My Own 'Fling' Mystery Projects- Part 5 of 5

For my second purse...

                                                 ...I shortened the resist a bit...

                                       ...and encased it in pre-felt and silk gauze.

                                                  I added layers of wool roving...

                                                          ...hanging loops...

                                                           ...and a pocket.

                                               Here I am with my finished bag...

                                        ...and here is the sum of my week's work...

                                            ...(two bags and two large pre-felts)...

                                ...on display for our end of the week sharing at 'Fling'.   

                                       Once home, I cut yellow leather for straps...

                                                  ...and for the button closure.

 

                                                            Detail photos...

                                             ...of some of the inlaid silk pieces...

                                                      ...and decorative stitching.

                                                          The purse back.

                                                       My two finished purses...

                                             ...red leather, yellow leather. (Grin!)

My Own 'Fling' Mystery Projects- Part 4 of ?

Mid-way through felting.

                                                  Drying in our studio at 'Fling'.

                                                              Once home...

                                              ...I added a burgundy leather strap.

Next time: a second purse is begun!

Paisley Purse- Part 2

The finished purse front.

 

With the flaps closed.

 

The purse back with paisley.

 

The finished purse with embroidery and beading.

 

Well, I can't claim that my stitched prefelt experiment was a resounding success...

...since the hundreds of small hand stitches nearly disappeared during the felting process. Sighhhh.

I actually think it would have made more of an impact...

...had I made fewer large stitches, instead!

Since I was already in a hand-stitching mood with this piece...

...I added beads and embroidery to the bag front.

I wanted to echo the large prefelt paisley on the back...

...with a smaller one on the front...

...and also to carry a bit more orange to the flap of the bag! :)

Paisley Purse- Part 1

Prefelt paisley shape...hand-stitched with linen thread.

 

Needle-felting the closure into a tube.

 

Laying out the bag back.

 

The front of the bag.

 

I'd been wanting to try hand-stitching on prefelt prior to felting...

...to see how tiny and well-integrated the stitches could become in a finished piece.

So I cut a piece of prefelt into a paisley shape...

...and covered it with rows and rows of tiny stitches in linen thread.

I used a natural thread, thinking that it would be more likely to felt than a synthetic one would...

...and I took care in my handwork, so as not to rip the fragile prefelt with my stitches.

As I often do, I chose a peanut-shaped resist for this purse...

...and, since it was for a swap, I added a tube closure at the recipient's request.

Because it wasn't for me, I chose a rather neutral palette of colors...

...and confined my favorite color to a few judicious splashes here and there! Grin.

Next time: the finished bag.