An 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.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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.
Still 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.
Covered 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.
The 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.
Wooly Bliss 