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Funky Vase Cover

Funky Vase Cover

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I had purchased a ball of yarn at a clearance sale. It’s a combination of wool, acrylic and nylon and has a bit of sparkle to it. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it until I found an orange vase I had laying around.

I made a resist then covered it with with two layers of odds and end batts with similar colors.

Then came the fun – wrapping the yarn around the resist in lines.

It was a bit fiddly flipping from side to side and then at the top and bottom to keep the yarn from falling off.

When I was satisfied I was ready to felt it, I went slow and easy checking frequently to make sure it was all staying together.  I purposely didn’t leave spaces between the lines thinking the yarn would felt to the backing and itself.

As you can see it’s a bit lumpy in spots and didn’t shink as much in height, so it’s a little taller than the vase.

I did a little needle felting to straighten things out and attach a few stray yarns.  But I was happy with the wavy texture.  I did also have to shave it a bit.  Then I had to decide what to do with it.  Here is one use:

I’m sure I could also use it for flowers, paint brushes or a number of other things. What would you use it for?

Small but Tricky

Small but Tricky

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Since we’ve been traveling a lot this winter, I wanted a small project to work on. I’ve had a  frame for a small coin purse sitting around for a while. So, I decided to try that.

Unfortunately, the first one I made was too thick.  I had used three layers, the middle layer corriedale. I set it aside and when I returned I tried again.

I like the idea of using silk inside.  I had some yardage from a shop in Florida I purchased last year.  It was close enough to the turquoise batt I had on hand from another project.

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The first one was also a bit larger than I wanted. I’m always looking to lighten my handbag.  So, I had adjusted the resist to be a little smaller and used two layers. I also cut the silk to overlap so there wouldn’t be any gaps with the silk.  Of course, there is no guarantee it won’t shift during felting.

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I used mulberry silk to embellish it.

When I finished felting, I carefully cut the sides to match the curve of the frame.

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Then came the challenge — getting the felt into the frame and staying long enough to sew it on.  I tried Gorilla glue, but that made a mess and didn’t work.  I ended up using a blanket stitch around the edges then a nail file to push it into the frame.

The frame had holes on one side and a longer solid piece on the backside.  In order to get the needle through to the back, I had to run it on an angle while making sure the felt stayed in place.  Very fiddly!

Doing the second side was more of a challenge because the felt kept slipping out. I did manage to finish it without throwing it to the ground or out.  It seems to be fairly sturdy despite using a single cotton thread.

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I’m pleased with it, but it was a lot more work than I had anticipated.  I have trouble with working small in tight spaces.  My hands were not happy. We’ll see how well it wears.  But I can guarantee there are no more coin purses in my future unless I design my own without a frame.

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Have you made these?  Is there a trick I was missing?

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