Friday, January 6, 2012

"Electric Bass" Purse- Part 1 of 2


Laying out a complex resist...


...and marking the stitch line.


Covering the resist with variegated brown roving...


...and flipping it (like pages in a book) in order to cover each section evenly.


The first of several layers of roving.


The finished layout with one merino/silk blend spiral...


...and another for good measure!


I wanted to make a special purse for my dear friend, V for Christmas...

...so I decided to fashion a new kind of resist.

I devised a pattern for a multiple-resist bag...

...that would have two separate compartments in it for storing things.

My design inspiration came from an image I had in my head of an electric bass...

...you know, the kind that has an upside-down "V" cutout at the bottom! :)

To start: I sketched patterns on a large sheet of paper...

...then transferred them to pieces of foam floor underlayment.

I machine-stitched the two parts of the resist together...

...and began laying out my roving.

Felting with multiple resists is not as straightforward as with a standard resist...

...so I had to tread carefully and really take my time.

Next time: the finished bag.

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18 comments:

Unknown said...

Cant wait to see the finished piece it looks amazing, I'd love to invite you to be part of our new interactive felting forum, no pressure but i'll pass the link anyway lol, were a very friendly bunch of fibreholics and would love you to join in with us

http://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/index.cgi?

WonderWhyGal said...

oooh, I am liking this design. I always look at the resists and get very confused trying to imagine what your FO will look like.

Elizabeth said...

Hi Heather,
I hope you post pictures of the inside in part two! I use multiple resists all the time for bags to with compartments, but never with a shape like yours. It looks as if all the loose change will go to the points at the bottom (no digging!).
Elizabeth

Heather Woollove said...

Karen--Thanks!
Andrea--I felt the same way as I was making it! :)
Elizabeth--My friend is a 'change purse' kind of girl, but you're right...it may prove to be awkward to use for certain items. :)

Lindy and Paul said...

You are incredibly creative, Heather! I can't wait to see this finished bag :)

Voie de Vie said...

Happy New Year Heather! I love this design - and this is the first one I totally got right off the bat. :)

Btw, if you look at the "pattern" of the roving, it almost looks like wood grain. Very intriguing. :)

Pooch said...

You had my complete attention from the very first picture. What a fascinating process! Then I read about felted soaps and decided I need to visit your blog more often. Your creative vibe is inspiring!

:)

Patty Biermans said...

It looks really interesting, but I'm not getting "it". Is that strange? Maybe I'll understand it when the purse is finished! Looking forward to it... hugzz...peebee

Vivian said...

Can't wait to see what the finished project looks like. From the last two pictures, they almost take on the texture of leather.

Spinster Beth said...

Responding to your previous post ... I love Yardley's of London!

Heather Woollove said...

Lindy--Thanks!
Denise--Thanks for pointing out the 'wood grain' look...I hadn't even noticed it!
Pooch--I'm so glad that you're intrigued. Please stop by anytime!
Peebee--Yes...I'm sure you'll have an 'Aha' moment when I post Part 2.
Vivian--It's interesting that you and Denise(both knitters) are really 'in tune' with the shading and 'visual' of this variegated roving. I last used it in this project: http://woollove-functional-fiberart.blogspot.com/2011/09/flounce-turned-pocketlater-purse-part-2.html
Beth--Who knew that Y.O.L. was such a favorite?!? I hadn't thought of them in years, but now, I must buy more!! :)

Unknown said...

What a crazy, fun inspiration, Heather!
As always, I can't wait to see the finished result! You definitely have me thinking about these multiple resists now....:)

Heather Woollove said...

Fiona--I'm glad you enjoyed this wild experiment! :)

Unknown said...

Very cool looking! Love it!

Clasheen said...

Hi Heather, happy new year!!! I used to stitch the complex templates together too following the lesson learnt from the wonderful Anna Gunnarsdottir but then Lyda Rump mentioned sticking them in place using masking tape and this proved even easier!!! All you need to do is stick the tape on one or both sides of the plastic along the join line and it is far more flexible than stitching. By the time you are ready to remove the resist the water will have softened the tape and it is really easy to pull it out in sections. Obviously you can then restick it if you want to felt a similar piece again!

Heather Woollove said...

WK4E-Thank you!! :)
Nicola--Thanks for the tip! I think the 'flexibility issue' is big. I wonder whether this was why I had such a hard time 'easing' my layer (stretching it out, essentially), when I 'turned a page' on the resists??
Leave it to you to have a wonderful 'non-sew' way to do something!! Giggle.

FeltersJourney said...

Ooo Heather this IS and interesting piece! I can not WAIT to see it finished :)
xx

Heather Woollove said...

Deborah-:)