"Dye Another Day" Purse- Part 3 of 3

The front of the acid-dyed felt...

                                                          ...and the back.

                                                 Here's a peek inside, too.

                                             A hand-fashioned leather closure...

                         ...features a vintage button gifted to me by my friend, Elis.

                            I used variegated thread to attach the straps and closure.

                                 The finished purse in all of its 'golden' glory (back)...

                                                               ...and front.

                                                 By crumpling up the felt bag...

                                     ...into a no-longer-safe-for-food crockpot...

                                       ...and adding two different acid dyes...

                                           ...I achieved this mottled effect.

              A strap and buttonhole closure were fashioned from warm brown leather...

               ...and were machine-stitched to the purse with variegated thread.

"Dye Another Day" Purse- Part 2 of 3

Mid-way through felting...

                          ...the dark edge remains quite visible at the top of the bag.

                                                         Fulling the purse.

                                 My fully felted project, prior to blocking and drying.

                                                  Turning the bag inside-out...

                  ...and filling it with leaves and berries prior to tying and steaming it...

                                            ...results in these rather faint prints...

                                                  ...(and side two is no better).

                                            The red splotches that you see here...

                              ...are from the writing on a plastic grocery bag...

                                           ...used as a thin resist during felting.    

                                      Sadly, even after dyeing it with plant matter...

                                    ...this purse still seemed a bit "meh" to me.

                              Next time: I overdye it with acid dyes in a crock-pot...

                                                 ...for a bold new look!

"Dye Another Day" Purse- Part 1 of 3

Assembling my supplies.

                                          Laying out layers of white wool roving.

                          Please use caution if using plastic grocery bags as resists...

                ...the red lettering on this one left permanent marks on my finished felt. :(

                                      Adding a layer of darker, variegated roving...

                                         ...to the mouth and bottom of the bag...      

                                     ...to help disguise any eventual 'wear and tear'.

                              (Note the red markings left on the felt by the plastic bag.)

                                         Making loops for the strap attachments...

                                              ...and felting them into the bag.

                                                    Mid-way through felting.
      

                                        Next time: the results of the first dye bath...

                                                         ...(an 'eco' one!)

A Plethora of Peculiar Projects- Part 6 of ? (Eco-Dyed Helmet)

Felting white wool roving with tussah silk, bamboo and milk protein fibers...

...over an egg-shaped resist...

 

...then trimming out a small section...



...in order to create ear-flaps! 

 

I altered this 'oh-so-plain' white hat in Portugal...

 

...with the ever-helpful ministrations...



...of my dear friend and natural dyeing guru...

 

...Terriea!

 

We tied both fresh and iron-water mordanted eucalyptus leaves...

...inside the inside-out hat...

...then heated it in a vinegar and eucalyptus dye bath...

...in order to achieve this lovely result!

 

This was an experimental hat...

...as I endeavored to find a new way to use an asymmetrical beret resist...

...and it was a lot of fun to make and dye!

To my eye, however, it has several 'design flaws'...

...and I believe that it would greatly benefit from a little judicious trimming.

Stay tuned for my end-of-the-month giveaway...

...if you have 'designs' on it! Giggle.

Nuno Felted Beret Using Plant-Dyed Silk

Covering a large bubble wrap resist with wool roving...

...in concentric circles...

 

...light grey over dark.



Wetting out the project... 

 

...then adding a layer of plant-dyed silk gauze to the top surface.

 

Cutting a 'head hole' mid-felting.

(You can see just how oversized this resist really is!)

 

Felting and fulling the hat.

 

The finished beret with darker grey interior...



...and highly rugated outer surface.

 

Working from a concept taught by Judit Pocs...

...that several of my classmates had tried at Feltfull...

...I recently attempted to make a large, soft beret...

...using more of that plant-dyed silk gauze that I wasn't exactly thrilled with.

Result? The felt is very soft...

...and boy, is it ever large!!

(Obviously, I need to re-engineer the template prior to my next attempt!) :)

In order to salvage this project...

...I arranged the wet felt into the folds and ridges that you see...

...basting them in place to dry.

Lessons learned?

1) If I don't pay attention to all of the particulars of a project...

...I will invariably need to make more than one of them in order to 'get it'.

2) I learn more from my failures than I do from projects that actually work! 

'Flirty' Two Layer Plant-Dyed Shawl

Adding black wool roving to the edges of a plant-dyed piece of silk gauze...



...then covering the 'whole shebang' with a layer of black silk gauze... 

 

...and in the process, 'sandwiching in' a collar of roving...

...embellished with small squares of white pre-felt.

 

The finished shawl with collar and ruffled top edge.

 

A view from the back.



(The prints from the plant dyeing are a bit more visible here.)

  

The finished shawl...

 

...'on location' in Spain! :)

 

While playing around, mid-week in Portugal...

...I decided to try a technique similar to one that Claudia Burkhardt had demonstrated for us at Feltfull.

I sandwiched a border of black roving and small, white, pre-felt squares...

...between a one layer of black...

...and one layer of white silk gauze that I had plant dyed (but didn't much like).

Because the edges of the silk were not hemmed...

...I 'trapped' the silk along the top edge of the shawl with wool...

...resulting in a soft, narrow ruffle.

The finished scarf falls as two loose layers of un-hemmed silk...

...connected by its embellished wool collar.