Each piece of my felt work is unique and is created to produce a beautiful piece of felt art: some pieces being practical such as the scarves and cards; others being created purely as pieces of art.
Every piece of felt is hand made from fine merino wool tops which in some cases are blended with strands of silk thread to create special effects. Once the felt is made and cut to shape each piece is hand embroidered with cotton, metallic or rayon thread to a unique design then hand beaded to enhance the embroidered design and to complete the piece.
How I make Felt
Making felt is a magical process. You start with the single fibres of wool tops and end up with a soft strong fabric all from the very simple ingredients of wool tops some water, soap and some agitation a very simple inexpensive process. The process of felting depends on a quality of wool fibres. Each wool fibre has hundreds if not thousands of tiny spikes along its length. During the process of felting these spikes become intertwined and cause the fibres to bind together and so produce a piece of felt.
The actual procedure that I use is as follows.
Spread torn wool tops (about 8cm long) in a thin layer all in one direction on a piece of bubble wrap so that you can slightly see the bubble wrap through the wool tops, then spread another layer at right angles to the first layer, then if you like a slightly thicker felt add a third layer in the same direction as the first. Cover the wool with a piece of nylon net or cheesecloth. Then using a solution of warm dissolved pure soap flakes wet the surface and spray with hot water. Roll the bubble wrap and wool tops around a piece of dowel or a bamboo place mat.
Roll the parcel back and forth on a towel to absorb any water which escapes about a hundred times then unwrap the parcel and turn the felt (now at the pre-felt stage) 90O and re-wrap the parcel. Continue with the back and forth rolling for another hundred rolls then unwrap and turn the felt 90O again. Re-wrap and roll for another hundred rolls. This makes 300 rolls in all, it should take about 20 minutes and the rolling does not have to be very energetic just a gentle roll will do.
At the end of this rolling you should have felt. To test that the process has completed pinch the felt from each side and if you can’t detach one side from the other the felting process is completed. If not re-warp and continue rolling until the felting is complete.
Thoroughly rinse the felt in warm water until all the soap is removed then rinse again in some warm water with a little white vinegar added to neutralise the alkalinity of the soap. Dry the felt and press to smooth the surface. You now have a beautiful piece of felt to use in any number of projects.
