The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Lesley Silvester on October 02, 2013, 10:59:48 pm
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I've just started this tonight and made a flower. It's great fun so I can see me getting hooked on it.
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Glad you're enjoying it.
Pic of the flower? :eyelashes:
And how long did it take?
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I remember seeing Kirsty doing some needle felting and it looked so lovely, she made robins.....yes some photos.....I love crafty stuff but do absolutely nothing now...shame as I used to make so many things :-\
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Lesley, you can't write a post like that without piccies ;D
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Lesley, you can't write a post like that without piccies ;D
Thought I'd just whet your appetites. I'll take piccies tomorrow.
Glad you're enjoying it.
Pic of the flower? :eyelashes:
And how long did it take?
About an hour.
I bought some brooch pins today so I can make lots.
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I would love a go at needle felting, just need some piccies of other people's projects to get me going Especially pretty flower projects :innocent:
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Daughter bought a book, fibre and needle in the summer. She broke the needle within an hour so didn't get very far. Had a go at wet felting a while ago but it all fell apart ::)
We are looking for a local course at the moment.
Love to see some photos.
Could an eleven year old do it, do you think?
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An 11 year old could definitely do it if she watched her fingers. Those needles can be lethal. A more cautious way of doing it is to buy the needles that are encased in plastic. They have half a dozen needles inside and you push the whole thing up and down and the plastic covers the needles so much less likely to get an injury.
If the wet felting fell apart it could be there just wasn't enough fibre to hold together, or maybe some fleece that doesn't felt well, or maybe just not enough elbow grease. It does take quite a bit of effort to get it to felt by hand, although I think it's worth it. When I was being taught I was told that when you think it has felted pinch it lightly between your fingers. If you are able to pull bits up then you need to process it some more. Does this make sense?
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I did a 'felted vessels' course, and stood by, rather bored, while everyone worked hard at their merino etc.
I had taken BFL tops, and it felted with practically no effort whatsoever, just a good glug of very soapy water and a rub with the fingertips.
It's important to lay the fibres criss-cross over each other, every layer across the previous, is my other tip.
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What a coincidence!!!!
Had spoken to a lady at Montgomery Street Fair, way back in the summer, about her felting classes. She took our email and can you believe she has just got back in touch. She's starting her classes up again and only 10 miles away from us. She is willing to teach my little girl too and because I'm booking in, she will teach daughter for free .... full day class :thumbsup: .
Our wet felting was a bit rushed ..... just a free activity at a farm museum .... so maybe not enough elbow grease.
Is Soay fleece any good for felting, then? Didn't know that some fleece was better than others.
Oooooo .... getting excited now :excited:
Where are the piccies????????
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Yes, the different breeds differ in their propensity to felt. Some felt wet but not dry, some vice versa, some felt as soon as you look at them, some take a lot of work...
I just went to look up Soay for you in the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, and to my dismay discovered that it doesn't give the felting characteristics for each breed :o. BIG oversight, I'd say.
I believe that Soay is similar to Castlemilk Moorit, and thus would be a greasy, possibly double-layered and/or hairy fleece. Probably not terribly easy to wet felt.
To test, put some in an old saucepan (not used for food any more) with a very good slug of washing up liquid, and boil. Then plunge into cold water and swish about, then back into hot, and wring.
If it isn't a hard lump after all that, it won't felt!
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Thanks Sally.
Will give it a go ..... come Spring.
Maybe out felting teacher will know.
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It depends a little on how you remove the fleece from the Soay. If you roo it slowly (removing it lock by lock) then you leave behind the outer coat, and have just the softer under wool to felt (the hairs fall out later). If you peel it off or shear it, then you have the longer hairs in with the wool.
Both will felt but I don't know how much elbow grease you need, if it's more or less than average.
I had a friend who made squares of felt from all the rarer breeds of sheep, including Soay, which is how I know it felts. In fact it's rather nice and makes a soft brown felt.
But as Northern Sally says, it's best to try a small bit before launching into a large project. :sheep:
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Ooh, interesting Fleecewife... is that felted squares project written up anywhere?
