My first try at wool felting
I wanted to try something new this year, and bought some wool roving and felting needles from Etsy. I made the chipmunk first from washed and dried wool felt, and added stripes and a cream roving tummy, which is hard to see. It's fun and easy, although I broke a needle after several minutes, and I like the way it adds a bit of a layer to the felt body. I haven't been able to find a rust color roving similar to the wool felt of his body yet, but am still looking.
Basically, you layer on the various colors of roving, and 'punch' it with the felting needle until it becomes part of the fabric that makes the body.
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Comments (13)I'm a newbie too T-bird, and I know how you feel. It seems all a bit odd. There's so much time to wait from now until germ time. But from others here, they say its a success, and what a space saver, and I can earn a buck while I'm at it, so I'm in. I've really run out of garden space, since i only rent, but what I do is dig up something I've had for awhile and give it away or well it. I am trying to start a little business but for the most part I just give it away, especially to a certain fellow who donates it to his church. Just have faith T-bird and bank on the experience of these knowledgable gardeners. Find someone who will adopt you, then you'll be off and running. I believe there is a site for getting adopted. Can someone help me out here? I'll see if I can find a link. Are you interested in sowing other seeds? If you ask people will send you seeds, they love to help out us newbies. Trudi also gives out free seeds at Wintersown.org. If you go there you take a little fun quiz and at the end of it you get a paper verifying you went through the process, and in so doing you learn about WSing. Trudi is our greatest help, I guess she got this all started. her site is amazing, Check it out. Micki...See MoreIrresistible colors: my first rug wool purchase (1 pic)
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Comments (14)Thanks everybody for the comments. Kay, I think one could quilt it, in fact, now that you mention it, one of these days I'm going to use a leftover piece to give it a try and see how it looks. No batting, no backing! And the back looks just the same as the front. Also thought about binding it but decided to just stay with the border I made and then do a blanket stitch by hand with a thick thread for appearance (haven't done that yet....it's a thought for the winter when we're through with this summer heat). Kit, steaming them did not further shrink them, in fact it helped them and made them more flexible and soft. Also, sometimes I was a little off in my cuts, and the beautiful thing was that after patching the pieces together, they were a little lumpy, and the steaming just set them in perfectly. The wool was very forgiving! From this point on, though, I would wash the blanket only in cold water on a gentle cycle and reshape and steam it after it air dries. I've done this with my knitted felt hats, and they shape up great. Ah ha! Now that I know how to post photos, I'll post a couple more to show some leftover samples. I still have a lot of felted leftovers -- some turned out a little too thick, and can be made into purses. Thanks for the posting help & comments! Mel...See MoreMy3dogs ME zone 5A
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
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6 years ago3katz, it's now on top of the armoire in my office because I know my dogs would love it too...as evidenced by this squirrel they customized last year.
which should have looked like this!
My3dogs ME zone 5A
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoFouramblues - you will be so happy once you finish one! I love thinking about people I know and trying to come up with a little something they'd like.
Martin_ca - it really WAS - but again, I made the body out of wool felt and stuffed him, and then using the felting needles, poked the roving into him. There is another type of wool felting when you make a wire armature for the 'body frame', and then do what is shown in the video. HERE.
I haven't tried that yet, but you can bet I will be! I used to be able to take 2 weeks of vacation in October and sew for a craft show, but my position now has me working 10 - 12 hour days this time of year from Oct - January. I still have plenty of supplies and can't wait til I can really get into it again.
My dogs have customized more than one craft, but that one really hurt, as I loved that squirrel. I can't blame them though; I sit at the same table in here to re-stuff and repair the dog toys they tear apart to get the squeakers out that I do my craft sewing from. I never thought to put it up out of their reach when I stopped sewing that night, and went to bed, one of them plucked it right off the table and had his way with it, then the other two joined in, I'm sure. :-(
My guess is that the initiator was Riley, who did this in my daylight basement a few years ago, when he found ONE down pillow form.
lisaam