class within a single day; however, the course can easily be extended over multiple days as needed. You can stop at the end of each PDF and continue another day or time. Using a step-by-step guide, you will make a three-dimensional six-part resist. This type of resist is often called a book resist, as it resembles an open book with the pages splayed.

The workshop is accessible for four weeks and has four downloadable instructional PDFs. I will be available to answer any questions for the 4 weeks the class is open. You will also have access to community spaces where you can share progress pictures and connect with the teacher and other students.

Your learning goals

  • Learn how to make a multipart 3D book resist
  • You will learn how to lay out and manage your wool for a three-dimensional resist.
  • How to bring the wool and resist together in an organised and logical way. Including all the fiddly bits.
  • How to felt a multi-part resist, managing all the parts.
  • Learn three different methods of fulling and their advantages and disadvantages.
  • You will have the option to choose from various finishing methods.
  • How to use some everyday items to help with shaping and finishing.
  • Experimenting with different shapes.

By the end of the course, you will have a unique sculpture. Mastering the book resist technique, you will unlock new creative possibilities for complex sculptural felting.

 

This workshop is $60 Canadian, approx. $45 US, $37 Euro, $32 Pounds, $66 Aus., $73 NZ.

You will be billed/invoiced by PayPal, and the vendor name on the bill will be Shepherds’ Spring Farm. Class sizes are limited to 50. A supply list, a Class Website Navigation PDF, and an Adding Photos to the Class Website PDF will be attached to the PayPal invoice for your convenience.

Please remember that the course content is for your own use and should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without obtaining my prior written permission. Please respect the copyright.

The workshop will be open for 4 weeks: from October 17 to November 14, 2025.

Registration is now open. Register here, just scroll to the bottom: https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

 

My Knitted Scrappy (Memory) Doll

My Knitted Scrappy (Memory) Doll

Comments 13 comments
Original creation by Capi Puszcz. Posted to Facebook 04/10/2025. Hand knitted stuffed pillow shaped doll. Embellished with latch hook hair, crochet eyes, vermicelli-like button nose, hand sewn mouth, icord appendages and earrings.
My Scrappy Doll Prototype – I’ve named her Vermi’ (as in Vermicelli)

Last April 2025, I was itching to do something different. It was months before Tour de Fleece would begin, and I was looking at an endless supply, of leftover yarns – all balled up with nothing to do. As I was wandering through Facebook posts, I started noticing some clever fabric dolls kept popping into my feed. They were made entirely of fabric scraps, but I felt the same could be done with my yarn scraps. (Facebook Group: Scrappy Girls Club if you’re interested) I had already gathered similar colors together for a failed attempt at crocheting large baskets to hold my leftovers. I couldn’t get the ever expanding, crocheted base to lay flat…and it really bugged me. The pattern called for using a US-N crochet hook, and up to 7 strands of different weight yarns. I started, and re-started, several times – then ripped everything apart!!

I kept thinking about those scrappy dolls, I’d seen. I thought, why couldn’t I make a Knitted version of the Scrappy Doll. The yarns I used, were mostly hand dyed, and created lovely marled blends. I wanted something that knit up fast, as I might decide to sell the little buggers, later. I grabbed a US-15 circular needle and cast on a bunch of stitches, then set about knitting round and round. Excellent TV knitting. When my knitting reached a certain point, I switched up my yarns to imply a division of head to torso. Then continued on, close to the end, of that particular bunch of yarn.

Now, I have been knitting for almost 60 years, and I have discovered some tricks. One of the best, when ending a tube, that’s going to be sewn anyway – is the 3 needle bindoff. Huzzah!! Worked like a charm. I decided to use the edge loops of the bind off, as a way to latch-hook, colorful fibers in place to imply hair. I was able to find a use, for some recent hand spun yarns I created, that were never likely to be used otherwise.

Close up photo, latch hook fibers attached at top edge
Close up view. I used a crochet hook and fingers, to essentially latch hook a wad of cut fibers, into each loop of the bind off edge. A little tedious, but I didn’t want to search for my latch hook.

With the hair completed, Vermi’ needed some facial features! For her eyes, I quickly crocheted 2 circles, with some of the coordinating fibers I had near me. I used 2 safety eyes, for stuffed animals, to poke through the center of my crochet pieces. (Note: if I would ever sell one of these, or give it to someone, I would sew or glue the crochet edge down.) Next, I grabbed my jar of old buttons. I went to an antique store in Holland, Michigan a couple years ago, with good friends; and bought some inexpensive bags of interesting buttons. I saw this button that looked like it was made of spaghetti. I thought, it would make a perfect nose, and a good memory of times spent with friends.

close up view; crochet eyes, button nose, stitched mouth
Close up of eyes, spaghetti button nose, and an embroidered mouth.
I couldn’t think of anything cute for her mouth, and didn’t want to take anything away, from that perfect nose – so I stitched a mouth with thick yarn. From there it was time to tackle the legs, and arms. I decided to knit them as i-cords. I cast on about 6 stitches for arms, and 8 for legs, so they were substantial enough: yet wouldn’t require stuffing. I tied the knots to make Vermi’s hands and feet.
At this point she looked good enough, but my creative juices were still flowing. I played around with some wooden beads, I remember purchasing, while visiting my parents in Arizona. I attached the beads, to some (drapery hardware) pieces for cafe curtains, to make her dangling earrings. Since I was on a roll, I used variegated worsted knitting yarn, to make more i-cord for a necklace. I saw the beads  and got the idea to knot them in place. Necklace done.
Close up photo of embellishments
Upper torso embellishments created by Capi Puszcz
I’m not going to bore you with all my sewing techniques. I attached everything using yarn tails – when possible – and by whatever means achieved the look I was going for! I stuffed this gal with a small ready  made pillow form. Then, I sewed up the bottom cast on stitches, attaching the legs securely as I went by them. I thought about giving Vermi to my mother for her memory-care room, but was afraid it would walk away,  or something worse might happen. So, I’ve kept “Vermi” (in Italiano no asterisk) in my craft space, as a Memory Doll. She’s too sophisticated to be referred to as “Scrappy” now!
I’ve been making Scrappy Doll bodies, with more of my stash…I’ve tried to streamline the process to keep my hours as few as possible. Even so, I would need to charge more than most craft show audiences, would be willing to pay. ($100-$125+) I wonder if I should consider galleries that specialize in fiber art pieces? Let me know what you think? I am open to any ideas you may have.
Capi

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I am  really excited to announce, after 4+ years, we were able to get our domain “TheYarnAndUs” back again. I have learned a few things, in the process. Mostly, protecting things I’ve created from unscrupulous people who use media as their playground. I intend to make sure I credit myself, on original things I create – especially when I share them on FFS blog posts or social media. Here’s an interesting thing I recently discovered – when searching the term: “ArtFelt Paper.” The FFS article I wrote, about experimenting with art felt paper (too many years ago to matter) is a majority of what information pops up. It’s pinned worldwide! I couldn’t believe it! It shows other people’s names, with my photos! Nowhere does it mention my name, my business’s name, or worst of all – credit feltingandfiberstudio.com who I wrote the article for.
This all brings me to thank Ruth Lane, for the additional work I put her through this week, to make sure this blog post is written, using theyarnandus.com as our WordPress presence. Brian and I, have had some challenging years, but no matter what the future holds: we are proudly united as TheYarnAndUs.