A Tale of Two Felted Skirts- Skirt 2

Pencil roving 'paisleys'.

 

The skirt with the (wild) roving it was made from.

 

The finished skirt-prior to trimming (silk side 'out').

 

Me wearing the skirt (with leggings...to work!!) Grin.

 

After the debacle with skirt # 1...

...I knew that I needed to scale waaaaay back on the fiber this time.

So for skirt # 2...

...I used only one thin layer of roving with the silk gauze.

Since I intended to wear it over leggings, anyway...

...I thought that if my fiber didn't cover every inch of the skirt, it would be no big deal...

...but, actually, it worked out fine.

I made 'paisleys' from pencil roving...

...and tucked them between the silk and the roving on the skirt front.

As with all of my nuno pieces, I started with cool water and soap...

...and only after the wool had migrated through the silk, did I 'turn up the heat'!

I still find it extremely awkward...

...flipping and rolling a piece as big as this by myself.

Too bad some of you don't live closer!!! Giggle.

Since I prefer the silk side of nuno felted items, and also to tone down the very loud green of my roving...

...even though it's technically reversible...

...I only intend to wear this skirt silk side 'out'.

I'm not exactly sure what some of my co-workers thought of this outfit...

...but it was warm and comfy and I'm sure I'll be wearing it again!! :)

A Tale of Two Felted Skirts- Skirt 1

The original skirt plus resist pattern.

 

The wool-covered resist.

 

The finished skirt (silk side 'out').

 

My beautiful daughter, L, as model.

 

Recently, my friend Mariana made a couple of wonderful felt skirts...

...and it inspired me to try some of my own!

I began with a skirt that fits me well...

...and drafted a pattern 1 and 1/2 times as large.

Since Mariana does not use any zippers or elastic at the top, but merely pulls the skirt up over her hips...

...I needed to make a slight indentation near the top in order to create a waistline.

I used several layers of wool roving (one would have been enough)...

...and silk gauze for the foundation.

After some intense felting (felting a piece this large is pretty demanding!!)...

...I cut out the resist and finished the skirt.

Unfortunately, because I used so much fiber...

...the skirt is thick and a bit too rigid.

I think it would be the perfect garment to wear over leggings to shovel snow...

...or perhaps it will be transformed into another 'something' altogether!

In my next post, I will show you my second skirt attempt...

...and this one I've actually worn! :)

'Fleece-In-The-Grease' Throw Rug

Black Romney fleece being covered with a layer of white roving (and later, cheesecloth).

 

The front side of the rug mid-felting.

 

Close up.

 

Finished rug in its new 'home'.

 

My Black Romney fleece was whispering to me recently...

..."Use me, use meeeee!"...

...so I decided it was time for another fleece-in-the-grease project. Grin.

I had an old throw rug in the dining room which had seen better days...

...and a handmade replacement seemed in order.

I laid out wool locks and covered them with merino roving...

...then topped them with a layer of cheesecloth for structural support.

Because of its location and intended use...

...I didn't want to leave tufts like I did with my full fleece pillow.

I think a little of the charm of using raw fleece was lost, however...

...because of its flatness. :(

When it was finished, I found it to be a bit slippery on the bottom...

...but sewing pieces of rubber no-slip matting to the rug back solved the problem.
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Today in the US, we will celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday...

...and I would like to wish all of you a most joyful and memorable holiday.

And since giving thanks is especially appropriate today...

I would like to take the opportunity to say "Thank You" to each and every one of you, my lovely readers!

Your comments, tips and encouragement mean the world to me!!!

"Bloodshot Eyeball" Pillow Cover- Part 2

Felted and sewn pillow cover.

 

Close up of 'eyeball'.

 

Pillow front.

 

Pillow back.

 

I'm sure you know that I didn't intend to make an eyeball pillow cover...

...but that's kind of what it resembles, hence the name.

I guess I'll have to make sure that this pillow goes to someone who doesn't read my blog...

...or who wouldn't be put off by the idea of 'conjunctivitis as design'! Grin.

As with all of my pillow covers, I trimmed this one square, backed it with fabric...

...and sewed a couple of lines of stitching to make the border.

