Needle felting by Kate Ryder

I stumbled across needlefelting about 3 years ago just by being inquisitive. So, the story starts at the Craft and Quilting Show at Claremont and I was rummaging about in the boxes in one of the stalls, when I came across some Needlefelting Needles. I didn’t buy any at the time because I thought they were for a sewing machine (I hate sewing!!), but when I got home, I surfed the net on Needlefelting was and found a whole new world of felting. So I purchased some needles, some foam from Clark Rubber and because I am a spinner, I had the fibre to start something.

I thought I would begin with an alpaca as I am also a member of the Alpaca Craft Group and off I went about creating my new little creature. I had no idea how to start it – so I created as I went. You see I thought everything had to be added at once, so I was trying to do the body with the legs and the neck all in the one action. I have since found out sooooo much more and learnt so much just by reading and You Tube and by doing and I do things differently now!

I believe that a good piece is one that can be handled and touched. I create very solid parts of my piece, so that when you press the piece, there isn’t much of an indent. It should be a hardy item. However, I do display my items in plastic boxes now to save on them collecting dust. Some of my pieces have been made using an armature which is a wire supportive core. I have used plastic covered garden wire or pipe cleaners depending on what I am doing. This kind of core gives the piece more support and you can then bend the legs/arms into different positions and still keep them attached! Other pieces are free form and for animals, I always start with the head of the animal, then I have a base to start with for size etc. I find the expressions on the faces of the animals the hardest to do and I spend many hours on the heads. I enjoy Needlefelting as I feel I have more control over the end result and I can do this form of felting anywhere – even when I sit down at Fremantle watching the big ships! I have a website if you would like to have a look: www.spinagoodyarn.com I still have a lot of pictures to upload, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I have on the web. I do commissions for people who have sadly lost their furry friends as well as requests for all sorts of things.

Yours in felting, Kate Ryder

To make a good rug by Liz Odd

  1. It is best to lay even layers of wool when making a rug. The ‘design’ layer should be a nearly as thick as your base layer.
  2. It is good practice not to mix types of wool in the separate layers,[for example: corridale base and merino design as merino will wear faster than the corridale] .
  3. Different types of wool can be mixed within layers. Utilise test pieces to ensure you know the shrinkage, and the surface reflects the design and texture anticipated.
  4. Edges should be kept as thick as the main body of the rug . This should be monitored as felting progresses.
  5. Good design makes a good rug. Check that the design remains in place during the felting process. To help keep the design in place, dry roll before wetting down. Rinse the rug well and add vinegar to the final rinse.
  6. A good rug is well felted and hardened. Continue to stretch your piece throughout the process to manage the shape and aid the felting. A rug can be steam ironed to assist with the final shaping.
  7. To make a well felted rug ,test that the fibres cannot be lifted from the rug and that the whole piece is firm and will not stretch when pulled.

Liz Odd

FELTING 101 – My Point of View by Alison Gomes

I love to felt. And for me, a huge part of that joy comes from seeing the magical transformation from fibre to felt that happens literally in my own hands. But like every good magician knows, in order to achieve that great result, there’s a lot of meticulous preparation required behind the scenes.

In the world of felting, these are things we all know and do, but since I’m writing about quality felt, I think it’s important to go back to the basics. So please bear with me while I attempt to put down my thoughts on creating quality felt….

Take the felting process through to completion and with care

I know this sounds obvious but I also know how tempting it can sometimes be to hurry things up.

To begin with, lay out the wool evenly, thin wisps at a time, without too much of an overlap between rows. This will reward you with a consistently fine finish. Much better than clumpy laying which ends up being thick or thin in places – not good. Confucius says: Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

I also believe more fine layers are better than fewer thick ones. Especially for wearables, as you will end up with stronger felt with more movement or stretch, as opposed to a stiffer piece of felt.

Check regularly that the work is coming along as expected. Which means no extra-long bouts of rolling. This way you can also catch any problems before it is too late to fix them.

Don’t skip steps. They all have a part to play in creating good, strong felt.

As we know, different wools and silks behave differently; some work like magic, while with others you’re in for the long haul. So be patient, take deep breaths and drink lots of cups of tea.

