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Felting Archive: Felting

July 1, 2009

Needle-Felted Jabba The Hut

Kit Lane created this fantastic needle-felted Jabba the Hut (The Early Years) for the Stitch Wars exhibit at Bear and Bird Boutique in Lauderhill, Florida. The show is a collection of handmade goods celebrating Star Wars.

Jabba is 100% wool with the exception of two beads, two glass eyes and quite tightly needle felted. He's not at all delicate and will only get better the more he's handled.

Jabba was the character that attracted me most from the Star Wars series. Even though he's quite a bad guy I imagined what he must have been like as a wee snot of a slug. You dont get to be a such a great naughty creature without some sort of trauma, his being a lover of his squeezly "bunnybear". The unmerciless taunting by his slime mates over his compulsion for plushies I suspect caused him to turn his back on a normal upbringing, turning instead to a life of crime.

You can see more pictures of the needle-felted Jabba the Hut in Kit's Flickr Stream.

June 15, 2009

Ribcage Purse

Here's an amazing felt creation by Marisa Ranalli, this ribcage bag, via Street Anatomy.

June 12, 2009

Wellington Dreams Animation

Andrew and Melissa Frueh made this animation with handmade environmental elements and a needle-felted elephant. It's called Wellington Dreams. So sweet! Via Handmade in PA.

June 9, 2009

Homespun Checkers Set

I am in love with this sweet and simple checkers set made by Blair of Wise Craft. She's used scrap fabrics to create the game board, and beautifully colored felted rocks as game pieces. Fantastic!

May 22, 2009

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Four

I'm finishing my guest blogging today with the final introduction to some of the contributors to Feltique. Keep in mind that these are not all of the wonderful artists who added their projects to this book, which is a complete guide to felting in all its forms. I hope that you liked getting a glimpse into the book, and I hope that you are inspired to embrace the versatile and natural medium that is wool felt. Cheers!

Vicky Lewis' fulled True Love Purse is a favorite project of mine in Feltique. The project combines a knitted and fulled handbag with needle felted kanji characters that translate into the words "true love." Her personal felting work includes an Etsy store with amigurumi, many of which have a woodland twist! She is also a member of quite the crafty family, and shared this about herself: "I don't know if you are aware but my family consist of two members of the Etsy administration: Anda (Amanda) Lewis Corrie and her husband Peter. Their daughter Sidonie is my only grandchild. I have another beautiful daughter, Laura, and I've been married to my husband Randall for 34 years. I live in a little town in the mountains of Virginia and I'm an avid gardener. Sometimes I think gardening and crafting go hand and hand." Please visit her two Etsy shops, click the birds and bees, and appalachia.

Ansley Bleu Davies is a prolific and successful artist and crafter. Her work for Feltique includes three really diverse projects: a clever Stacked Bead Necklace made from commercial felt, a creatively useful Knitting Needle Case, and a set of Felt Thirsty Coasters, which were a collaboration project between her and Moxie. Her work in general is just as interesting. Her most famous piece is likely her knitted Princess Leia Wig. She will be showing a version of it this summer in a Star Wars-themed fiber arts show called Stitch Wars. Ansley's current art includes very surreal, fun, and pretty doll dioramas. I love them almost more than her felt projects! Ansley's Etsy shop is a great place to find very interesting and well made knitted wearable art and ephemera. Check it out!

Tanya High Brooks' Felted Fortune Cookie is one of the more iconic projects in Feltique. The simplicity of the project makes it perfect for beginners, but the usefulness and beauty makes it something even the most experienced felters would love to create. Tanya also contributed the Floppy Flying Disc, a knitted disc that (almost) makes it OK for your kids to play frisbee in the house! Her knitted felt goes way beyond these toys and housewares. She has created several knitted character lines, including the Knitja Family of knitted ninjas. One thing I love about the contributors to the book is that their talents often go beyond felt making. Tanya mentioned learning about a whole new type of fiber arts, weaving: "Got bitten by the weaving bug while at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year and bought a 20" Schacht Flip Loom. After a few practice projects, I've just warped the loom for a "real" wrap. Keeping my fingers crossed." Tanya also hopes to add body butter, fiber, and more to her Etsy shop this summer.

Kit Giveaway And Winners of Feltique

Guest blogging on Craftzine this week has been great. I've loved it. Definitely the best part is giving away copies of Feltique. Congratulations to our winners, including: Jeni, Auckland, NZ; Greta, Dallas, TX; Ammi, Wilsonville, OR; and Laura, Charlotte, NC! But there is still one more giveaway! I have 10 kits, featuring the Bauble Earring project from the book, to give out. I've gotten a lot of love from the craft world in the short amount of time since I joined Twitter, so to win a kit, just follow CRAFT on Twitter and we will pick 10 winners from our followers. And to keep in the loop on more cool book giveaways and everything thats happening with my publisher, please follow Potter Craft too!

