Nuno Felted Textiles

Get Crafty for Summer!  New Course starting in May - click for details of new course

Some examples of nuno felted textiles:

flowers leaves and bugs on muslin

silk fabric scraps with hand blended fibres

silk fabric scraps with coloured merino fibres

silk fabric scraps with brown Blue Face Leicester fibres

silk scraps and handblended fibres

silk scraps with moorit shetland fibres

memory cloth - silk, cotton, linen with wool

chiffon with wool and silk fibres

muslin with coloured merino fibres

New Felt Making Course!

new felt-making courses and workshops go here

Here is deepest darkest Devon we are having a most incredible summer with glorious sun-shine.  The light is changing towards the end of the day - sort of good for taking pictures, but they need a fair bit of doctoring to remove the shadows of me taking the picture!

In the new course for September we will be focussing on the more tricky aspects of felt-making - those ones that demand a bit more patience.  I used to be very impatient before finding the craft of making felt.

So we will look in depth at Nuno felting, that is felting onto cloth.  

Here is the Memory Cloth, a heavy nuno felted cloth which has become a cape, constructed of scraps of old cloths (wedding veil, napkins, silk shirts, wedding dresses - all old and way past mending) so preserving them for the next generation.  Made from three panels then felted together (my work table is too small).

Memory Cloth

Here is a nuno felt scrappy hat - so the scraps of fabrics were felted onto moorit (ginger brown) shetland wool, then stitched into shape.  This hat is good for windy weather because of the stretchiness of nuno felt fabric.  I love the crinkly textures that nuno felt creates, and that you can use lots of colours.    Quite impressed by the picture - managed to take it myself - should see the out-takes!

nuno felt scrappy hat

 Ahh beautiful!  Yes I'm totally biased.   Modelling the pinky silky nuno felt wrap, daughter must be laughing at one of my corny jokes...  Here the silky chiffons are felted with white 'blue face  leicester' wool, so it's very floaty.  Doctored this picture alot to splurge the background.  The fabrics were from the off-cuts basket at 'Stone Fabrics' - the best fabric shop in Britain!

pinky silky nuno wrap

We will also be looking at dry needle felting techniques for creating detailed pictures, and 3d pieces.  

The course is split into two parts - the first part will be for learning new techniques, while the second part will be for you to explore what you want to make, with lots of friendly guidance from me.

Details about the course are on the Courses page above.  Contact me by email if you need more information about course content - there's a contact form at the top of the blog.  For information about booking please contact MyDevon 0845 155 1014 or pop into the Mansion in Totnes.

memory cloth panel one

Snatched moments on the memory cloth partly in a response to Jude Hill's What If Diaries, and partly in response to the need to record memories held in cloth and to pass on.  Partly to record a feeling of life running through me like a river

Detail of Alice Gertrude's dress 

Detail of river flowing

the river flowing

first panel is felted fragments on silk chiffon with blue face leicester wool

have just finished felting the third panel, and waiting for it to dry.  Then will be the bringing together of three panels into a 'protector' cloth, or comforter or  perhaps a witche's cloak that can magic you away to another world.

Wool Washing

Glorious weather for washing wool! Gentle breeze to dry the locks.

blue face leicester from East Prawle

This took alot of washing - the sheep must've rolled in a mud bath or similar.  But once rinsed it turned out so soft and white.  This will felt well, and fast.  So glad to have found a good supply of this gorgeous fleece.

moorit shetland from near Keswick

Great colour - gingery with bleached tips.  Quality good too - some a bit cotted (felted on the sheep) so will need a good bit of teasing out the fibres before carding.  

Will be using these fleeces at the Rustic Wooly Day at Growers Organics, click here for details.  Places still available.  We'll be spinning, peg looming, felting and enjoying a fibre filled day.  

Neck Warmer or Cowl

Definitely not snoods, these neck warmers are handmade of felt by me!  They can be felt and viewed at Artworks, a wonderful community art shop and gallery in Devon.

This nuno felt neck warmer is handmade from a special type of wool - blue face leicester, which is one of the softer lustrous sheeps' fleece.  I have laid this out onto a silk sashing made up of old silk fabrics from my stash (ancient silk scarves once worn by my grandmother, or pieces horded from charity shop finds, or perhaps an old sarong well travelled).  The whole piece is carefully felted to ensure the bond between fabric and fiber.  This is known as 'nuno felt' which someone once told me meant fabric in Japanese.

The upturned plantpot models the neck warmer beautifully don't you think?

NunoFelt Neck Warmer with felt brooch

A bright cheery neck warmer of coloured merino fleece with silk fibres.  Again modelled by a terracota plantpot.  The fleece is laid out very fine to ensure the final felt is lightweight.

Here hand blended fleeces of white Blue Face Leicester with chocolate Shetland are laid onto a silk sashing of pieces from the stash.  The tassles are of felt too.  It is very soft.

Nuno Felt Scarf with tassles

I love making nuno felt - find more examples here and here.

projects

here are pictures of some of the final projects from the lovely class just finished at the Mansion in Totnes.  I really enjoyed working with these felty enthusiasts.  Great projects!  Happy felting, xx

Judy's purse of Jacob's lined with merino fleece

Sheila's purse of blue face leicester lined with merino, and a lovely button

Close up of Moira's picture 'Hide and Seek'

Hide and Seek