Friday, June 15, 2012

Blue 'Seamed' Purse For Portugal- Part 1 of 3

Large foam resist in an erratic new shape.

 
After covering the resist with a thin layer of white roving...

...I pieced together small bits of leftover cotton gauze and scrim for layer number two.

 
Blue wool finishes up side one, and then the whole 3-layer sequence is repeated on side two.



The variegated blue wool batts were hand-carded on my drum carder...

...from some old, narrow roving in my stash.
 
Adding bits of silk noil and dyed tussah silk.

 
Cutting out the resist after felting the piece for awhile.

 
Nearly there.

 
The finished felt, prior to 'seaming'.

 
Because my yellow and green 'tailored' purse was so much fun to make...

...I decided to make a similar one in blue.

Instead of using my large round resist this time...

...I fashioned an odd new one, instead. :)

I wanted to have the opportunity to make radically different choices with my stitching on this purse...

...and starting with a new felt shape really allowed for that.

I also had to adjust for the fact that the felt was much heavier and harder to sew this time...

...due to the inclusion of the overlapping gauze layers and my use of split batts.

It's probably for the best that this purse is less finely wrought than the yellow and green one, though...

...since I'm sure it will get quite a lot of abuse on my trip to Portugal! :)

Next time: an inner pocket lining made from gifted fabric...

...and a re-purposed leather strap.

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7 comments:

WonderWhyGal said...

oooh, I can't wait to see the final bag especially after seeing the shape of the resist.

Rachel said...

It looks almost as though it was inspired by Van Gogh's "Starry Starry Night"

Vivian said...

Portugal! It must be so exciting to be able to make something for your trip. I'm sure you'll have a great time showing off the bag.

Melissa Plank said...

Portugal, how completely wonderful!!! I can't wait to hear about this new adventure. Your purse looks so cool, I am impatient to see parts 2-3. Hugs!

Kelly said...

Love the color, and the shape is quite interesting. I hope you are enjoying your trip!

Anonymous said...

have a great time in Portugal and I cannot wait to see the final result

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, all! I've just arrived home from Portugal this afternoon and have a lot to sort out, but you can be certain that I will have lots of fun photos to show you (and new projects!) as soon as I've done a bit of laundry(!) :)