wet felting

Nuno Felt With Embedded Object

Yesterday, I received a recorded message from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department regarding the triple digit weather, especially for Gilroy, San Martin and Los Gatos, advising the residents to stay inside until Friday. It’s not about “poor air quality,” it’s about the heat and dehydration. No physical activity except for getting to the mall or movie theater, in order to take advantage of the air conditioning. Okay, so I listened yesterday and seized the opportunity to read a novel, Tell The Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt.

Today, however, I stretched the rules just a little. My last post described wet felting with an embedded object. Why not try Nuno Felting with an embedded object? Hmmm…good idea! The silk used for this project was upcycled from a dress purchased at my local thrift store.

I gazed at the three dimensional qualities of the fabric and contemplated what to do with the piece, perhaps a wristlet secured with a dorset button, or maybe an added embellishment to a felted purse.

Tomorrow’s Thursday, one more day inside…

Felted Embedded Object

The weather in California is hot! The weather provided a perfect opportunity for some wet felting. I thought it might be fun to try something new…

On top of a sheet of bubble wrap with the bubble side up, rests two layers of roving, the first layer vertical and the second horizonal. The object of my choice is a dorset button placed in the center. In order to cover the object, three layers of roving are placed in the same manner as before. To begin the fulling process, the surface of the roving is moistened with a mixture of warm water and Dawn dish washing soap. Olive oil soap is also a popular alternative. After fulling, a visible outline of the object appears. The piece has been fulled enough when the layers of roving cannot be pulled apart and the object is secure.

After rinsing the felt in cool water, a snip with scissors begins to reveal the embedded object. It is important to snip with caution because cutting to much felt away may loosen the object.

Even though the day was hot, I did not let the heat keep me from making art. Art = an idea made manifest.

“Rain, rain go away come again another day.” I, knitorious want to agitate the fibers of wool roving into a beautiful piece of cloth. Welt felting requires a location conducive to the use of warm water, olive oil soap, bubble wrap and an abundance of manual labor. My backyard presents the perfect venue for such an undertaking. Between cloud cover, sprinkles and a light breeze, I proceeded to full some gorgeous turquoise blue and teal blue roving into a square. “Well…almost a square.” After the layers of roving began to full, pieces of yarn were added freeform. Rolling the sandwhich of roving and yarn between the layers of bubble wrap, the wool roving and yarn became one unique piece of fabric. After the fulling was complete, I rinsed the square in cool water. The piece of wool felt was left to dry for a couple of days. I began to cut and build layers creating a topographical element of peaks and valleys accented with beads and wool thread. What began as a two-dimensional piece of fabric metamorphosed into a three-dimensional sculpture.

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