Explore the ancient technique of wet felting. Using modern materials learn to lay out wool, the steps to create quality felt and build a foundation for more complex projects. This is a great class for beginners.
Week 1 - You will make some small pieces of felt that will be embellished with thread or beads for use in a card.
Week 2 - You will finish embellishing and start on a small piece of shibori felt. Shibori is a Japanese word describing many types of dyeing, which involve tying and manipulating fabric to produce various colour effects, what is known in the West as “tie dye”. Shiboir felting uses these fabric manipulation techniques to felt wool, resulting in unique and interesting texture effects in the finished fabric. We will not be dyeing our shibori felts.
Week 3 - You will nuno felt a cuff – nuno felting is a wet felting technique developed by fiber artist Polly Stirling where wool or fiber is felted or entangled with and through an open weave fabric such as silk chiffon or silk gauze.
Week 4 - You will use a resist to make a vessel. A resist is used in felting to make three-dimensional objects from a flat pattern. The resist can be anything flat that will keep the two sides of felt from felting together, i.e. it “resists” the felting process. I usually use floor underlay as it is waterproof, inexpensive and can be used over and over again.
Registration for this class opens at noon on Friday, February 25.
Class Date(s): March 9, March 23, April 6, April 20
Class Time: 7-9pm
Instructor: Pat Moore
Fee: $96 + $25 materials + guild membership (annual)
Class Size: 8
Ages 16+. Proof of vaccination required.