The Bauble Earrings featured in the kit are really fun and simple, and the kit comes with everything you need to make them, including eco foam, wool, and a felting needle from Made by Moxie, thread, French hooks, and even a needle for lacing them up.

To catch me and some of the contributors to Feltique live and in person, please visit the Maker Faire, coming up next weekend, May 30th and 31st. The Needle Felting Playground will be in full effect, and both Moxie and I will be doing demos, not to mention all the other amazing things happening there. And, in the fall, my co-author Nikola Davidson and I will be at the Urban Craft Uprising, August 1st and 2nd. Nikola is a founder of the famous Seatlle indpendent craft fair, and she and I will be meeting each other there for the first time. I can't wait, and I want to meet you there too!

May 21, 2009

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Three

Writing my first book was a dream come true. One of the best parts was getting to meet and work with contributors from around the globe. I want you to meet two of the international contributors to Feltique, and two very inspirational wet felt makers.

Ray Reynolds lives Southampton, England, and she has one of the most unusual perspectives on fiber arts. She says it best in her own words: "I use felt and stitch as a way of painting. Colours of felt can be layered in very subtle ways, which reminds me of watercolour painting. It is also a joy to stitch into as it seems to soak the stitches into it, enhancing the colours of the wool and the thread. I also enjoy using different fibres such as silk threads and bamboo within my felt along with hand-spun yarn. My work is about colour, light, texture, and space. When I am out walking on the South Coast of England (either along the River Hamble, Keyhaven, or along the Dorset Coast), I have this urge to wrap up all the colours, textures, sounds, and atmosphere of a place and keep them with me." I discovered her work on Flickr, and asked her to participate in Feltique mainly because of her clear tutorials and devotion to teaching. Her contribution is a nuno scarf, and it is mind blowing. Please visit her blog, www.textilecabin.co.uk, where you can watch her felt slipper video tutorial and more.

Tanis Alexis Laird lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she creates textiles with lots of color and bold graphic designs. She contributed three projects to the book: the Spiral Bead Bracelet, that uses the classic "sushi" wet felting technique; Wild Flower Pin, a project that encourages massive amounts of creative thinking; and Artful Vessels, a bowl that is wet felted over a balloon (when the balloon is popped, a felt bowl remains). Her contributions demonstrate her range of work, and her serious creative flow. Tanis' Etsy shop is packed with paintings, multimedia designs, and plenty of beautiful wet felt. My personal favorite piece is a stunning nuno wrap scarf in turquoise and pink, with a bronze ribbon. She and her husband are expecting their first child soon, and I can only imagine that her work will begin to blossom like never before. Check out Tanis' Etsy page, and be sure to visit her Flickr sets, where you can find her first felted rug.

May 20, 2009

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Two

I love crafting projects that bring joy and silliness into people's lives. Felt is the perfect media to make projects that capture happiness. The soft, dense fabric is where many of us got our childhood starts in crafting, and the two contributors of Feltique that I'd like to introduce you to today both maintain a perspective that brings joy to art.

Hillary Gillick contributed one of the most unusual and creative toys in the book: the Cupcake Chomper. She calls them Darwin's Chomper on her whimsical Etsy site, or by their proper Latin name, Os Crustum Minora (Little Cake Mouth). The little creatures have tiny cupcakes on their tongues and sport giant teeth and feet. The Chompers are so fun. Their photo shoot incorporated baking supplies, and at the end of the shoot, the room and half the gear was covered in sugar, flour, and sprinkles. For being inanimate felt toys, they encourage trouble quite well. The Chompers themselves are immaculately rendered and are just one species in Hillary's strange menagerie.

She also creates art depicting the Squiddy Bear, Schnoozle Doot Doot, and more. Her work is definitely offbeat, but it could not be more perfectly executed. Her needle felting skills are on point. The sculptures are extremely dense and smooth without a single fiber out of place. Hillary lives in Seattle with her real-life lizard pets Kali and Salvador Mali. Please visit her (very well priced!) Etsy shop and her Flickr photostream.

The AnthroPoMorphCo characters created by Joan De Lurio showcase an amazing sense of humor combined with a successful indy business. Her Mental Vegetables grace buttons, earrings, stationary, and more. Joan's contribution to Feltique is the Appalachian Clutch, an adorable woodland owl coin purse that sits inside the hollow end of a tree trunk clutch. The project is a beautiful combination of her characters and her knitting.

