Finished WIP: 'Sandwich Felt' Purse- Part 1 of 2

'Scrunching up' silk and cotton gauze...

 

...and covering it with a layer of wool...

 

...and a thin silk scarf.

 

Wetting out the piece...

 

...and, after felting it, drying it en plein air.

 

Unfortunately, during felting, some of the cotton sections turned a little pink...



...from 'used' soapy water that had residual dye in it. :(

 

So, while I was dyeing the silk for my nuno jacket...

...I decided to pop this piece in as well...

...and, wow, what a difference it made!

 

I made this portion of the project back in August, 2011 at Felter's Fling...

...and have had it tucked away ever since.

It was my sample piece for a 'laminating' technique taught by Liz Clay that week...

...for possible use as a couture embellishment on our felted garments.

Unfortunately, sections of it had turned pale pink...

...from dye in my soapy water, left over from another project.

My 'failed project inertia' was finally overcome recently, when I threw it into a dye bath...

...but I find it curious that it came out so much 'bluer' than the silk that I dyed along with it!

Like nearly everything else that finds its way into my 'felting orbit'...

...it somehow ended up as a bag! Grin.

Next time: the finished purse...

...and the opportunity to win it.

Felter's Fling 2011 "Love Blanket" WIP- Part 2 of 2

Rolling up the wetted-out project in thin plastic...

 

...tying it with strips cut from the legs of old pantyhose...

...and rolling it all up in a towel...

 

...then popping it into the top of the pantyhose and tying it closed...

...prior to putting it into the tumble dryer.

 

The felt heart was a gift from Liz Clay to each of the students in our garment class...

...and the multi-colored 'cross section' decorating the middle...

...was a leftover bit from my good friend Dawn Edwards.

 

I love the shiny texture and brilliant color of the tussah silk...

...and the grid-like design of the finished felt.

 

My first two (smaller) pieces.

 

Each re-purposed 'spot' has something unique about it...

...and I remember the garments made from every bit of fabric of fiber...

...much as an 'old time quilter' remembers the origin of each pieced-together square. :)

 

The larger (dryer felt) piece with her two smaller sisters.

 

Although I cannot yet claim to have finished this WIP...

...it is one step closer to completion.

I plan to make one more large piece in the dryer...

...and then stitch them all together into the blanket that I envision.

I find it interesting that the layout alone made the grid-like design...

...with black showing through the natural gaps in the layout of my single layer of white wool.

Sandwiching silk between very thin layers of wool makes for a soft and pliable felt...

...and I can just imagine draping it across my legs as I read in bed, once the cooler weather returns.

Felter's Fling 2011 "Love Blanket" WIP- Part 1 of 2

Discarded scraps of fabric, felt and wool from my classmates at 'Fling 2011'.

 

Laying blobs of dyed tussah silk onto thin 'painter's plastic'...

 

...then adding snippets of leftover fabric, felt and fiber.

 

A thin layer of white merino comes next...

 

...followed by a layer of silk gauze...

 

...and two thin layers of black merino.


 

 

Wetting the project with water and soaping it up, prior to rolling.

 

This project is a very long-term WIP (work-in-progress)...

...that I started a year ago at Felter's Fling.

Midway through our week-long workshop with Liz Clay...

...I asked my fellow classmates for any small bits of fabric, felt or fiber left over from their garment-making...

...that they were going to otherwise discard.

I thought it would be nice to find new life for cast-off snippets of fiber...

...and, in the end, to surround myself (literally) with the warmth of my fellow feltmakers.

Layering red tussah silk, bits of my friends' work, silk gauze and layers of wool...

...I created a piece of nuno felt that I intended to replicate several times, once home...

...and stitch together into a large blanket for my bed.

I did manage to make one additional small piece...

...but after that, my enthusiasm waned and the project was shelved.

Learning the dryer felt method of making nuno felt in Portugal, however...

...gave me a new, faster way to approach this project...

...and I set about to make additional panels, so that I might complete the blanket before it gets cold again.

My Own Couture Garment- Part 2

Close-up of the stitching on my handmade felt button.

 

Adding a loop to the back.

 

Cutting black leather to size.

 

Covering all of the ugly foundation stitches.

 

The garment back.

 

A close-up of the golden-brown bits in the felt.

 

The garment front.

 

As you can see...

...my finished garment ended up being rather straightforward in style.

Despite a week spent making flounces and flourishes...

...in the end, the only couture detail I could commit to was a button! :)

Maybe this is one of the joyful lessons of mid-life...

...accepting one's own personal style, and fashioning something to suit?

After all, this is a project that (for once) won't be given away...

...and one which has already found a home among my fall wardrobe!

My Own Couture Garment- Part 1

Liz Clay's original toile pattern...as made up in muslin.

 

My own toile, after modifications.

 

Felt 'production'.

 

Stockpiling finished and dried felt.

 

Cutting out my pattern pieces.

 

One of the other instructors, the amazing Marjolein Dallinga, modeling my nearly finished garment.

 

With my awesome teacher, Liz Clay...wearing smiles of relief after a long week!

 

Though I've shown you some of the wonder and variety of "Felter's Fling"...

...the next two posts are the meat and potatoes of my own 'Fling' experience.

Our instructor started us with a pattern, that when made up...

...fit each and every one of us...more or less!

(Kind of like the sisterhood of the traveling toiles!!) :)

We then learned to make pattern alterations and modifications...

...in order to get the finished garment that we each desired.

Some of my fellow students (expert seamstresses, all!!!) added sleeves and ruffles...

...and many took their patterns to thrilling extremes of tailoring and style!

Being a very rudimentary 'sewist', myself...

...I made modest changes: pattern-lengthening , a curved garment back, and nicely finished seams.

Next time: the finished garment...

...with couture button!

Flounce Turned Pocket...Later, Purse- Part 1

Variegated wool layout over a bubble wrap resist.

 

While felting.

 

The finished pockets...

 

...shown here as a flounce (their original purpose).

 

Machine stitching embellishment details.

 

The finished pocket.

 

During my couture garment class at Felter's Fling...

...our amazing instructor, Liz Clay encouraged us to pay attention to the details which make each garment special.

To that end...

...some of our week's work was attempting to make different kinds of flourishes and fasteners!

These pieces were originally designed to be used as flounces which could be added to a garment in various places for interest...

...but since I was aiming for a slightly simpler design, my first thought was, "What about turning them into pockets?"

I enlarged the flounce pattern and made it on a resist, not individually...

...so that I would have two identical felted pieces.

I cut a fabric backing for each one (for structural support)...

...and machine stitched them in a regular and random pattern.

Next time: The horror of the pockets...

...and their final redemption! GIggle.