Recycled Sweater Cuff Bracelet Tutorial, Baby Goat Countdown, and Embracing the Gray Season

My days have been filled with Mostly Animal Stuff of late.  When you have Five Dogs, Three Goats, Thirty Chickens, and Two Cats, one finds that the day is largely spent on Critter Maintenance.  Nonetheless,  I did manage to finish a fun cuff bracelet featuring leftover bits and pieces of old felted sweaters and some beautiful Swarovski Crystal Sew On Stones and  Beads.  I was cleaning up the studio after a recent series of UpCycled Sweater Projects  left me with tiny scraps destined for the garbage can.  However, as is often the case when I am confronted by colorful Bits 'O Stuff, I had an idea.....

Penny Rugs, of course!  I have long been a fan of the humble Penny Rug, a folk art craft that originated in the 1800's.    Penny Rugs were made with wool scraps salvaged from old blankets or clothing.  Wool was pricey and every scrap was utilized by thrifty homemakers.    Coins were used as templates to make tiny fabric rounds of various sizes.  The rounds were then stacked and stitched one on top of the other onto a background piece of of cotton or wool.  Most were used as decorative accents rather than floor rugs and I have always found their primitive style very appealing.  I figured it might be fun to do a glitzy folk art cuff bracelet that paid homage to the traditional Penny Rug.

I grabbed a 2 inch brass cuff blank and cut out a rough template of black sweater felt for the front,

and a bright red piece of ultra suede for the back.  You can see that I didn't worry too much about things being perfectly precise and just left myself some wriggle room.  This is a quick and dirty project that involves almost instant gratification.  Time was short so I worked fast...loose and easy.

Once I had my basic cuff form, I started to play around with the patches.  I decided that squares would work better for my purposes than circles, so I simply cut free hand three sets of squares in three different sizes. 

I initially considered Swarovski Crystal Buttons as the only adornment, but ruled in favor of more glitz.

Hand Dyed Silk Embroidery Floss adds Color and Texture!

I stitched one of the three largest squares onto the center of the piece, then stitched the remaining two large squares on either side of the first, using a blanket stitch. Layer two went on the same way, although I alternated thread color. Ditto the third and final layer. 

An easy back stitch throughout the black background  helped bring home the Folk Art feel I adore.  I opted to use a limited color palette in Swarovski Crystal, primarily Jet.  The work I do is very colorful and sparkly, and when I make a piece that is purposefully unsophisticated, it makes sense to be a bit more subdued in my crystal choices.  Classic black was perfect for this piece...2mm jet round beads and jet crystal sequins gave it just the punch I was looking for without overwhelming the primitive thread work.

Once I had embellished as much as I was going to embellish, I attached the top piece to the red ultra suede by using a blanket stitch.  I left one  of the narrow side ends unstitched so that I could slide the brass cuff blank into place before stitching up the last few inches.   Finally, I could not resist trimming the edges with a few yards (8 to be exact) of Swarovski Crystal Yarn, also in black, so that there is just another hint of elegant sparkle at the wrist, by way of a single crochet stitch.  I love the concept and think I am going to make my next one from leather scraps.....

ON THE FARM

Big Exciting News:  Two of my Nubian goats are pregnant....well, at least we THINK they are pregnant.  Ruby is due in about six weeks, while Stella should be due in about three months.  Nubians are dairy goats and it is standard practice to remove the newborn Kids from the mother immediately upon delivery  to raise them separately.  Typically, the mother is milked by the farmer (me!) and then the Kids are fed her milk from a bottle.  Folks who Show their goats always choose to Bottle Feed because Udders are easily ruined by eager, aggressively nursing babies. The Kids are weaned by the Farmer at 8-10 weeks and then all that milk goes to the the Farmer. The babies quickly learn to see the farmer as Mom and the real mom does not experience the loss of her Kid because she was never given a chance to bond with the newborn.       Easy Peasy....? Not so sure.

