Last week we had a look at how to felt thin cords the easy way. But what if you want to felt thicker ropes like the ones you use for bag handles? Are they made in the same way?
What do you do if your wool top isnât thick enough?
How do you guarantee that no grooves form on the surface of the cord when thereâs so much wool involved?
How do you make sure the ends donât get wet and felted so that you can attach them to the bag afterwards?
And how much will the handles shrink in length?
Today weâre going to answer all those questions, so make sure you watch until the end.
And If youâve started wet felting recently and youâre feeling a bit lost about the next step in your journey, you can download the guide Iâve prepared for you âBeginner To Intermediate Without Overwhelmâ.
In this guide I give you my system that helps you know what to do next, no matter which phase you're in. You can download it here.
This video is the first one of a new series, in which weâll be looking into the topic of making cords or ropes in wet felting.
While itâs more geared towards beginner felt makers, I know that many more experienced people also struggle with this. During my years as a felting teacher, Iâve gotten many, many questions about how to solve different issues that show up when youâre wet felting cords.
So, the goal of this series is to go through all these questions, so that youâre able to solve these problems once and for all. Today, weâll start by looking at how to make thin cords in an easy way.
Watch the video to see how to make sure you get the right thickness for your cord, without having any creases or wrinkles on the surface. I have three tips that will make felting these thin ropes really easy:
Â
If youâve started wet felting recently and youâre feeling a bit lost about the next step in your ...
In the last couple of weeks, weâve been talking about different ways to make a fine and flexible.
We started by using only Merino wool. In the next sample we worked with Merino wool mixed with viscose fiber. And today Iâm going to make a sample thatâs going to be useful to compare with the one we did last week, the one with viscose.
What Iâm going to do is Iâll be using the same template, 4 g of Merino wool, plus a piece of chiffon silk.
Weâll start by felting the sample and, when itâs ready, weâll see how it compares to the previous two.
Make sure you stay until the end to be able to see the differences between the 3 samples. And, if you havenât yet, go and watch the previous videos:
This was a very complete series, and weâve covered not only how to make a fine and flexible felt, but also how to add viscose fiber to your wool and, actually, how t...
In the last video, we had a look at how we can create a fine and flexible felt using only Merino wool. And today weâre going to see what happens when we add viscose fiber to our fine Merino.
For our experiment to make sense, weâre going to use the same 30cm x 30cm template and weâre also going to use 6g of fiber.
If you can remember, in the last video we used 6g of Merino to create our sample. And what weâre going to do today is use 6g of fiber again, but weâre going to have 4g of wool and 2g of viscose. Ok?
If youâd like to do this sample with me, get your materials, and just follow the instructions in the video.
Be sure to check out the differences between the two samples: the one made with only Merino, and the one where I added the viscose.
And if youâre not very familiar with the type of layout I use in this video (chevron layout), you can download a PDF with all the details about all the main layouts used in wet felting here.
Iâll see you next week, when we go through the th...
Last week we spoke about a couple of misconceptions and some tips to avoid making your felt too stiff. If you havenât read that blog post, I recommend you start there, since itâs part of a video series Iâm recording for you on this topic.
And if youâre stuck in your felting journey and donât know what to do next, Iâve created a guide to help you. You can download it here.
Today weâre going to see how we can apply last weekâs tips in a practical way. So, weâll be making a piece of flat felt. In other words, a sample.
So, get some merino wool and letâs do this. All you need to do is follow the instructions in the video.
Enjoy!
Â
P.S.: Make sure you come back next week, since weâll go on diving deep into this topic.
THE STORY BEHIND THIS PROJECT
I belong to a small felt club that gets together once a month via Zoom to felt in a group setting.
In our December meeting, the suggestion was that we create seasonal pieces. We usually felt 3D/sculptural items, and that was planned for December as well. But even though we work on a certain topic each month, we do have much creative freedom in the group. So, this time I thought of doing something slightly different.
I have tons of felt leftovers from many projects along the years, and I wanted to do something seasonal by recycling what I already had, instead of producing something entirely new. These bits accumulate with time, and it bothers me to see so much material not be used.
So, I gathered the thicker white felt leftovers (some of which was Nuno felt, which made it even more interesting), as well as some fun âChristmassyâ templates I also already had from past projects. And, without having a clear initial idea, I started cutting the flat felt i...
Have you ever felted a vessel, a bag or another 3D item and found that you couldnât get rid of the seams on the sides? Did you wonder why it happened? Did you think that those seams could have been prevented by filling the piece with a balloon or any other object?
If thatâs the case, know that the issues started way before the final shaping and drying phase. And so, no filling the piece in the end would have made it flat.
Today I bring you 7 tips that can help!
Once you have those pesky side ridges on your 3D felt, itâs very difficult to get rid of them. Sure, rubbing the seam area can help, but the problem happens in the layout phase, as well as the initial phase of the felting process. So, rubbing wonât completely solve the problem. Letâs have a look at was does help.
Â
IN THE LAYOUT PHASE
There are two things to watch for during the layout phase:
Â
1. The layout on the edge
From my point of view, there are 2 ways you can do the layout on the edges.
If you know you lay ou...
This week Iâm answering the question: âHow do I make thin felt from 2 layers of wool without getting holes in my felt?â
The way I see it, there may be a couple of different reasons youâre getting holes in your fine felt:
When youâre getting an uneven layout, have a look at:
If all of these 3 factors are ok, your problem may be that youâve done your layout on bubble wrap. Especially if the bubble wrap has very big and tough bubbles, it can create holes or, at least, marks on a thin felt. So, I recommend laying out the wool on a plastic film or piece of fabric.
And, finally, make sure youâre using gentle felting and fulling methods, like the ones I suggest in the video.
If holes in your fine felt have been an issue for you in the past,...
This year, make your Easter gifts extra special!
Hereâs a sweet tutorial to help you gift some extra love this Easter đ
Â
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THE BUNNIES?
That will depend on how many you want to make. So, Iâll just give you the list of materials for 4 bunnies like mine. You can adapt the colors and/or decoration to your own taste.
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by making the pre-felt with your wool of choice. I canât say exactly how many layers you need, since thatâll depend on how thick you lay your wool. But 4 should do if youâre working with thick layers.
Cut 2 bunnies in pi...
Have you just recently discovered wet felting, and donât know where to start? Iâve put together a list of resources for you to help you know what to learn next.
START BY MASTERING THE BASIC WET FELTING SHAPES
When people approach me about learning to wet felt, they often tell me theyâd like to make scarves and garments, so theyâre particularly interested in nuno felting.
But to get to nuno felting and other more demanding techniques, you need to be confident with the basics first.
So, here are the simplest instructions for the 3 basic shapes, whether you would like to work with wool batts or with wool tops.
And here are a couple of additional tips that can help you perfect your technique:
50% Complete
And let you know when there's a new blog post, tutorial or masterclass available.
Don't worry, I hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.