Here's a bit about what she's been up to: "We're gearing up our veggie garden for planting very soon, but the water that surrounds it has already produced a bumper crop of toads and frogs and fishes (for friending, not eating!). I spend an undo amount of time introducing myself to all of them. Most of the rest of the day you'll find me making stuff for the shop, running to the post office, feeding the cat, telling the cat he was just fed, feeding us, telling the cat he does not need anymore food, and then sitting on the couch between beau and said cat, knitting." Check her out online at anthropomorphco.com.

Needle Felting is Easy

The launch party for Feltique last night was a total success. I had a blast and met some wonderful new people. My friend and contributor to the book, Michelle Feileacan, came with her crafty creative energy, and together we had a great time greeting guests and introducing them to the book and projects. We set out a table with all the supplies needed for needle felting, and I was able to enjoy watching people who had never needle felted before try it for the first time. Many people involved with the book came, including one of my favorite models, Leila-Anne, and my technical editor (and also MAKE editor) Keith Hammond. It was so fun to gather with friends and celebrate the launch.

There are two things I love the most about needle felting. The first thing is the instant gratification. Projects begin to take shape instantly. The results are immediate. I can make art with wool in moments, and I love that. The second thing I love about needle felting is watching people who have never needle felted before give it a try. The comments are almost always the same: "Wait, what? All you do is stab the fluff, and it turns into something?!" And the answer is yes, all you do is stab the fluff. I'm not saying that there isn't some finesse involved. This art, just like any other, gives you room to develop skills and improve your technique. But even if you have never picked up a felting needle in your life, you can still sit down with the supplies and make something in your first attempt. The learning curve is very short. It's much harder to break down the walls to your creativity than it is to actually learn to needle felt.

If you want to give it a try, but are not quite sure what it takes, I made a quick video:

The wool used for felting is roving. It's sheep's fleece that has been combed, carded, and generally dyed, but not yet spun into yarn. The unspun roving is fluffy, and when needle felting, a little goes a long way. The fibers of the wool are coated in keratin protein. The protein coats the animal's hair with microscopic scales. By agitating the wool with the felting needle, the wool tangles, and then the scales entangle, creating non-woven fabric that won't unravel. The needles used for felting are not ordinary. The blade of the needle has multiple sides with tiny reversed barbs on the ends. The barbs tangle the wool together, in whatever direction you push the needle.

To get started, gather your wool roving, one felting needle, and a foam work surface. Place the wool on the foam, then begin pressing the tip of the felting needle into the wool. The wool will begin to compress in the direction that you push the needle. By rotating the wool, and by rotating the direction of your needling, the project begins to take shape.

How-To: Make Kid-Friendly Felted Bead Jewelry

Kleas shares a fun felting project that's totally kid friendly. Her preschool students made these felted bead necklaces and bracelets for Mother's Day gifts, but they would work any time of year. It's a very simple process, and allows the kids to get their hands a little messy, which is always a bonus in my kids' book.

May 19, 2009

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part One

One of the great things about working on a craft book like Feltique is the opportunity to work with artistic talents. Each of the contributors to the book submitted their own original ideas for review. Having them in the book adds to the broad range of materials and diverse how-tos. I really want to share the spotlight with them, so I will introduce you to them in pairs.

Portland artist Karen Thurman's scarves grace the cover of Feltique. They are smooth, flat, immaculately wet-felted scarves. Her style is bold and unique, and involves laying stacks of felt colors and then felting them together. The Dot Scarflett project in the book is a perfect example. From her artists statement: "Felting is my passion, my compulsion and my joy that accompanies me throughout each day. From the beginning, the process of transforming fiber from a beautiful live animal into cloth has struck me as magical. Over the years, that magical process has had its way with me, leading me from hobby to art. Making felt fills me with a sense of accomplishment, and has proven to be a most amenable vehicle for translating inner vision to outer reality." You can really see it in each piece of her art. Check out Karen's Etsy shop for more.

Moufelt is Jeanie Lai's textile design studio; Jeanie is another contributor from Portland. Moutfelt contributed a beautiful necklace that is also on the cover of the book. The Ruffle Necklace is a fantastic project, and her design elements add a level of sophistication that belie their simplicity. Here's what she had to say about her current work: "More recently, I started making felt trivets die-cut from thick industrial felt. I love coming up with new designs and will be coming out with bracelets and more home accessories in the fall." I can't say enough about her modern take on wool. Especially her trivets. The wool lends its warmth to the room without the slightest hint of a folksy look. Every piece from Moufelt studio defies the notions that people have about felt crafts. See more at the Moufelt Etsy store.