The bright red and white fabric really works with the colors of the pillow...

...and brings to mind a Swedish Dala horse.

"Bloodshot Eyeball" Pillow Cover- Part 1

Silk yarn bits.

 

White and black roving and silk yarn with silk gauze overlay.

 

Red and black wool roving.

 

Wetted out pillow cover.

 

I purchased several skeins of silk yarn at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival...

...and I'd been looking forward to using it in a project.

I placed cut up bits of silk yarn on my resist...

...then covered them with black and white wool roving.

I wetted it out, turned it 'right side up'...

...and added a layer of silk gauze (as 'insurance', to hold the silk yarn fast).

I topped it all off with blobs of bright red and black wool roving...

...and wetted and felted the piece.

If you look near the center of the pillow cover...

...you'll notice what looks like a vascularized eyeball forming (!)

Next time...

...the finished pillow.

'Terrible Top' Purse (Repurposed)- Part 2

Sewing in the zipper.

 

Attaching the handle.

 

Plain back side of purse.

 

Front side of purse with 'flags'.

 

As soon as I realized that my top was not to be (sniffle)...

...I knew that the resultant felt would make an interesting purse.

I cut two handles from the long edges of the top...

...then rounded off the ends of each one.

Maximizing the area of the remaining felt...

...I cut two matching purse sides (with acute angles at the bottom).

To make the handles, I sewed the strips in half, lengthwise...

...leaving the ends free for attachment.

After installing the zipper, I attached the handles...

...and sewed on lots of little colored flags (trimmings from my pillow covers).

I decided to leave one side of the purse plain...

...so that it can be worn more comfortably against the body.

In order to give some volume to the finished bag...

...I cut a small square from the bottom corner of each piece.

I sewed up the sides and bottom of the bag...

...leaving the cut out sections alone.

Finally, I flattened the bag, perpendicular to the bottom seam...

...and sewed up each end (resulting in a squared-off bag bottom).

Now who (except for those of you in the know)...

...would ever guess how this bag started out?? Giggle.

'Terrible Top' Purse (Repurposed)- Part 1

Wool roving and silk gauze.



The wrapped resist.


The finished top: wool side out.


Cutting the terrible top into a purse shape (silk side showing).


Ever since I began felting...

...I've been trying to psych myself up to make a garment.

I first thought 'jacket'...

...then scaled down to the idea of a sleeveless shell to wear over another top.

I figured that once I had the proper-sized resist and a method that worked...

...I could whip them out like seamstresses do with a pattern that fits well.

I took measurements from a swing top that fits, allowing for shrinkage...

...and created an enormous resist!

Honestly, if I didn't have 'figure issues' before this project...

...I sure do now!!! Giggle.

I covered it with silk gauze...

...and two layers of variegated black, white and rust roving.

I have to admit that working this big is really hard for me...

...since I've always preferred to make projects that are more easily accomplished.

(If you talk to any of my long-time friends...

...you'll realize that I'm known to be a bit impatient!) Har.

After rolling it for what seemed like ages...

...I cut out the resist (too early, it seems, since the straps of the top became
quite mangled).

I worked on it until it seemed pretty well felted, but still way too large...

...and by now, bored, I decided to pop it into the washing machine for small bursts to see what would happen.

I have to say that it felted pretty well in there...

...except, of course, that it shrank more along the vertical dimension than the horizontal.

(Why am I always surprised by this?)

I loved what happened to the texture of the silk side after a spin in the machine, though...

...and decided that that the silk side would be the exterior of the top.

It was obvious to me that my resist dimensions needed some tweaking...

...and I wasn't at all happy with the fit (or the wonky straps).

I first tried to alter it to help make it fit better...

...and I took in the sides and lengthened the straps with the cut off pieces.

After all of these machinations, though...

...it just looked weird and schlumpy to me. Sighhhhh.

A beautiful thing about felt, however...

...is that there's no irredeemable piece of felt!

Next time...

...how I 'made lemonade from lemons'...

...and designed a really cute purse.

Orange Flower Pillow Cover- Part 2

Fully felted, trimmed and beaded pillow cover.

 

Hand sewn beads and outlining embroidery.

