Wet felting.

I did a wet felting day class, a new craft for me, a small class and a good teacher. Once we got started we made a test piece, which we cut in half, working longer on one side, making it smaller and thicker, learning the process.

Next we made some blended pre-felts, these can be light weight and used to embellish your work  here I just played, each side different. Having no idea how the finished item would look, it was fun to play.

Next I made my backing felt, I could not decide on a colour, the tutor suggested this orange. 4 layers all blended into one. A very neat trick was used to get tidy edges, not always necessary,  but useful for this piece.

The design is then added, lots of water to help blend them together, there is a thin clear plastic film on top, which helps keep the fibers where I want them. Lots of gentle rubbing at first, then rolling, to matt the fibres together, the more work you do at this stage to more bonded it becomes and the more it shrinks.

I did not just want just the felt, I will add hand sewing as well to add to the texture,  this is now strong enough to use however I want. The plain orange side is thinner,  but not by much, my pre-felt bonded well.

We had spare time so I made more blended samples, this one I made the back darker than the front, which means I could use either side. It's in four quarters, so different colours.

 It was very creative, I did have back ache by the time I got home, not too bad, and was OK after a rest. Our tutor who is a fibre artist, really worked to get us doing the best we could, she had so many colours of the raw carded fleece (rovings) and other wools and materials.

Most of the tools you would have at home, just the Olive soap was different, on a bonus, my hands were very soft by the end of the session. I have more rovings, so I do plan to have a go at home.

It was good to do something  completely new, I booked the day as a nice thing to do, but enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Its really creative, got me thinking, it evolved as I was working on it, which I love. In my selfcare week, it's was a perfect day. Next week I have a day needle felting, I am hoping it's just as enjoyable.