Step-by-step Felting Tutorial
Following
this step-by-step felting demonstration will enable you to create your
own piece of felt from the raw materials: wool fibres. It is
recommended that you read through the whole process before you begin so
that you have an idea of how it works, then simply follow from the
first diagrams and enjoy making your first felt!
These photographs provide you with a pictorial guide, should you wish to follow that rather than the texts.
When
you feel like you have the hang of the basics of felt-making,
substitute your preferred colours, incorporate you own designs and
experiment with the fibres: different thicknesses, shapes and patterns-
your skill will improve, as will the enjoyment of making your own
felted work of art.
Felting materials used for Kelp:
[example used: Kelp - see 'New for Autumn '09 Gallery'.]
[South American] Merino wool fibres in teal, navy blue, olive green, moss green, spring green, yellow ochre
Silk fibres
Finely woven fabric [such as organza, voile]- at least twice the size of your fleece
Cotton thread and needle
Olive Oil soap [bar or flakes] and water
To make 'Kelp' felt:
1. Assemble all the colours and raw materials that you wish to use [such as Merino wool, silk fibres].
2. Choose your background colour- for
example, rich teal blue. Unwrap the ball to find an end. Pinch the tip
with the whole of the end of your thumb and forefinger and tease away a
few inches of fibres until they come straight out of the ball. These
fibres will form the sea.
3. Tease
out some more teal blue fibres and lay them in parallel, just touching
the first section. Do this four of five times until you have a base
layer.
4. Now
start adding a second layer, teasing fibres the same, but laying them
at right angles, criss-crossing the fibres on the first layer. Do this
until you have covered the first layer.
5. Add a third layer on top of the second, laying the fibres in the same direction as the fibres on the first layer.
6. Choose a second colour, for example spring green, and tease away a few inches of fibres.
7. Twist the fibres from one tip with the thumb and forefinger and roll fairly tightly until the i-shape holds.
8. This will form the first strand of kelp. Place it on the background fibres as if it were growing from the bottom of the sea.
9. Repeat
the teasing and twisting process several times until you have a few
strands of kelp rising from the sea floor. Overlap the edges slightly
to ensure that the kelps reach the bottom of the fleece once felted.
10. For
longer strands, tease away the fibres but not so that they come away
from the ball, but pinch again, carefully, an inch at a time until you
can pull fibres away from further in to the ball. When you have your
required length simply pull the strand until the fibres leave the ball.
11. Add
highlights to the tall kelp strands by teasing a smaller pinch of
fibres, for example, a subtle addition of yellow ochre. This suggests
sunlight penetrating the surface of the sea and shining down on the
tall vegetation.
12. Apply
silk fibres in the same way to suggest ripples of sunlight bouncing
through the water. These fibres are very lightweight and will move with
the smallest breeze, so take care when placing.
13. Tease
away a section of teal blue wool fibres and spread them out and lay
them across the silk fibres to give depth to the seascape. This will
also gently secure the silk fibres in place.
14. Add darker navy blue fibres to give shadow and depth to the sea, and an olive/ moss green to the lower areas of kelp.
Examine
your fleece for gaps and thin patches by gently pressing all over with
your fingers. If you are happy with the thickness of your fleece and
want to start felting, go straight to step 20. If you would like to add
additional layers then continue with step 15.
15. To add thickness to your felt, it is now easier to work on the reverse side. Carefully flip over your fleece of fibres.
16.
Tease sections of navy blue fibres and add them to the bottom of the
fleece [behind where the kelp is] in the same way as you added the
fibres to form the first layers. Only add the navy at the back of the
kelp area as this is the bottom of the sea and any navy showing through
will give the impression of depth and shadow.
17. At the top, add teal blue fibres, until you have covered your fleece.
18. Tease fibres and cut the lengths in half to add flared edges, overlapping the edges so that the fibres can bond when washed.
19.
Carefully flip your fleece back over and re-examine for gaps and
patches. If you wish to add more fibres, follow from step 15. If you
are happy with your fleece, continue with step 20.
20. Lay out your finely woven fabric and place your fleece on half of it.
21. Fold
over the other half so that the fold is at the top of the fleece. This
will keep the top edge neat and stop fibres flaring out. Do not fold
the other three edges, just place it over your fleece so that it is
completely covered. The felting process gives your fleece naturally
rough edges if they are not folded into the crease of the fabric.
22. This
next step may be time consuming depending on the size of your fleece,
but is nevertheless important as the quality of your end result will be
a reflection of the time and care put in. With a needle and thread,
[this is where all those straggly offcuts can be un-knotted and used !]
sew inch-long running stitches all over your fleece, making sure you go
through all the layers to the other side of the fabric. Leave the ends
of the thread to trail loosely so that they are easy to remove after.
23. Soak
your fleece with warm water, wring gently and lay it out on a flat
waterproof surface. Rub the olive oil soap or scatter flakes all over the fabric
and foam with the water.
24. Mash the fleece as if you were kneading bread dough of hand washing a garment. Twist, pull, scrunch, roll, knead and the fibres will begin to knot under the pressure.
25. Rinse
your fleece in cool water to eliminate all soap suds and wring gently.
Lay it on a towel or other absorbent material and roll up, applying
pressure. This will soak up more excess water.
26.
Stretch or shape your felt and allow to dry naturally. Hang up on a
clothes line or lay over a cooling rack so that air can circulate
around it.
27. Remove
the runner stitches carefully. Hold the felt flat against a surface and
pull the top layer of fabric away, followed by the second, to reveal your felted artwork.
