I've been experimenting with nuno felting...
...because I feel like I still don't entirely 'get it'.
For this scarf, I took a length of my hand-dyed silk gauze...
...and machine stitched a rolled hem on all four sides.
I made very thin batts on my drum carder...
...and placed them, first, on my felting mat.
The scarf was smoothed on next...
...tucking any stray fibers under the silk.
By leaving the edges naked...
...it encourages them to ruffle.
For the top layer, I used merino 'top' in various colors...
...pulled into very fine wisps.
I formed small letter 'O's' with some of the wool...
...which later felted into round and oval dots.
I added bits of my new tussah silk...
...from the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival...
...and left some areas completely bare.
I rolled it first with cool, soapy, water...
...but because I had two layers of wool, sandwiching the silk...
...I felt confident about changing rather quickly to hot.
I lost a lot of length when the scarf ruched up in the uncovered places...
...but it made for a gauzy, interesting texture.
I didn't make any attempt to square off the corners...
...so they hang down in wiggly points.
4 comments:
Very pretty! I like the edges and the color combo. Is silk gauze the same texture as cheese cloth? Do you have an online source for it? Thanks!
Thanks, Kelly! The silk gauze that I used comes from the Dharma Trading Co.
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3395-AA.shtml. The weave is not as open as with cheese cloth, but it is much more so than 'regular' silk fabric from a fabric store.
Lovely work Heather! I would pass out if I had to hem the edges of my scarves so unless I buy them ready rolled I just place the fibres slightly over the edges all round!! I also only lay my wool on one side very lightly leaving gaps in the fibre so that the fabric will crinkle up more, usually up to 50% shrinkage.
Thanks! I just ordered some! I cannot wait to try it out. The silk I have been using wears me out to get it felted. It has a fairly tight weave.
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