Nuno Felt Purse With Yarn Embellishment- Part 4

Cutting leather for both a strap and a buttonhole...

                                               ...and stitching them to the bag.

                                               The riotous colors of the purse...

                                   ...seemed to require an equally festive button! :)

                                                The back of the finished purse...

                                                      ...and the bag interior...

                                           ...with yarn-embellished pocket.

                                                          The finished purse.

Nuno Felt Purse With Yarn Embellishment- Part 3

During felting...

                                ...the orientation of the bag is routinely changed...

                                                        ...for even shrinkage.

                                    Because a section of silk did not fully adhere...

                                                    ...on each side of the bag...

                                          ...wool yarn embellishment is added...

                                      ...in order to camouflage the 'naked' areas.

                                Because the stitching is done at the pre-felt stage...

                              ...the yarn is fully incorporated during further felting.

                                  Side one of the bag with colorful yarn additions...

                                                            ...and side two.

                                              The interior of the finished purse...

                                         ...with yarn-embellished pre-felt pocket.

                                                         Fulling the project.

                                                Next time: the finished purse.

Nuno Felt Purse With Yarn Embellishment- Part 2

Working 'right-side' out this time...

                                        ...I add irregularly shaped pieces of silk...

                                                       ...to the wool surface...

                                    ...fitting them together like pieces of a puzzle.

                     Wrapping the hanging loops with thin lengths of colored roving...

                                                             ...just for fun! :)

                                                              On side two...

                                                   ...the process is repeated...

                                                    ...and the rubbing begins.

                                                      As the felting continues...

                                                  ...the purse begins to shrink...

                        ...and the silk starts to 'become one' with the wool fibers.

                               Mid-way through felting, the bag is turned inside-out.

                          (Now visible: the interior pocket with yarn embellishment.)

                                                 Next time: felting continues.

Nuno Felt Purse With Yarn Embellishment- Part 1

Applying wool from a batt...

...to the surface of the resist.

                                    Cutting a pocket from yarn-embellished pre-felt.

                                                 Adding the pocket assembly...

                                            ...after flipping the project to side two.

                                           Covering the second side with wool.

                                                      Making hanging loops...

                                        ...and attaching them to the top of the bag.

                         Covering both sides of the bag with additional layers of wool...

                                  ...being careful to cover the entire bottom 'flange'.

                                                       The fully laid out bag.

                                                             Next: the silk!

"Purse-travaganza"! Part 3 of ?

The project is folded in various ways during felting...

                                                    ...as it begins to shrink...

                                                       ...and become firmer.

                                                     Mid-way through felting...

                                               ...the purse is turned inside-out...

                                             ...and the pocket resist is removed.

                                                      As the felting continues...

                                              ...fibers from the embellishments...

                                      ...begin to migrate through the white merino.

                                                           Fulling the piece.

                                             Shaping the nearly finished bag...

                                                   ...and blocking it for drying.

                       Cutting (and notching) a strap from a large sheet of leather...

                                ...and felting a 'zipper fob' from bits of colored wool.

                                               The finished purse (purple side)...

                                                          ...and orange side.

                                                                 Close-ups...

                                             ...of the felted-in silk embellishments.