Dam Raised versus Bottle Raised

There is nothing cuter than a baby goat and there is nothing much more fun than bottle feeding said

Nom! Nom! Nom!

adorable baby goat.  You will recall that I bought Stella and Ruby as babies and I loved the whole process.  I didn't wean them until well past the point of reasonableness because they were so damn cute.

Nonetheless, the closer I get to Ruby's delivery date, the more stomach achey  and queasy feeling I become..  I thought that I was just nervous about the birthing process and the possibility that I might actually need to play legitimate goat midwife, but I have been readying myself for the occasion in an effort to quell my anxiety.  Books, Videos, Vet....all covered.  Unfortunately, the unease has continued on, unabated.  I learned long ago to pay attention when I get that stomach achey, queasy feeling because it usually means that I need to re-evaluate a course of action.  It  took me longer than normal to pin point the source of it this time because I wasn't allowing myself to question the experts.
    
I realized after some reflection that it was the thought of separating the babies from their Mama that had my stomach in knots!  Sometimes you just have to do things differently than the experts advise and I have decided that I just don't feel good about Bottle Raising these  yet to be born Kids when they have a ready, willing and able Goat Mom on site.  I do not plan to enter my Goats into Shows so I don't care if they don't have perfect udders.  Seriously, who has perfect udders after nursing?  Not Me!

...but I digress.

I figure that Mother Nature has been in charge of this Kidding thing for longer than me and I am going to try to stick as close to that plan as possible.  I have researched and found some small dairy farmers that have experienced success with Dam raised Kids.  The babies nurse and the farmer milks daily for any left over milk so that the Mom's milk production is kept up.  Once the kids are weaned, the farmer gets all of the milk. Win-Win.   I will have to work a little harder to socialize the Kids, but it sounds sounds doable and kinda like the way nature intended, so I am game!  Not surprisingly, once I made my decision the angst I had been feeling totally disappeared.  Happy Sigh.

...and then, just in case I needed further proof of The Powerful Force that is Maternal Instinct, let me tell you about my Hen.  Back Story:  I used to think that if you had hens and you had roosters, then baby chicks would necessarily follow.  It actually hasn't been that easy!  I have had Chickens for about six years or so and have only had one  hen go broody and sit on a clutch of eggs.  The same hen has sat on nests three times.  The first two resulted in fluffy little chicks.  The latest clutch resulted in ZIP, ZERO, NADA.

Mama Hen patiently waits for the hatching that never comes.

The poor hen sat patiently on a dozen eggs for long past the 21 day incubation cycle.  The eggs were getting really, really ripe and foul smelling.  Unfortunately, every single time I tried to pull one of them out from under her, she started squawking and biting me.  Last week I was at the Feed Store getting hay and I noticed a new shipment of Day Old Chicks. .  Day Old Chicks are shipped to the feed store via airplane within hours of being born.   I bought five and hoped for the best.

They were loud and agitated for the ride home and remained that way until I scooted them under Mama Hen, at which point I heard only gentle peeping.   It was something to see...Mama was clearly a bit confused for a second

She isn't squishing them...she is protecting them!

because she hadn't noticed anything hatch, but that passed  immediately  and she quickly tucked them under her wings. No longer a bitchy biter, she is cooing and clucking and clearly in her element.  I added five more later that afternoon and she is taking care of all ten quite happily.

...AND A WEE BIT OF HAIR DRAMA, TOO

So...we have lots of happy moms on the farm, including Yours Truly.  Many of you were with me during the Great Mid-Life Hair Crisis of 2012  and I thank you.  You were tolerant as I whined.  You commented kindly on the many silly folicular incarnations throughout the months....I was cut and colored, highlighted/red/platinum and shades in between.  Well, I think that I have gotten it ALL out of my system to a large degree.  Yup, I am fed up with bottles and potions and maintenance and upkeep.  I am weary of spending money on hair when I could be spending it on goat treats Really Important Stuff. 

