Monday, May 30, 2016

Felt Dryer Balls- Part 2 of 3

Winding small balls of acrylic yarn...

...(for dense centers)...


                              ...and wrapping them with multiple, thin layers of wool...



                                                              ...from a batt.


       
                                            Adding decorative embellishments...

                                            ...like lengths of dyed tussah silk...



                                              ...bits of brightly colored roving...
     

                                             ...windings of highly textured yarn...



                                   ...or snippets of pre-felt (made with silk paper)...



                                                     ...for a bit of shimmer.


                                            Two of the fully wrapped dryer balls...

                                                       ...awaiting wet-felting.



                                                    Next time: a bright yarn spiral...

                                        ...and all of my completed dryer balls.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Felt Dryer Balls- Part 1 of 3

Winding small, dense balls of acrylic yarn...


                                  ...and covering them with layers of wool roving...



                                               ...and bright embellishments!

              (A couple of jabs with a felting needle help to hold everything in place.)



                           Carefully inserting the ball into the toe of a nylon stocking...

                                        ...and tying it closed with a piece of yarn.



                                                     Preparing a second ball...

                                                   ...with hand-dyed roving.



                     After popping them into the washing machine with a load of clothes...



                                           ...I cut them free from their 'casings'. :)



                      Because I'm not happy with the quality of the finished felt at first...



                                      ...I wet-felt them again in the 'usual' manner.



                                                   Next time: more balls!! ;)

Thursday, May 26, 2016

"Purse-travaganza"! Part 9 of 9

The finished purse...


                                                                 ...drying.


                               Despite the aggressive nature of the 'hairy' base wool...

                                   ...not every textural piece felted completely in.

                                           (There are a couple of 'dangly' bits!) :)                 




                                     Close-ups of the bag surface with silk, lace....




                                                ...and cut-up bits of knitwear.


   
                                                            The bag interior.



                                             The back of the completed purse...



                                                            ...and the front...



                                                  ...and comparison photos...



                                          ...of the two (quite different) blue bags.



Tuesday, May 24, 2016

"Purse-travaganza"! Part 8 of ?

Making hanging loops...


                                   ...and attaching them to the partially laid out bag.



                                           Adding additional layers of roving...



                                          ...in 'white' for a clean, bright interior.



                                           Adding a bubble wrap pocket resist...



                                    ...and covering it with nuno-pre-felt remnants...



                                           ...and two additional layers of fiber.



                                                    Mid-way through felting...



                       ...the purple wool is already moving through the white lining.
 

                                             Turning the project right-side out...



                                         ...and rolling it in various orientations...



                                                           ...for further felting.



                                               Next time: the finished bag...

                    ...and a side-by-side comparison of my two 'hairy wool' projects!

Sunday, May 22, 2016

"Purse-travaganza"! Part 7 of ?

Applying bits of colored silks, lace...


                                  ...and snippets of re-purposed, knitted sweaters...

                                                ...to the surface of the resist...




                                  ...and covering them with variegated wool roving.



                                                       Wetting out the piece.



                                             Applying a second layer of wool...



                                                     ...(another 'hairy' one)...



                                          ...then flipping the project to side two.



                                          Adding additional pieces of silk, lace...

                                            ...and re-purposed, knitted garments...


                                                      ...to the resist surface...


                              ...and wrapping the overlapping wool from side one...

                                                   ...up and around the resist.



                                                 Covering side two with wool...



                                              ...and wetting out the surface.



                              This time, between the first and second layers of fiber...

                                               ...I add a few textural artifacts...



                                         ...(a soft felt ball, a piece of felted cord...

                                             ...and some finished felt remnants).



                                        Neatly enclosing the resist in purple wool.



                              Next time: a white interior layer and pocket are added.