There's an article about Soays and their fleece in Yarnmaker (http://www.yarnmaker.co.uk/) this month, written by a TAS- and Raveller of my acquaintance ;) - and very entertaining and informative it is too :) There's also an article and some lovely pics about Icelandics. I made BH read it, expecting him to fall off his chair when he read the bit about some Icelandics in Iceland having 6 or even 8 lambs! :o - but he took it in is stride. I'll have to try another ploy to get him to give me his two... :thinking:
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I joined a craft group today and took my felting stuff. I am now on my sixth flower and have also made a bow, a Christmas tree and a sun, all to become brooches. I haven't taken piccies yet as I want to wait until they are finished. I'm intending sewing beads on as well as the pins.
I paid about £2 for two packs of about six brooch pins in Hobbycraft then looked online. Amazon has bags of around 50 for £1.98, which I've ordered. Wish I'd thought to look first although I am anxious to get sewing.
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Any piccies yet, MGWM?
Waiting patiently :innocent: ;D
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Tomorrow, I promise. I have my camera all ready but I've been so engrossed in making them that I forgot the piccies. :sofa:
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I keep looking for new posts too :innocent:
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Aaaaaarghhhhhh! I've tried and tried and tried and it won't let me upload the photos. I've tried from my computer and from photobucket. :rant: Where am I going wrong?
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Probably too many pixels, they have to be max 512kb per pic, overall max 1024Kb per post.
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I tried making them smaller. I'll have one more go.
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/009.jpg (http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/009.jpg)
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Success. Let's try some more.
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/006.jpg (http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/006.jpg)
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/002.jpg (http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/002.jpg)
http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/47e40875-bf26-4ec5-bf9c-08e2bda14ff9.jpg (http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t473/Lesleykays/47e40875-bf26-4ec5-bf9c-08e2bda14ff9.jpg)
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They are so lovely, they would make pretty button covers on a jumper...or added to all sorts of stuff like cushions, curtains, hair decorations.....I really like them, beautiful.
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They are great :love: I especially like the daffodil one :trophy:
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Gosh Lesley you have been busy. They are really nice. You must be very pleased with them :thumbsup:
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I bought a flower like them years ago, I also have a bag with little felt flowers on, I love flowers. I remember Kirsty Alsop making a little Robin, that was lovely, its a nice hobby that produces lovely things!!! :thumbsup:
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Wow they're really pretty :thumbsup:
I've had a go recently but all I've managed to make so far is a small ball ::)
Lisa
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Oh they're lovely! :love:
I went to a wedding last year, couldn't see me in a 'hat' or one of they detractor thingies ::), decided I'd find something at Woolfest. Bought a flower brooch not dissimilar to the ones you've made and clipped it into my hair - much more me!
My bag and necklace were world trade artisan goods from the world / fair trade store too - I thought they looked a million dollars :D - and no-one else had anything like them, lol
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Oooooo .... they are fab! Love them all. :trophy:
Are you going to give as gifts, or sell or make something special with them?
Have you tried 3D things? My daughter really wanted to make a tiny blue bird.
Our course is in a couple of weeks but not sure if it is needle or wet felting .... don't mind really.
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Just had an idea, my girls used to be crafty in an arty way, they made little fymo? things (sorry about the spelling) we then found some birthday cards that matched or Christmas cards and pinned them on and sold them at a craft fair, they sold like hot cakes...you could even buy a pack of the card making cards and pin them on for any event where you would see flowers...there.....I would certainly buy a card like that if I found one, then you can also wear the flower after....
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That's a good idea HGL.
My daughter did a similar thing for our local show this year .... for the craft tent. She did a watercolour painting for the card and attached a homemade brooch thing at the top.
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That's the exact thing I meant, it can be as simple or as special as you want, even a ready made card with flowers on and attached the felted flower....
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Great idea. I did think about making some cards but combining card and brooch to wear later would be even better. I would need to make them smaller. At the moment, they are anything between four and eight inches in diameter.
I'm having great fun making them though. I intend selling them at craft fairs. Some friends and I are having a craft party in my home in a few weeks. They make jewellery and greetings cards.
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:thumbsup: ..made me want a go....not going to though..I love hand made cards
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Needle felting is fun, Sandy and so easy to do. The photos are only a selection of the many I've made so far. I bought a bag of small pieces of dyed fleece and decide my colours by what is available. Some have beads sewn on. Just waiting for the pins to arrive now so I can finish them off.