Felted, but not trimmed, yet.
After trimming.
Hand embroidery outlining the flower and bag edges.
I have a large, flat-bottomed canvas tote that I use for nearly everything...
...groceries, potluck desserts...lemon drops and my GPS on a long car trip.
So I wanted to fashion a similar carry-all tote, in felt...
...as a hostess gift for my friend, Dawn.
With all of the 'fiddling around' with purse resist shapes and sizes that I've been doing lately...
...I figured that a large, circular resist might just produce the desired shape.
I used foam floor underlayment for the resist and covered it with several layers of wool roving...
...making the bottom and top thirds purple.
I cut pre-felt petals in the shape of a flower...
...and centered them on the white area of the bag.
Keeping in mind the exact spot where I'd need to make a cut later (a dot of colored roving helps here)...
...I felted the piece until it was quite hard and pebbly.
I used sharp shears to cut out the centered handle...
...using the purple section as a guide-line while making my cuts.
To produce a flat bottom...
...stuffing the tote, and steaming it with a hot iron was essential.
When it had fully dried...
...I hand embroidered along the bag openings and around the flower to make it 'pop out' a bit.
I think that this tote shape has loads of possibilities...
...just wait until you see the one I made for myself, next!! :)
22 comments:
świetna forma i pomysł. Efekty wspaniałe.
Dzięki za komentarze rodzaju!
Love it.
Heather, you use prefelt a lot. Can you tell me why my prefelts not always stick to the wool? I can't find a reason. I did try a roll cut in slices but they won't hold. hugzz...Peebee
heather it's my favourite, love the shape and colours:)
look atmy blog, with your guidance i made the scarve with holes, love them. love, riet:)
great shape and form Heather, I betDawn is - was very pleased with it!!
Love this! Your post actually got me some looks today during a meeting. I was on google reader with my phone and up popped this awesome bag you made....of course I had to say "wow, how pretty!",I did not realize I was so loud.... oops busted during the meeting...but it was worth it! :)
If I was a betting gal I would guess yours will have orange in it....waiting.....
Peebee--Handmade prefelts can be made a little 'softer' and thus usually felt in a little easier than commercial ones. A couple of tricks when you use commercial ones, though...1)work inside-out if possible...it gives less friction to the additions from the felting process and 2) 'rough up' the back of the prefelt pieces with a wire brush before laying them out (a cat brush works well!).
If all else fails, hand stitch down the parts that stick up after felting.
Riet--Love your two new scarves!!
Well done, you!
Kim--Yes...it's purple, so it went over well at Dawn's house! :)
Kelly--You certainly DO know me well!! Sorry you got busted, but I'm happy that you like the bag!
... and a great bag. Looking forward to the next one. :-)
What a great bag and process!
Thanks, Kathryn-The next bag is very different!
Thanks, Ginny!
Good morning buddy,
Gosh I'm always a day late (and a dollar short;-) on my comments! I so love my bag...It's gorgeous and I have received so many compliments on it. Would you like me to begin taking orders? I could become your agent:-) It truly is a work of art and I love having a reminder of you and your friendship with me at all times. Thank you so much dear friend...You are a gift and I appreciate you and your talents so much.
Big hugs,
Dawn
What a wonderful and beautiful bag.....
I have just found your blog and it's so full of gorgeous work......I have just started wet felting and I am having so much fun......
Oh, Dawn...you're such a sweetie!
(Right back at 'cha!) Grin.
Nancy--I'm so glad you stopped by!
Yes...wet felting is the very best kind of fun!!! :)
Hi Heather
Thanks for popping over to GPB and your lovely comments.
And well lookie here at all this gorgeous felted colour. Beautiful.
Loani
Thanks, Loani! I hope you will pop by again, two posts hence, when I will reveal my own two lovely (mostly brown) kitties!!
It's lovely Heather, I'm sure your friend will be ploeased with it.
Heather, after you have cut the top to make the handle, could you wet the edges and felt them a bit more to 'seal' them?
Thanks Amanda
Thanks, Angela!
Amanda--Certainly, you could cut the top earlier than I do, in time to seal the edges. Just make sure that it's fairly well felted before you cut, or it will stretch out of shape. (Actually, this would be a great way to make the handle longer, if you wanted to! Gently pull on it as you're sealing the edges!) It's funny, since I don't mind the 'cut look' at all, I didn't realize that it mattered to some felters...but if you 'never cut', this project should still work very well for you. Let me know how you do!! XXO-
Love this bag Heather! Another wonderful project xx
I love your tote, and the flower is adorable. It really sets it off so nice. I agree, you will find many uses for this bag. Wonderful!! :)
Post a Comment