The Dodo Blog

Last week I did a short introduction to nuno felting, on how to choose the right materials and a couple of other tips to help you start experimenting with the technique.

Today, I’d like to show you some examples of samples I made before I decided to felt a bigger piece, what materials I chose for them and what went right/wrong.

I’d like to start with the samples where the wool covered the whole fabric surface, just because I find it an easier way to start than just applying stripes, dots or any kind of other motives on the fabric, since the smaller the area that the wool covers, the more difficult it is to make it attach properly to the woven surface.

Sample 1 – This is probably the easiest of them all to get good results. I used an extra-fine green merino and a white cheese cloth for this. Since this type of cloth has a very open weave, the fine merino fibers have no problem attaching to it. I find it produces a very interesting surface, that could look great on a...

I often get questions about nuno felting, so I’d like to share a couple of tips to help you start experimenting, and to get the feeling for it, especially if it’s something entirely new for you.

Nuno felting is a very recent felting method, and it was developed when designers rediscovered felting, and started playing with new ways to use this old textile technique. It was developed by Polly Stirling in the 90s, when she combined the traditional wet felting with light fabrics, like silk for example. In her own words:

‘In 1990 I became entranced by the myriad of transformations of the rich and ancient textile called felt. I spent most of the ensuing decade seeing what new forms could evolve, as appropriate for the subtropics of Australia where I had lived for nearly 20 years. The techniques I developed for making lightweight felts soon led to experiments combining other materials, and in 1994 my assistant Sachiko Kotaka and I developed the technique we termed...

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...

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...

And it’s finally here: the nuno felt obi workshop. Available on etsy!

Coming very soon is my new online workshop on how to make a nuno felt obi belt. Today I’d like to share the introduction video with you to give you a taste of what’s coming up.

I’ve opted for a relatively simple project, that’ll make it easy for you to explore the way into nuno felt.

I’d love to know what you think!