May 18, 2009

I Heart Moxie

Hi! My name is Brookelynn, and I'm beyond thrilled to be guest blogging and contributing content on Craftzine this week. I have discovered a great community of friends and artists whose work I admire through CRAFT. This week I want to promote Feltique, my first book about all things felt, post some how-tos, do some giveaways, and shine a spotlight on the amazing contributors from Feltique. But it all started with Moxie (that's her with the pink hair), so that's where I'm starting today.

I first combined crafting and the internet when I discovered Flickr in '06. I was needle felting carrots, (yeah, carrots) and I thought to myself, "I wonder if other people in the world do things like this?" I found the work of a woman in Seattle, Moxie, who shared my love of woolen vegetables. Meeting her online was a major catalyst for me.

I think my relationship with Moxie is the epitome of what is so rewarding about being involved in the world of making things by hand. Knowing that someone else was interested in needle felting allowed me to embrace my style, and learn from someone I respected. We started with all the usual internet social networks and soon exchanged gifts via the post office, all without ever meeting each other. Then we decided to enter the Maker Faire. We participate each year by hosting the Needle Felting Playground, a literal free-for-all of fiber and needles.

Moxie also gave me the kind of gift you can't send in the mail. She is the reason I became involved with the book Feltique. She introduced me to my co-author Nikola Davidson, and she introduced me to my editors at Potter Craft. She made the deal happen for me. She has very clever projects in the book, including a wallet with the hardware felted into it and earrings that mimic Bakelite.

Beyond all that, Moxie transcends the boundaries of fiber arts. She creates the most amazing projects, and holds herself to the highest standards, artistically and on a business level. Currently she exhibits with Plush You, goes to art school, vends at fairs, and is the President of Urban Craft Uprising. Check her out, and see us in action together again this year at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif., May 30 and 31.

May 15, 2009

Checkin' In: Multitalented Crafter Brookelynn Morris

Brookelynn Morris is one crafter who is as diverse in her crafts as she is prolific. From fiber to mosaic to floral arrangements and smart crafting, you never know what amazingness will sprout from her creative mind. Brookelynn has contributed projects to 9 out of the 10 volumes of CRAFT, and a look at her author page gives a window into the wide range of her talents. Here is just a sampling from the pages of CRAFT before we check in with Brookelynn. From the tasty felted fruit that graced the cover of CRAFT Volume 02, she diversified to Custom Seat Covers in Volume 04:

From the simplicity of marzipan cake decorations in Volume 05, she switched gears to represented for the smart crafting movement with her LED Hula Hoop project in Volume 06:

Brookelynn taught us the folk art of making your own herbal, medicinal tinctures in Volume 07, and gave us a window into the ancient art of Bonsai in Volume 08:

What has Brookelynn been up to lately? Here's what she shared with us:

"The biggest thing that I have been working on lately is the upcoming release of my first book, Feltique. It's packed with projects that use needle felting, wet felting, commercial felt, and fulled felt. The entire process has been amazing, and I am really excited."

"I met some new friends who taught me how to spin with a drop spindle. They showed me an amazing technique where you ply the yarn as you spin it. Mind blowing, but simple. Spinning is addictive!

I've also been planting my garden, and working on projects that really capture the woodland vibe. I made a forest faux cake for my springtime table."

"Because temps are warming up, but I still live near the chilly Nor Cal coast, I've been working on light scarves. My favorite one is a scarflet of lightweight ruffles from a thrifted wool pancho. It looks like an Elizabethan collar."

"I love riding mountainboards, and springtime means time to ride. A mountainboard is basically a giant skateboard, with inflatable tires and mounts to strap your feet in. It's perfect for dirt roads, and I try to hit the trails at least two or three times a week."

Hot! Thanks, Brookelynn!

Brookelynn has already contributed some great content to Craftzine (my favorite being her gorgeous Ikebana tutorial) and starting this upcoming Monday, May 18th, she is going to be our guest blogger for the week, bringing us fresh content every day. Stay tuned!

Brookelynn will be also be co-hosting the Needlefelting Playground with Miss Moxie at our Maker Faire Bay Area in San Mateo on May 30th and 31st. Stop by, meet Brookelynn, and play with wool!

Special thanks to Michelle Feileacan Photography for the top picture and to Stella the adorable boxer for modeling the scarf!