So.....I am going gray, ladies.  I am really, really doing it.  No one can believe it, but I am committed to  it.  It is really funny -- and weird -- to look in the mirror and see this old lady staring back at me.  She still has a sparkle in her eye and a big laugh, but she's old.   I mean, I knew I was getting to be a bit more...ahem...mature looking, but the gray hair really seals the deal.  The REALLY weird, and rather unexpected, part of all of this is that I am totally cool with it.  Seriously.  So bring on the next season of my life.... gray hair, arthritis, and all.

I ain't skeered......much.

Goat Drama, Resilient Chicken, and a Felted Heart Tutorial just in time for Valentine's Day!

Make a felted heart brooch for Valentine's Day! 
This sweet confection features Swarovski Crystal Yarn and Hand Dyed Velvet!

  A MONTH OF LESSONS LEARNED

I have had some productive  time in the studio lately, but I gotta tell ya about my critters before we get to the Sparkle. I know, I know...you came here for the Heart Tutorial and you shall have it!  All in good time, my pretty...

Meet Sophie.  She eats garbage.

See, it has been an unusually weird few weeks at Pat's Funny Farm.  First, one of my goats got scary sick.  Second, my  husband reached the end of his rope.  NO MORE CANINE MAYHEM! NO MORE FOSTER PUPPIES!    He requested a break from the noise, the shedding, and the expense until March.  OK, fine, I could wait until March. So what happened last week?   He sauntered home with a scruffy, hungry, flea bitten street pup, that's what happened!  The funny thing is, he loves her!  He is always the last to be smitten, but this silly thing has his heart.  He insists that we  find her a permanent home, but is doing nothing to make it happen.  This should be fun to watch. The third, and most delightful weirdness....Teeny Tiny Mutant Hen has been accepted by her peers and actually laid a Teeny Tiny Egg.  Seriously.

THE GOAT DRAMA

It started with Dolly, my milking goat.  Now, I am the first to admit that I am no Goat Expert.  I started pining for goats shortly after falling in love with poultry, so I did what I usually do....Charge Full Speed Ahead and Figure It Out as I Go Along.  The strategy has met with a modicum of success, thanks to Mama Google.

But...

...sometimes I do not know what I do not know. and SOMETIMES that lack of knowledge can cause harm.  It is very humbling to realize that your ignorance caused someone you love to suffer unnecessarily.  Such was the case with my sweet Dolly, who has gotten thin over the last month or so.

It didn't cause major concern initially because I knew that Milking Goats are typically thin.  However, she started looking too thin, while the other goats were decidedly plump.  Her behavior had not changed, and her temperament was as congenial as ever.  Hmmmm....I decided to feed them separately to make sure Dolly was getting her fair share of the grain.  I added some high fat, high protein sunflower seeds to her regimen and continued to monitor her.

Dolly is feeling much better!

One day I noticed a slight tremor as she hopped on the milk stand.  Uh Oh. The breeder and I figured it was a Vitamin B12 deficiency, so I hightailed it to the feed store and got some into her.  She was noticeably worse the next morning---could barely stand, refused to eat---Freak Out Time!   Dr. Sarah came to the Funny Farm and figured out right away that Dolly was seriously calcium deficient.  HUH?  A lack of calcium caused THIS?  It had never crossed my mind.  The grain, alfalfa pellets, and hay that she has been getting have not been enough for her.  EEK!    It took almost two weeks, but  she is finally back to her silly self.  

It was a scary lesson, but I learned it, for sure.  No more calcium deficient goats on THIS farm!

THE MUTANT CHICKEN ISSUE

Mutant Hen #1 with Mr. Fancy Pants, my favorite fuzzy rooster.

In another glaring case of not knowing what I did not know....I purchased two juvenile  Minorcan hens at auction and immediately put them in the coop with my youngest flock. Big mistake.  It didn't take long to realize that the Newbies were sick and I was lucky that they did not infect the entire flock.  They went into quarantine and it took several months before they recovered from the nastiness they brought with them. 