 

The rear view...neighhhhh!

 

The finished pillow cover.
(The background looks orange in this photo, but it's yellow.)

 

So, ok...

...here's the disaster part of this story:

As I was felting this piece, I noticed that the piled up bits in the flower center...

...were NOT felting together!

I don't know whether it was because the pile I made was too deep...

...or whether I should have covered the back with a layer of roving for stability?

In any case...

...I was left with a center that looked kind of like a healing scab (sorry for this graphic image)...

...with cracks that went all the way down to the cotton gauze backing.

Shudder

I went ahead and finished felting it, anyway...

...and anchored the unstable parts of the center with small stitches.

Since I was fiddling around with embellishment at this point, anyway...

...I decided to add multicolored beads and embroidery, too.

I used some fun 'horsey' fabric for the reverse side...

...and I like the way the fresh green color of the back coordinates with the yellow front.

Orange Flower Pillow Cover- Part 1

Pile of pre-felt confetti.

 

Pre-felt petals and variegated pencil roving.

 

Yellow roving background.

 

The front side, with dyed flax additions.

 

Since my gracious and indulgent readers are not yet pulling their hair out...

...I've decided to show you one more pillow cover before I share one of my less than stellar garment posts. Har.

I took small cubes of pre-felt that I had cut from leftover scraps...

...and piled them up to make a multi-colored center.

I cut and added large pre-felt petals...

...and swirls of thick variegated pencil roving.

I covered the empty areas (background) with yellow wool roving...

...and felted it a bit, until it was sturdy enough to flip over.

Once it was right-side-up...

...I added strands of dyed flax to the petals for interest.

Next time? Disaster strikes...

...but all is later redeemed!

Blue Mixed Media Pillow Cover- Part 2

Fully felted pillow cover.

 

After trimming.

 

The reverse side.

 

The finished pillow cover with multiple rows of stitching.

 

As I mentioned in my last post...

...I had a little 'fiddling' to do during the felting process with this one.

I needed to roll it more in one direction than the other...

...in order to make up for shrinkage along the length of the silk pieces.

Somehow, it's always surprising to me how the mere act of trimming things square...

...makes such a profound difference in their appearance!

Some of my readers may not know that I used to sew a bit before I learned to felt...

...and have quite a lot of fabric languishing in drawers and cupboards upstairs.

It makes me feel happy to be able to choose a piece that coordinates with each pillow...

...and give it a true purpose! Grin.

If you double-click the photos of the pillow front (to enlarge them)...

...you'll notice the odd thing that happened to my pale blue merino-tencel wisps.

They have faded altogether to white!

Very strange.
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I did a lot of felting last week (yay!)...

...and tried a couple of larger projects that...well...I'm not quite happy with. :(

Leave me a comment if you're getting a little tired of pillow covers, and would like a break...

...and I'll show you one of my garment efforts next, instead! Har.

Blue Mixed Media Pillow Cover- Part 1

Dyed Mawata silk hankie.

 

Wisps of hand-dyed merino-tencel roving.

 

Strips of re-purposed silk blouse and wisps and blobs of blue roving.

 

Overdyeing with icing dye.

 

One of the fun things about making lots of different versions of one item...

...is that you end up making samples without actually having to sample!

Sure, I understand the rationale for it, and love the idea, even...

...but since science is a big part of my 'real' working life...

...I think it's worth a few spectacular failures now and then...

...in order to keep my felting life a little less scientifically rigorous. Grin.

I bought some hand-dyed Mawata silk hankies at a Sheep and Wool Festival a year or so ago...

...and had been wanting to use them.

I layered the pulled-apart hankie and shiny merino-tencel roving bits...

...then covered them with layers of white roving, wetted the piece, and flipped it over.

Next, I cut strips from a silk, thrift store blouse...

...and anchored them with wisps and blobs of two colors of blue roving.

It was interesting to note (sampling-wise)...

...that the blue silk strips caused the piece to shrink disproportionately along their length.

When it was fully felted, but still wet...

...I overdyed it with a bit of 'teal' Wilton icing dye.

Next time...

...the finshed pillow.

(You may be surprised, as I was, at the color of the merino-tencel bits!)