April 28, 2009

Incredible Electronic Dress

Via the CRAFT Flickr pool, Marisa Ranalli made this totally amazing handmade electronic and fiber dress powered by LilyPad Arduinos and included LEDs and nitinol wire (an alloy that changes shape when electricity is applied). It's her final project in the Textiles program at Sheridan College in Toronto, and it's totally rad! I'd love to see a video about it. It will be shown at the Lennox Contemporary Gallery from April 30th-May 10th.

More:

March 31, 2009

Fashioning Felt Exhibit at Cooper-Hewitt in NYC

Fashioningfelt
From now until September 7th, you can catch the Fashioning Felt exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in NYC.

From the site:

This exhibition will explore the varied new uses of felt—an ancient material, believed to be one of the earliest techniques for making textiles. Made by matting together wool fibers with humidity and friction, felting requires little technological expertise and is an extremely versatile material. The exhibition will begin with historic examples of felts, showcase innovations in handmade felts, and feature contemporary uses of industrial felt in a range of fields, including product design, fashion, architecture, and home furnishings. The exhibition is being organized by Susan Brown, assistant curator, Textiles.

[ via felt cafe ]

March 27, 2009

Bazaar: Spinster Yarn & Fiber in Baltimore, MD

Cz Webbanner B Bazaar
Spinsteryarnfiber
Bazaar: A Review on Spinster Yarn & Fiber in Baltimore, MD
By Moxie

When you're as fiber-obsessed as I am, you seek out all opportunities to expand your pallet and deplete your bank account. While visiting in-laws in the Baltimore area, crafty research directed me to Spinster Yarns & Fibers.

Living in the historical Lauraville neighborhood, Andrea Donato and her friends were having coffee one day and imagining what was missing from their community. Filling a niche and following her passion, Andrea decided to create an eco-friendly yarn haven for knit, crochet, and spin enthusiasts. Andrea is especially fond of their weekly Saturday Knit and Hook Night. "Everyone is welcomed," she said "and we get a little wild and crazy in here."

The reason I made my visit to Spinster was the custom batt station. I love needle-felting with batts, but I've never had the opportunity to create blends of my own. With well over a dozen glass candy jars full of fibers of all colors, textures, and origins to choose from, I could have stayed and made batts all day.

The orange and green batt, which I'm calling "Citrus Town" is made of merino, Romney, Border Leicester, and a tiny bit of sparkle. The rich pink and purple batt, which I named "Beyond Pepto" consists of Tencel, sparkle, Targhee, and Border Leicester.

Andrea took the fibers I chose, combed out the curlies, and with finesse and a whole lot of elbow grease, she conjured these beautiful batts for me. I can't wait to stab them.

January marked Spinster's 1st anniversary, and the yarn community is thriving. The store is packed full of beautiful yarn, fiber, and accessories, and there are a ton of classes to take, if you sign up early. Andrea's favorite part of teaching spinning class is the breakthrough moment when a student "...smiles and says 'I got it! I'm making yarn!'" She said, "That makes me so happy."

Andrea Spinsteryarn Review

Spinster Yarn & Fiber
4337 Harford Rd # 1
Baltimore, MD‎, 21214
(410) 444-YARN

Website: spinsteryarnsandfibers.com
Blog: spinsteryarnsandfibers.blogspot.com

About the Author
Moxatspinster
Moxie is an artist and writer living in Seattle. She likes context, ice cream, and you.

March 25, 2009

How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting

March Mending Month
Mend Sweater Felt1-1
How-To: Repair a Wool Sweater with Felting
By Brookelynn Morris

My favorite sweater is starting to fall apart. The cuff on one sleeve unraveled at the seam, splitting the cuff. It's simple to repair a wool sweater with a felting needle.

Read full story

March 13, 2009

Horny Toad Roomba Cozy

Holy moly! Gareth @ MAKE writes:

This is creepy and weird in a totally "I SO want that on MY Roomba" sorta way! It's a cover for the Roomba, the "i-Toad," made from needle felted Romney and Jacob wool and glass eyes. And you thought the housepets were freaked out about your Roomba before!

March 6, 2009

Uncut Felt House Slippers

I like these uncut felt slippers I just saw over on Treehugger. You just cut out the shape labeled with your shoe size, and shazam! Instant house slippers. This looks really easy to DIY, too, in fun colors with a bit of velcro. Maybe add some applique or embroidery?

March 3, 2009

Felt Kokeshi-Doll Speakers

The fabulous Lisa Katayama points to these adorable felt speakers on her equally fabulous TokyoMango blog. Whether they're Russian stacking dolls or Kokeshi, they definitely seem like something you crafty, techno-savvy readers could easily re-create at home. Send us some photos if you do, or post them in the Craft Flickr pool.

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