They grew healthy but they did not grow physically---the illness had permanently stunted their growth! The Teeny Tiny Mutant Hens were rejected by the other chickens and spent their days wandering around the property looking like dejected little crows.   Life went on and ultimately one became a dog toy before I discovered that there was a hole in the fence.   (Another lesson learned just a wee bit too late, but I digress...)

Life has not been easy for the remaining mutant hen.  There are three separate flocks on the homestead: The Big Ass Rooster and his Haughty Hens, Mr. Fancy Pants and the Not Quite Cool Hens, and finally, the Total Loser Hens.  Teeny Tiny couldn't find a home with any of them.  Every single rooster ignored her and even the Total Loser Hens pecked her brutally if she dared get too close. The poor thing was a really lonely critter.  It was like watching Middle School Mean Girls torment The Dork With Glasses! Ugh.  I wondered whether it had been a mistake to spend months nursing a $7.00 chicken back to life, if THIS was the life she was gonna get....

I spent extra time talking to her and feeding her special treats in a ridiculous attempt to give her some confidence and build up her Chicken Self Esteem, all to no avail.   She has dealt with her sad lot in life, but I am happy to report that we have had some interesting developments lately!

One of my juvenile roosters just appointed himself The Big Man of The Loser Group. He is reaching maturity and has the Street Cred to make some important changes.  He has granted Teeny Tiny Mutant Hen status as an official member of The Loser Group and the other hens know better than to peck her now.  She is permitted to hang at the outskirts of the flock ....never on the same perch, but at least in the same general vicinity. The rooster is very proud of his little harem and opens a Big Ol' Can of Whoop Ass on any rooster that gets too close to his gals...even Teeny Tiny Mutant Hen!  She is clearly aware that she is on his team.   They like her!  Right now they like her!  [Age Revealing Sally Field Reference]

The Teeny Tiny Mutant Hen is the one to the bottom right, near the Rooster

Yup, Teeny Tiny has finally found her place in the world.  She belongs! 

*Happy Sigh*

Another added bit of Totally Cool...after a barren year and a half she laid her very first egg!  I couldn't believe it! I had given up on that possibility a long time ago!

 For those of you whose acquaintance with poultry is limited to the packaged meaty parts found at your local grocery store, let me explain that there is a bit of ceremony involved in egg laying...the girls become very vocal and prance a bit as if to say..."LOOK AT ME!  LOOK AT WHAT I JUST DID!"   So...I looked.  Much to my surprise and delight, Teeny Tiny  was the hen doing the Happy Dance---a mutant no longer!  I ran to the nesting box and sure enough....there was a Teeny Tiny Egg laying with all of the others.  It took her an extra year, but she is now a working member of the team. Whew!

 Life has a way of finding a way, doesn't it?  *Happy Sigh*

TUTORIAL:  FELTED HEART WITH EMBEDDED VELVET

I gravitate toward projects that are highly detailed, intricate, and time consuming.  Unfortunately, not every Crafty Gal has the time or the inclination for those sorts of endeavors and frankly, sometimes it is fun to have some instant gratification!  The heart pictured here can easily be completed in an afternoon.  Add a pin back and it becomes a brooch,a hat pin, or a component for a cuff bracelet.  Mine is destined to be a small element in a larger home decor project.

Felt making is a very forgiving craft with a great deal of room for individuality.  The directions provided reflect my technique and it works for me.  I think it will work for you.  You might have learned a different way to do things...go in peace, my sister.  There is no right/wrong way to craft.  Have fun and teach someone what you learned!  'Cause after all, it is all about spreading the crafty love....

TECHNIQUES:

needle felting, wet felting, bead embroidery, ribbon embroidery, and a wee bit of crochet if you wanna!

 

THE TOOLS:  

Felting Foam

Felting needle

Bubble Wrap, 12 x 12 inch square

Toile netting, 12 x 12 inch square (get it from Joanne Fabrics, runs about $1.50 a yard)

Embroidery needle

Beading needle

Fireline Beading Thread

Soap solution (how to follow)

Hand Towel

Rubber Band

Note:   The Tools are available from the sources linked, and/or your favorite bead shop and/or big box craft store.

