My daughter attends a Steiner primary school and one of the first 'crafty' things they learn is to make felt, which they then use to make water bottle covers (wool is a great insulator so the bottles stay nice and cool), pencil cases and gifts. As a mother keen to get involved I, too, learned to make felt although the first techniques I learned seemed to involve lots of grunting and throwing scrunched up pieces of felt around!
Last year I paid a wonderful woman in Bellingen for lessons in felt making: Eileen has spent 40 years making felt and I was left with the distinct impression that what she didn't know about felting really wasn't worth knowing... She taught me how to make straight edges and how to make boots, slippers, hats and purses: "three dimensional" felt items made without sewing or cutting, using a resist to create pockets etc.
Recently another wonderful felt maker gave a workshop at our school and as I was unable to go I've been picking the brains of other attendees for hints!
Some of it is just a question of style, but some of it is also personal technique. This person was demonstrating how to make felt with an absolute minimum of water, washing up liquid and a jam jar! I hope I've picked up some of her tips. And a big difference: she used scissors part-way through the felting process to make different shapes.
Well last week I had a chance to do some more felting with friends and made the 2-pocket case you can see in the photos, using pre-felted off-cuts for the edging. If I can sort a couple of things out (sewing in some pocket dividers, for example, and adding the closure I forgot to felt in...) I hope it will make a lovely Christmas present for my daughter. It was a lot of fun! More felt photos coming soon...
I've never made felt, but it looks like a lot of fun. Your example is lovely, lucky daughter.
ReplyDeletedidnt realise you were a felter too; so much in common!
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