Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tencel and Merino Birthday Purse- Part 2 of 2




The back side of the finished felt.


The bag with newly-stitched leather handle.


The front side of the finished purse...


...and the back.


I like the subtle shimmer that the tencel provides.


The opened purse with leather button loop.


The purse closure with Moroccan button.


I had fun trying out a new kind of fiber with this project (the tencel/merino blend)...

...and I thought that it felted beautifully.

The color gradation enhanced the very spare purse design...

...and the darkest color is at the purse bottom (to help camouflage wear and tear).

Since my friend lives in New York City, I wanted to make something compact...

...with a long strap, to wear cross-body for security.

For the closure, I used another of the buttons that my daughter brought me from Morocco...

...and I think that it makes the purse extra special! :)

Posted by Picasa

17 comments:

Patty Biermans said...

Oh, I like the color very much! I never heard of the blend tencel/merino. What is tencel?
The button is indeed special, like all your buttons :)) hugzz...peebee

Unknown said...

The finished bag looks gorgeous doesnt it. I really love the button and having a leather handle makes it look nice and strong. Beautiful :)

Heather Woollove said...

Peebee--Thanks! Tencel is a cellulose fiber made from wood pulp. It must be mixed with wool in order for it to felt (like bamboo or silk). After felting, it looks a bit wiggly and shimmery.
Karen--Thanks so much! Yes...I thought the leather would make it a bit sturdier.

Grazyna said...

Wow...delicious bag

Kelly said...

Beautiful purse! I have a pouch that I felted from tencel and merino, it has held up to being inside my purse for quite a while, and the shimmer "is" really nice!

martine said...

Hi
just a quick question. I have only done one bag that I have used regularly and it tends to pill quite a lot, I was wondering if this is a sign that I did not felt it hard enough or is this just an inevitable feature of felted items when they are well used?
thanks
martine

Heather Woollove said...

Grazyna--Thanks!! :)
Kelly--It's good to know that the tencel holds up so well...thanks!!
Martine--I tend to felt my bags VERY hard...sometimes even throwing them in the washing machine for 4 minutes at a time to full them (checking and re-positioning, and removing them before they get over-felted). I think you will find that yours will hold up better if you try this...but remember to lay out larger than you usually do, to factor in the additional shrinkage!

Terriea Kwong said...

Love the color tone and leather strap which looks stronge. I learnt a lot from your works. You must have done hard for it's well felted. I sometimes have the problem that seems not "too felted", the surface looks "loose". I should take your advice of washing machine next time.

Heather Woollove said...

Terrie--Thanks so much! Yes...try it sometime (for short bursts only!!) and see how it works out for you. XXO-

Anonymous said...

Yes, there's a lovely shimmer to it - although just the right proportions of colour will have helped there, too.

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Rachel! It is pretty roving, isn't it?!?

vilterietje said...

although pink is not my color, i like the composition of colors and the size of the purse:)

Heather Woollove said...

Riet--Thanks! It's true...pink is not for everyone. :)

Anonymous said...

Very nice. Love the colors too. :)

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Sandie!!

FeltersJourney said...

Heather this is lovely! Gorgeous colour combo.. love the simplicity of the design and the leather and Morocan button - it is very stylish. I'm sure your friend must absolutely adore this
xx

Heather Woollove said...

Deborah--Thanks! Yes...she does seem happy with it after all...yay!