THE INGREDIENTS:

A few grams of Merino Wool

A gram or two of silk throwsters waste

A gram or two of silk top

4 inch square of hand dyed rayon velvet

A tiny bit of lace (I used a one inch square)

A tiny bit of cotton gauze (I used a 1x4 inch strip)

3.5 x 3.5 inch piece of ultrasuede

A yard or two of hand dyed silk ribbon

2 yards of Swarovski Crystal Yarn

18-24 Swarovski Crystal 2mm round beads (Article 5000)

18-24 Swarovski Crystal 3mm round pearls (Article 5810)
A few inches of Swarovski Cupchain
Assorted seed beads and nailheads
Embroidery thread

Note:  If the ingredients list looks intimidating, don't fret!  Raid your own stash and simply go where inspiration takes you!  Don't have the time or the inclination?  No worries, I can make it easy on you!  Check out my Etsy shop for the kit that includes all of the ingredients that you need to make the heart as pictured.  

The Recipe:

Part One:  Needle Felting
Place some wool on the felting foam.  Manipulate the wool into the shape of a heart by punching the needle firmly through the wool and into the foam.  These needles are wicked. sharp so do not take your eyes off of the needle for even a second.  They have tiny barbs and hurt way more coming out of your finger than they do going into your finger (and they hurt plenty going in, or so I have been told).  You will watch as the fluffs of wool take on a denser appearance with repeated needling.  [Note: I made my heart approximately 4 x 4 inches, because I wanted to wind up with a heart that was approximately 3 x 3 inches.  The wet felting process will shrink the piece by up to 30% so you should start with a piece slightly larger than you would like to see as the finished product.]  Needle, needle, needle.  In and out, In and Out.  DO NOT LOOK AWAY!  Needle, needle, needle.  In and out, In and out.  Gently lift the heart up and turn it over so that you can needle the back.  Lift up the heart. Do you see any bald spots?  Add some additional wool and needle it!

Look closely and you can see the needle holes....

Now for some color and texture....Cut a heart shape from the velvet.  Don't get too crazy over this part...a  heart-ish shape will suffice.  It should be slightly smaller than the wool heart.  Place the velvet on top of the wool.  Hold down one edge of the velvet with your non-dominant hand and very carefully needle the velvet into the wool.  You are working on a very small piece.  Your hands are very close together.  One hand is holding a sharp needle and the other is NOT wearing a protective glove.  Do not look away!  Needle, needle, needle.  In and out, In and out.  The purpose of the needling is to get the velvet and the wool used to the idea that they are going to hook up.  This is an arranged marriage and the little holes you are needling will give the wool a hole through which to migrate so as to penetrate the velvet.  Yup, they will meld together and the two will become one.  Sounds kind of naughty, doesn't it?  See...Felt making is fun!

Now add a bit of lace and cotton gauze.  Put them where they tell you they want to be.  Seriously.  If you listen, your pretty pieces will talk to you.  Needle, needle, needle.  In and out, In and out.  You know the drill.  Whoo Hoo! 

Part Two:  Wet Felting:

Cover with netting

Wet it down

Your fibers should now be connected, although the bond is somewhat fragile.  If you sew, think of what you have just done as the basting stitch.  Now you need to wet felt the heart to create a permanent bond.  Place the bubble wrap on the towel, bubbles side up.  Put the heart on the bubble wrap and cover with netting.  Sprinkle warm soapy water onto the heart.  I make a soap sludge by chopping up a bar of olive oil soap and adding it to a 1/2 gallon of boiling water.  You do not need to go to that degree of trouble for this project.  Simply squirt some dish detergent (Joy, Dove, Palmolive, etc.) into a glass of warm water.  Stir and sprinkle on your heart.

Press your hand onto the soggy heart so that the water is forced to migrate through the fibers. Gently roll up the entire project, excluding the towel, into a fiberlicious jelly roll and secure the roll with a rubber band or other tie.  I used a piece of t-shirt in my scrap pile.  Slowly roll the package back and forth the width of your work surface. Short, sharp rolls are not good.  Long, meaningful rolls that extend along your arm are what we want to see.