Think about your design

What’s the point of all that hard work if a piece isn’t beautiful to look at? The design of a piece really is the first thing that attracts the eye, so it is worth thinking about. In my opinion, colour, composition and balance are the three main elements to consider.

Colour – Colours have an amazing ability to influence our moods and can therefore be a very powerful design tool. I find it amazing how, even using just two colours, you can get two completely different looks simply by changing the proportion of each colour in a design. You may also be surprised at how the most unlikely colours can actually look good together. While classic combinations of colour will always work, it’s the unusual pairing of hues that bring originality and freshness to a design. For instance, orange and red do go well together… trust me, I’ve tried it! Colour is also a simple way to expand your comfort zone, to go where you may not have gone before. A basic understanding of colour ‘groups’ will help with colour scheme ideas. Warm colours, cool colours, pastels, bright colours, neutrals, etc. Most libraries have good books on the topic.

And where do you find inspiration for new colour combinations? Just look around you, they’re everywhere. In our landscape, printed textiles, jewellery, other people’s outfits, and other unexpected colour juxtapositions that happen all the time. Magazines and craft books offer a wealth of colour inspiration too. Or, when you find yourself surrounded by your bags of different coloured wools and silks, etc, try placing two or three colours side by side, then stand back and assess. Keep changing them until you arrive at a combination that makes you smile and want to dive straight into your next project. And do give that hated colour a whirl too… it might surprise you when used in the right combination.

Which brings me to the next point, that a pre-conceived colour scheme generally yields better results than adding bits of colour as the whim strikes. But, if you prefer a ‘colour-as-you-go’ method, then spare a few moments after you’ve laid it all down, to stand back and assess if it does indeed work together, or if some changes might be needed.

Composition

As we know, the positioning of elements in a design is called the layout or composition of a piece.

Generally speaking, placing things off-centre rather than in the middle; using an odd instead of an even number of elements and the repetition of a shape or form, are some basic principles of good design. Asymmetry is usually more interesting than a perfectly symmetrical (and often boring), design.

It’s also useful sometimes, after you’ve laid it all out, to try moving things around or removing an element or two. Stand back, look at it objectively. And be ruthless. Just because it took an hour to cut out all those flowers doesn’t mean they should all be there. Maybe just a few would do the trick and the rest would look stunning on another piece of work.

Balance

Do all the elements in your design sing in harmony? This can be tricky, but the more you think about it and practice it, the easier it will get. An obvious example of an unbalanced piece would be if one section were very detailed and the rest looked like it hadn’t been spared much thought. It’s about keeping things relatively proportionate. For wearables especially, it is important that one side or half not be visually heavier than the other – not symmetrical, but balanced. Standing back and viewing always helps. (As you would have gathered, I do it a lot.) And it’s best to make any changes before you begin wetting things down. Wet wool doesn’t like to be moved.

I will take a teeny, weeny bit of space here to make a case for post-felting embellishment. Not every piece will cry out for a needle and thread, I know, but there are times where just a little bit of decorative stitching or beading or whatever, will lift a piece straight out of the ordinary.

And finally,

Construct a piece according to its purpose

This includes basic considerations such as how many layers you would need, what kind of wool you should use and the direction of laying. Which will lead you to secondary issues, like shrinkage calculation. Should you use a batt or lay down wool tops. Do you need to consider reinforcing certain areas like the soles of slippers? It’s essential to think the whole process through before you begin. For example, to create a bowl with a very firm 3-D feel, it might be best to felt around a spherical resist. With handbags for example, internal pockets, external pockets, etc are all elements that require planning at the construction stage, as you lay down the wool and resists for each. I also think there’s nothing wrong with sewing a piece together after felting it, instead of a single piece construction, if the piece would be better for it. Take the time to think it all through before you begin.

In closing, there’s one more thing I’d like to add. Don’t be afraid to change any aspect of the felting process if you think it would yield better or unexpected results. And just because something hasn’t been tried before doesn’t mean it won’t work. Remember, all the wonderfully quirky, one-of-a-kind felted objects you’ve ever seen have come about because someone tried out something new, and changed the usual felting trajectory to accommodate a new creation.

So go forth and felt. And know that you’re making the world a better place, one beautiful piece of felt at a time.

Alison Gomes