Thursday, February 7, 2013

Mixed Raw Fleece Winter Slippers- Part 1 of 2

Laying out lovely, spongy roving from Hog Island Sheep...

...for the footbeds and slipper tops.

 
Adding a thick layer of raw locks...

 
...followed by dyed merino roving.



Wetting out the piece. 
 
Adding several layers of 'oddball' roving in various colors...

 
...left over from earlier projects.

 
The felting commences.

 
Cutting the slippers apart, mid-way through felting.

 
The slippers that my partner felted for himself last year have already worn through...

...so I decided that it was time to make him a warmer and sturdier pair.

"And what could be toastier", thought I...

..."than a pair made with a thick layer of raw fleece?" Grin.

Using raw locks and roving left over from other projects...

...I laid out a soft and cushiony layer of Hog Island roving for the soles of the slippers...

...and the slipper openings.

Next, I added a thick layer of raw fleece to the resist...

...and covered it with layers of wool roving in various colors.

Next time: the finished slippers...

...with their 'Hermes-like' boingy bits! :)

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12 comments:

Truly Myrtle said...

Gorgeous!!!! I want some.

Heather Woollove said...

TM--You may feel differently when the finished slippers are shown! They're...a...bit...WILD! :)

Unknown said...

Próbuję odgadnąć co to jest i przychodzi mi do głowy filcowy but. Hm czekam na dalszy ciąg.

Heather Woollove said...

Karolina--You will not have to wait too long, I promise! :)

WonderWhyGal said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Heather Woollove said...

Andrea--Hahaha...let's see what you think after Part 2! :)

Rachel said...

I've been intending to make myself a pair of felt slippers, but I've been a bit unsure about the number of layers I need to make them really sturdy...!

Vivian said...

Wow, that's very "animal"-looking! :D looks good!

Heather Woollove said...

Rachel--You may want to do a small, weighed-out test square to see what your shrinkage is (and how thick it comes out with how many layers). It's hard to answer this question because everyone lays their wool out differently. I would say something like 4 to 6 layers is typical.
Vivian--Just wait...they get wilder, yet! :)

Cathy Johnson said...

Wow that's ingenious! Can't wait to see the finished slippers. So the seams will be in the middle? just to trying to figure it out ;)

Anonymous said...

These fascinate me. You start out with all that woolly goodness flopping about, and then when it's done, everything is smooth and flat? Like where is all the fluffiness hidden? It actually shrinks up that much? Can't wait to see them finished. :)

Heather Woollove said...

Cathy--Using a resist makes things seamless, although with these slippers, you will see more of a color change where the edge of the resist was, because of the way I laid out the raw locks.
Sandie--That's why I like to put the raw fleece next to the resist and make them inside out. Much neater to hide it all inside while you work! :)