The Dodo Blog

Hi!

You’ve been asking what’s coming up in terms of felting workshops. There’s a lot scheduled for the first quarter of 2017, so I thought it could be helpful if I just outline it here, so that you can start thinking about what you’d like to do.

Workshops at PANDO (Graça – Lisbon):

• 28^th January, 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm – Wet Felting with a Resist: Gloves & Slippers – 50€
• 25^th February, 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm – Wet Felting with a Resist: Bags for Gadgets – 50€
• 25^th March, 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm – Mixed Technique: Jewelry – 50€

You can sign up for these workshops directly by me.

Workshops at the Museum (Alcântara – Lisbon):

• 21^st January, 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm – Wet Felting with a Resist: Gloves & Slippers – 50€
• 1^st February, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm – Wet Felting: Introduction – 40€
• 8^th February, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm – Wet Felting with a Resist: Bags for...

Hello!

A couple of weeks ago, while I was teaching a workshop about hats in Lisbon, I promised to make a short PDF on how to determine the size of a resist for a felted hat, because that kind of information is easy to forget after some time.

I ended up getting carried away and making a video on the subject. So I wanted to share it with you as well. It’s a very short video workshop, that shows you how to make a resist in the right size for a wet felted cloche – in 3 easy steps:

1. Measure the head
2. Determine the shrinkage of the wool
3. Draw the pattern and transfer it to the material for the resist.

If you’re looking for more details on how to determine the wool shrinkage, check out the video I made on it. And there’s also a lot more on the possible materials for a resist on another short online workshop.

I hope you enjoy these and share them with your creative friends!

You’ll probably be busy with all the preparations for Christmas and New Year’s...

Hi!

Today I’ve got something really special for you.

I’ve been talking about it for a while, but, for some strange reason, it’s a project that took me a long time to finish. Anyway, now it’s ready and available on etsy, and it’s a new video workshop.

But it has a particular meaning to me, because I’ve come up with a NEW TECHNIQUE that solved a problem I had, so it can solve a problem you probably have too.

I’ve combined a couple of techniques that make it possible to attach a difficult fabric onto the wool, when you can’t get it to attach with the normal nuno felting technique. If you’ve ever felted with difficult fabrics, you know what I’m talking about.

So, as you can see, it’s not ‘just another workshop’. Check out the video below and tell me what you think!

If you’re living or travelling to Lisbon in the next couple of months (I hope so, because Lisbon is a very cool city, and you’d...

Hi there!

I´ve often been asked how do you make a sample to determine the shrinkage factor in wet felting. Well, that’s exactly what I’ll be covering in today’s video.

It’s actually very easy. You should make a sample, and measure it before and after felting.

There are three fundamental factors to take into account though:

1. Use the same type (or types) of wool for your sample and project, since not all wool types have the same shrinkage.
2. Use the same number of layers and equally thick ones for your sample and project, since the thickness of the layers influences the shrinkage.
3. Felt the sample and your project to the same degree, since the more you felt, the more the piece will shrink.

Check out the video and let me know if I’ve covered all your questions!

Hello!

Now that Christmas is just a month away, I’m sure you’ll be thinking about the presents for your family and friends by now.

So, I decided to bring you a simple, but really sweet idea, that you can make for a child. And it's FREE!

Think of it as a Christmas gift for you.

Enjoy!

Hey there

Depending on how much you’ve experimented with wet felting, you might have already tried mixing fabrics with wool. If that’s the case, you know not all types of fabric work well for nuno felting.

A couple of months ago I came across a fabric I really liked, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy to apply it on wool. I still decided to buy it and went on experimenting, until I found a way to get it to stick!

Of course, I was really excited about it, so I’m preparing a video workshop to show you how I did it. And I hope to have it ready really soon.

In the meantime, I’d like to invite you to check out the video workshops and PDFs I’ve created for you at my etsy shop.

Did you find something you’d like to learn? I’ve created a cupon code for my newsletter subscribers. If you’re not part of the club yet, join until de 24^th of November and get the code for a 20% discount on any product in my shop.

Talk to you soon!

P.S.: Do you have...

“How do I know if my felt is ready?” This is such a frequent question. And it’s answered in four words: do the pinch test!

And what’s the pinch test? When you feel your felt is solid enough not to fall apart anymore, you literally pinch the felt between your fingers to check if the fibers are still loose. If they’re not, it’s ready for fulling.

Hi!

So many people are surprised to find out you shouldn’t cut felting wool with scissors. WHY? Well, a neat cut (like the one you get when cutting with scissors) makes it more difficult for the fibers to attach.

Here’s how to cut a wool top in a couple of seconds:

• Hold your hands apart
• Pull firmly
• The wool will separate in the middle

Try it and let me know how it goes

Hi! I’m back today with a new episode of the How To Series. And this time I’m talking about resists.

If you’re planning to wet felt a 3D object with no seams (like a hat, a bag or slippers), you’ll have to work with a resist.

And if you want to work on a project that’s felted around a resist, you might be wondering how to get the right size, since wool shrinks up to 40% when felted. And you might be asking yourself what material you should make it with? Does this even matter? Well, it does. And I’ll show you why in this video.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Hi!

If you haven’t been felting for very long, this is probably one of the problems you face: how to pull a thin wool tuft to achieve a good felt?

Because I get this question so often, I decided to make you a short GIF, that shows you everything you need to know in just a couple of seconds.

Here’s what to watch for:

• the position of the hand holding the wool
• the position of the fingers pulling the tuft
• the distance between both hands

So, try it out and let me know if it worked!