Wetting them down and beginning to felt.
During felting...
...and here.
Making a leather strap from deer hide.
This is the second (of three) raw fleece purses...
...that I made at the Creative Felt Gathering this year.
I cut a template for the resist...
...and covered it with three thin layers of white wool roving.
Next, I added sections of raw Icelandic fleece...
...placing the cut ends 'down' onto the surface of the roving.
After wetting down and rubbing the piece on both sides for a loooooong time...
...I rolled it for a bit and finished felting it...
...taking care to keep the tips of the locks as loose and free as possible.
After returning home, I trimmed deer hide into a strip, stitched it lengthwise...
...and attached it to the bag for a shoulder strap.
Next time: the finished purse...
...with a tagua nut button closure.
8 comments:
ooooooooh, i'm so curious what the finnished bag looks like! i hate to wait:) love, riet
I never worked with raw locks but you make me very curious to go and try it. Thanx....hugzz...peebee
So how do you keep the tips free, when you want everything else to felt in solidly?
Riet--I hope you will like it...it's my favorite of the bags that I made that week. :)
Peebee--Yes, you should 'take a walk on the wild side'!! :) Maybe you could spend a day with Kim...I know she is a big raw fleece fan, too!
Rachel--Hmmmm...the $64,000 question! :)
First, you need to spend a LOT more time rubbing these bags and flipping them over to the other side and rubbing them...than you would ever think possible.
...but at a certain point, they start to adhere to the roving...and then you can rub with your fingertips (kind of like washing your scalp when you wash your hair) and pull on the individual locks to keep them free as you continue felting.
In my experience, some kinds of wool work better than others. People report great success with Lincoln locks, but I haven't yet found any to work with. I think the Icelandic locks are nice, too.
Fab looking bag! I want to make one!!!! Why is there always so much I want to do but so little time.....
Oh Jeanette...I know exactly what you mean! XXO-
This is amazing Heather! So wild- I love the locks and the deer hide handle....wishing I had some long locks here right now...I'd love to make a long lock raw wool collar....and feel a little wild wrapped within! So good to see your process!(and thanks for your warm wishes!I'm working my way back to the felting table!) XO Fiona
Thanks, Fiona! "...a little wild wrapped within"...
what a terrific image!! (I think it also describes ME!!) Giggle. I'm happy to hear that you're starting to feel like yourself again!! XXO-
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