Friday, January 29, 2010

Second Act: Needle-Felted Scarf

 

 

 

 


When you needle-felt on cotton gauze and then finish by wet-felting...

...the wool can't shrink as much as when you use wool fiber alone.

This means that, even with vigorous felting, your shapes remain more 'true'...

...and you don't end up with a wonky piece which is narrower or shorter than you wanted it.

For me, it still doesn't justify the time spent on needle-felting, though. Har.

The first photo is the scarf all wetted out, after I used my electric sander on it.

The vibration of the sander (no sandpaper is involved!) helps the wool fibers to start linking with each other...

...making the felting process a little shorter.

I recently found a wonderful set of three 'sweater driers' at a church thrift shop.

The second photo shows my scarf drying on its top tier.

(This was a great $5.00 find, I think!)

Because this scarf has a thicker 'inner layer' of cotton gauze, it's quite substantial and warm...

...but still soft...

...great for the cold days yet ahead.

P.S. This scarf was adopted today by my 'boss' at the Home Care Network
where I work as a hospice volunteer. What a providential 'placement'!! Grin.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on getting it done. I'm glad it came out so well, and now it will keep someone nice and warm in it's soft warm goodness. Very original design. I can do very little without having a pattern to follow. I rarely have an original thought in my head. :)

Anonymous said...

Your scarf is fantastic. A very individual design and your instructions are interesting and helpful. I will look forward to reading your blog, now I have discovered it!
Penny :)