Felted Dots!

 

A number of fellow feltmakers have asked me how I fabricate the dots in my designs.  I love incorporating dots into my felted work — there’s something organic and cheerful about them!  I hope this pictorial will help explain the process.IMG_3055Here’s how I craft the dots that brighten many of my felted art works:

Lay out one layer of thin merino roving, about 4 inches square:

IMG_5662Starting from one end, coax and twirl the fibers onto a thin, wooden skewer, and roll — jelly roll style — around the skewer.  Do this four more times, for a total of five different colors, one on top of the other, tightly rolled, til it looks like a cigar or cocoon.

IMG_5663Aqua is the first color; it will be the center of the dot.

IMG_5668Each color completely covers the previous one.

IMG_5673When you have five layers of different colors, carefully slide the cocoon off the skewer, and using very sharp scissors, slice the dry fiber into thin discs.  The thinner these discs are, the easier it will be to use them for surface design; however, if they are too thin, they will not hold together.  Experiment to find just the right thickness for your own purposes.

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Place these dots on your prepared surface of whatever felted item you’ve crafted — tea cozy, scarf, table mat, etc. — then wet with soapy, hot water and carefully rub each dot to get it to begin to mesh into the fibers below.  It takes some effort with each dot to be sure it is secure; and it’s best to continue with less agitation in processing your fiber, to retain the integrity of the dot design.  In other words, you might do more careful rubbing of the surface, and less rigorous agitation such as throwing or rubbing against a ridged mat or wash board.  Explore and enjoy!   I welcome your questions.  Happy Felting!

Published in: on May 8, 2022 at 4:54 pm  Comments (2)  

Blog Update: Visitors of my WordPress blog, if posts do not appear correctly (i.e. photos too large, a problem that may happen on some laptop screens rather than on cell phone views) please use the list on the right hand column of this blog (or scroll down to view the list of older entries) to click on various dates to view my older posts and see photos. WordPress has altered the size of older photos and so scrolling does not work well, but the calendar date links on the blog work well! Enjoy!

Published in: on March 11, 2021 at 8:18 pm  Leave a Comment  

Felted Mats

Published in: on November 25, 2020 at 2:15 am  Leave a Comment  

Felted Warrior Birdies

Some images from a new series of card-size images mounted on card stock.

The title — “Warrior Birdies” — combines a sense of mirth and grit — helpful qualities during this pandemic, a surreal chapter of life. Spending time evoking these gentle images has been a comfort to me, and I hope seeing them brings you comfort, too.

These have been a joy to craft. The birds sort of appear from pre-felts I’ve fabricated, cut and layered, and I add the details — and then they sort of come to life, each one with a different personality. I hope you enjoy the images. Some from this series will be for sale in a few weeks. I’ll post images at that time of the ones that are available. If you’d like info, please let me know via email: aspangborn@gmail.com. Thank you!

Published in: on September 11, 2020 at 9:46 pm  Leave a Comment  

Felted Cards Kit

fullsizeoutput_3058An array of materials and Instructions.  Please send me a message or an email (aspangborn@gmail.com)  if you’d like to know about availability of Felted Card Kits and get on an emailing list for updates.

6O6dczx+QHGyHBixiQSDjgThe first (bottom) layer, 11″ x 20 ” to create yardage for at least 5 cards, made from a carded batt with merino and silk and other soft fiber, very thinly placed in overlapping wisps.

tkzODxenQyONwzY6rg2jFwThe middle layer, again very thin, placed perpendicular to the bottom layer.  Merino top in different colors, some CVM roving, and some Harlequin fleece, for variety in color and texture that will influence the surface.

G7ghlg6tTmq%6gPQxotUDwThe top layer, a combo of batt, fleece, and merino top, placed thinly and perpendicular to the middle layer.  As I place fiber I’m thinking about how I want the edges to look, and how each layer might influence the others.

fullsizeoutput_3057Still dry, surface design in place for 9 cards, with silk fibers and fabrics, snippets of my pre-felt yardage, various kinds of curly wool locks, some of my hand-spun yarn.  I’ve used very subtle wisps of merino fiber on top of the surface design elements here and there to “veil” them and help them adhere: wool felts to wool, so sandwiching surface design elements between some wool is a way to insure that careful placement will stay in place.

iS9Hg7p+Qv++Jm4nAqRJdwCovered the yardage with a screen, wet it with soap solution, pressed it down, removed the screen, and gently rubbed the entire surface until the elements started to adhere.  I also made a little roller from a separate piece of bubble wrap, rolling it up jelly roll style with the bubbles side up and securing both ends with string — I rolled this little textured roller on the surface to further coax the surface elements to bond.  Once they seemed semi-attached, I rolled up the yardage in the larger bubble wrap and secured it with stocking leg ties, as shown in the image.

fullsizeoutput_305bThe yardage after felting.  Due to the thinness of the layout and minimal processing, the finished size is 11″ x 16″, a loss of just a few inches in length.  This yardage will be cut into card-size images, and any leftover bits will be used as pre-felts for future work.   I plan to add some embroidery and perhaps a bit of beading to some of the card images, and will post some of the finished cards.

 

Published in: on July 24, 2020 at 4:34 pm  Leave a Comment  

Felted Rose Pin Kits!

While at home during this challenging time of disruption, I’ve been crafting some kits for making felted rose pins, because I love the whole process and because others enjoy this peaceful and creative process, too.  The kits contain everything you need: all fibers, embellishments, beads, pin backs, bubble wrap and screening material; plus printed instructions and an emailed pictorial;  and I am available to help as needed via email.  Please email me at aspangborn@gmail.com for details.  Thank you!

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Published in: on April 22, 2020 at 2:20 pm  Leave a Comment  

“Rhubarb” Themed Felted Mat

Finished Mat…87146080_3142172649128521_5948999587267084288_n.jpgCarded Batt from which mat was crafted…

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Published in: on February 22, 2020 at 12:42 pm  Comments (2)  

Felted Reversible Scrunchable Cowl

mXG9AAe3RYOOQ%sCN5XjIQMade of soft and lofty Rambouillet, with silk fabrics and fibers, and little Blue-Faced Leicester curly locks; very light-weight, like a hug.

tPpK09OARyKCrFrbw1hSNQImage shows the cowl “un-scrunched” — but it’s very scrunchable!  A versatile and cozy seamless piece, it’s reversible, too; and can be cuffed to show felted dots and/or various surface embellishments on both sides.  Please send me an email (aspangborn@gmail.com) for more information.

Published in: on January 25, 2020 at 8:27 pm  Leave a Comment  

Felted Bookmarks

79088802_2961722207173567_4255237998108475392_n.jpgMerino, silk fibers and fabrics, lots of curly locks, and snippets of pre-felts I’ve made — assembled and wet-felted, then ironed flat; whimsical , softly glowing and soft as velvet; some for shops and some for gifts.

Published in: on December 5, 2019 at 2:44 am  Leave a Comment  

Mimosa Theme Nuno-Felted Scarf: Image of Completed Piece


A few folks have asked for some images of the completed “Mimosa” nuno-felted scarf. Here are some images. Enjoy, and happy felting!

Published in: on October 23, 2019 at 12:54 pm  Leave a Comment