Cutting the pre-felt into long strips...
...with a rotary cutter and mat.
Designing a purse resist with a 'square-ish' bottom.
Using paper strips, I check the position and sizing first...
...then move on to my finished pre-felt strips.
For decorative interest, I embellish the strips...
...by stitching designs onto some of them...
...with yarn, linen thread or embroidery floss.
To begin my layout...
...I place the resist under a layer of bubble wrap...
...and add a layer of merino roving and a layer of silk gauze...
...to the bubble wrap surface.
Because I am working inside-out...
...this first layer of pre-felt strips...
...is applied face up.
After extricating the resist and placing it on top of my pre-felt layer...
...I add additional strips (upside-down this time) to the resist surface...
...(encasing the resist in the process).
Wetting out the project.
Additional layers of wool roving...
...are applied to each side of the purse...
...and hanging loops are added.
An internal pocket is formed...
...and embellished with a spiral.
Next time: felting begins in earnest.
