Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Blue Wool and Raw Fleece Purse- Part 1

Laying out raw fleece and variegated blue roving.

 


Trapping unwashed locks between the resist and a layer of roving.

 


Voila---completely covered!

 


Adding a layer of silk gauze for strength.

 


I acquired a large quantity of raw fleece recently...

...and I wanted to make a special gift for the sheep owner.

I used my peanut-shaped resist...

...and centered 'blobs' of raw fleece on both the flap and the backside of the bag.

I then encased the resist in several layers of variegated blue wool roving (plus a layer of silk gauze)...

...and felted it in the usual way.

Next time: the finished purse (and a fun, 'sheep-ish' button!)

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you use fragments of silk gauze, rather than a single piece? If so, is there any particular reason why?

Heather Woollove said...

Rachel--I had various snippets of silk lying around from other projects, so rather than cut into a new piece, I was just using up my discarded bits. :)

Kelly said...

Love the blue on this one. It's funny how when summer comes around I find myself drawn to blue!

Heather Woollove said...

Kelly--I am not generally a 'blue fan', but luckily, the recipient said it's her favorite color, so it worked out well!

vilterietje said...

isn't it hard to felt with the gauze in between? i never use material, only wool, except when i'm nunofelting? please tell me if i'm wrong, don't like to be wrong but if i am, i am:)

Heather Woollove said...

Riet--Sorry, but it's not hard at all. I only use very open-weave gauze fabrics (cotton or silk), and you really don't even know it's there, once you cover it with a layer of roving! It felts just like it's only wool.
For an experiment, try it sometime and see what you think!

vilterietje said...

thanks heather, i'll try, i'll try!

Heather Woollove said...

Riet-Good luck! Let me know how it goes!

Melissa Plank said...

Gosh your post are always so interesting and informative, thanks! Your latest project is gorgeous as always!

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks so much, Melissa!!

AllyB said...

Super cute purse, I love the blue, it's so brilliant. Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Vivian said...

It's so fun to see how this lovely purse comes together. Thank you for posting the pictures and instruction!

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Ally and Vivian!