Craftzine.com blog: Fiber Art Archives

Archive: Fiber Art

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 23, 2009

Artist Mindy Sue Meyers figured out a way to curb her excessive use of fiberfill when making plushies by starting with inflatable pool toys. For her purposes, a kids' tube was a perfect base for this giant doughnut.

June 15, 2009

Ribcage Purse

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

June 5, 2009

Columbine Cross Stitch

This piece is called "Nothing Much Happened Today (for Eric and Dylan)" and is by artist Noelle Mason. It's been ~~lovingly~~ carefully stitched by hand, and who knows how long it must have taken. My interpretation: those long hours pay homage to the community around the Columbine High School shooting. I'm sure each stitch was spent deeply considering the implications of the image. The piece measures 50 x 66 inches. Via Radical Cross Stitch.

June 3, 2009

Fluid Sculpture Dress at Maker Faire

Here's one of the pieces I was looking forward to seeing at Maker Faire this year. Rachel Hobson managed to snap a few photos, and I got to meet the creator of this fluid-pumping dress made from surgical tubing. From the Casual Profanity site:

There was one question I got frequently that is worth answering, and that is: “how did you think of this”?

Forgetting for a second that we’re talking about a dress made with tubes and a pump and not, for instance, something useful. I would like to propose that the origin of this, and most any idea, is a bit absurd and mostly irrelevant.

What is vital though, and of greater influence on any project, is how it perpetuates.

The Maker Faire is what motivated me. The receptive, forgiving, and care-full group of people represented there and on the internet is of much greater consequence to my project than whatever random elements fused at its conception.

More:

Knitted Plastic Tubing makes Fluid Sculpture

Handmade Textiles by Charlotte Alexandra

Textile artist Charlotte Alexandra has a wide selection of truly lovely handmade textile pieces, including wrist cuffs, brooches, necklaces, and hair clips, in her Etsy store Sew Lovely. Pictured above is a piece called Japanese Love Affair, featuring wet-felted wool, embroidery, blue paper-based flowers, and Swarovski crystals. Just add party dress and cocktail, and you're good to go!

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.

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.

Book Giveaway: Feltique

Today is the release of Feltique! The book is beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I am happy to announce that Potter Craft has graciously decided to let me give 5 copies away to CRAFT readers. There are many ways to make felt, and make projects with felt, and Feltique covers them all, including wet felting, needle felting, fulled felt, and commercial felt crafts. Feltique has 46 projects for every skill level, from jewelry and accessories to toys for babies and repurposed clothing. More than 15 of the projects were created by contributors from around the globe, representing an amazing number of creative craft styles.

This book is relevant not only because the projects are fashionable and interesting, but because of the low cost of the materials needed. They will fit into your craft budget, and help you build your affordable gift stash. My personal favorites include a necklace made from commercial wool felt using a scrapbooking punch, the needle felted cuff bracelet, and the stunning wet felted scarves, including one that's nuno felted.

Besides just projects, the book gets into some heady felt territory, including tackling the question: what IS felt? The answer, in a nutshell? One basic tenet covers each type of felt: generally speaking, any non-woven fabric can be considered felt. But in the craft world, and in Feltique, we consider fabric that has been knitted and washed until the stitches shrink together to be felt. Strictly speaking they are "fulled," but we include them in the category of felt because if fulled fabric can be cut without unraveling, it has the properties of felt. Feltique also hits on the origins of felt and the science of felt, all while presenting beautiful art that's accessible for every crafter.

To win a copy of Feltique, leave a comment on this post telling us why you need this book. Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won't be published). We'll close the contest at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 21st, and announce the winners on Friday. Cheers, and good luck!

P.S. If you are in Sebastopol, Calif., I'm hosting a book launch party at 7 p.m. at Copperfield's! There will be cupcakes, champagne, and felting. Come visit!

May 15, 2009

Custom Map Quilts

Some folks at Haptic Lab are making these luxuriously customized map quilts:

Soft-Maps are handmade quilted maps of Brooklyn neighborhoods and parks that represent your unique place in the city. These heirlooms are meant to be used: wrap your children in them, have a picnic, pull them close during the next Nor'easter. Not only beautiful, these blankets can be used as a mnemonic tool. As your child grows up with a Soft Map, they learn to read their neighborhood and its landmarks in a tactile, easily remembered way.

Each map is embellished with hand-embroidered street names, compass rose, and scale marker. Upon request, the Lab will detail the house or apartment you live in, your metro stops, your favorite coffee shop, the school your child goes to, or any other place in your neighborhood that has sentimental significance to you. It is important that each quilt be unique to its owner, just as a neighborhood is unique to each of its denizens.

While my pockets aren't nearly deep enough to purchase one of these creations, the project sparks dozens of creative ideas! (Thanks, Randy!)

May 6, 2009

Plush Nintendo DS

Here's a nice plush Nintendo DS from the Les doudoux blog, stylus included. There's also a classic Gameboy version. Via Sprite Stitch.

May 5, 2009

Knotless Netted Iceberg

This was my final project for my 3D fibers class taught by artist Jerry Bleem. It's an iceberg, and I made it using a knotless netting technique and stiffened it over a cardboard form with fabric stiffener and acrylic paint. The sculpture is completed with a polar bear made out of ice (cast using a mold, not carved), which slowly melts through the sterling silver drain. The second photo is by Matt Mets.

May 4, 2009

About Silkworms

True Up has a really interesting article up about how silk is made, from worm to usable fiber. (Thanks, Patti!)

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:

April 9, 2009

The Coiled Basket Art of Carol Eckert

Carol Eckert makes incredible scenes of animals (often depicting fables and other tales) using a traditional basketry technique: coiling. Her artwork is anything but traditional, however. She uses embroidery floss wrapped around electronic hookup wire mainly, and the detail is just exquisite. Above is pictured "Song of the Steppes"

March 25, 2009

Knotless netted sculptures

Here's an installation by artist Sandra Norrbin made from foam and knotless-netted rope. I just learned knotless netting so I'm really intrigued by artists who use it in their work. Via VVORK.

Fiber Art Home | Next >

Craft:

Needle-Felted Jabba The Hut

Inflatables as Plush Starters

Ribcage Purse

Columbine Cross Stitch

Fluid Sculpture Dress at Maker Faire

Handmade Textiles by Charlotte Alexandra

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Four

Kit Giveaway And Winners of Feltique

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Three

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part Two

Needle Felting is Easy

Meet the Feltique Contributors: Part One

Book Giveaway: Feltique

Custom Map Quilts

Plush Nintendo DS

Knotless Netted Iceberg

About Silkworms

Incredible Electronic Dress

The Coiled Basket Art of Carol Eckert

Knotless netted sculptures

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