After the first 25 rolls, the heart is misshapen

Fiberlicious Jelly Roll

Roll 25 times,  up and back counting as one roll.  Take a peak!  Fiber shrinks in the direction that it is rolled, so you will see the heart is becoming a bit misshapen and elongated. No worries!  Simply rotate the heart by a one quarter turn clockwise and roll 25 more times.  You can remove the netting by this point.  Rotate and roll two more times until the heart is back to its original position.     It should have returned to its pretty heart shape.  Note that the more you roll, the more pronounced the wrinkles that will develop in the velvet.  Feel free to use scissors to trim the piece, if needed, but make sure that you rub the cut edges against the bubble wrap to seal the fiber wound that has been created by the cut.  Rinse the heart and towel dry.  Isn't it adorable?

Part Three:  Embellishment

This is the tricky part of the tutorial because no two felted hearts are going to look identical.  It would be silly for me to direct you to place your Swarovski cup chain exactly where I placed mine.  Who cares?  Felt Making allows you to take a kit project and truly make it your own.  So, rather than make this a color by number project, I will share with you the things that I consider when I reach the embellishment stage.  It is my favorite part of the project because this is where cute becomes sublime! 

Endeavor to pull out the stops by adding a balance of texture and color. I find that placement of the first beads is usually the most difficult decision for me, so I generally just bow to the pressure and follow a natural line of the piece.  Accordingly I stitched some 3mm Swarovski crystal sequins down along the left side of the heart.  The flash of sparkle against the warm and fuzzy textile is visually gratifying to me.  Once I committed to that initial bead placement, I found that the other beads told me where they needed to go.  I know, I know!  It sounds like kind of an artsy fartsy/hippie chick sort of thing to say, but I am amazed by how often that is the way it goes.  Plus, I am kind of an artsy fartsy hippie chick. 

I wanted the brainy velvet to stand front and center, so chose to use only a sprinkling of Swarovski 2mm round beads sewn into the rivulets created by the ruching.  Swarovski crystal cupchain is easy to stitch on to any textile and because it is a linear component, it made sense to follow the line already created by the crystal sequins. The cream Swarovski pearls and seed beads made a strong statement when I added them to the top right.  I liked them but found the bright spot disconcerting until I muted the color by balancing it a bit with the addition of cream pearls to the opposite side.  Additional texture is achieved by some well placed french knots made from hand dyed silk ribbon...

...and so it went for an hour or so as I listened to the sparkle direct my hands.  Occasionally my muse went silent,  so I simply walked away for a moment to pet the dog and throw on a load of laundry.  The process works for me and I hope it will work for you.

You can call the job finished at any point, but I like to cover the ugly backside so that the stitches don't show, you know, kind of like covering your tush so the cellulite doesn't show.  I mean, really, who wants to look at that sh*t?  I took a bit of ultra suede and traced my felted heart onto it.  I then used a blanket stitch to attach the pieces together. A whip stitch would suffice, but the blanket stitch makes it easy for me to crochet a little border around the heart.  I used Swarovski yarn, which is truly a decadent treat.  My favorite is the Dorado and, although it is pricey if you want to knit a sweater, a mere two yards will turn this project into something really special.  Add a pin back to turn it into a brooch, sew it onto a card for Valentine's Day, add a jump ring and call it a pendant.  Truly, the possibilities go on and on!

Have fun and send me a picture of your creation!

Crafting is uncomplicated joy.....Pass it on!

Free Felted Purse Tutorial

Felted Purse with Sunflower Pin.

Felted purses are quick and easy...almost instant gratification!  They  require ZERO savvy with a sewing machine and are virtually failure proof.  Accordingly, it was the perfect project for the Newbie Felters that gathered at our last Fiber Guild meeting.

The ladies in attendance shared the felting tables and worked out a synchronized rolling routine that had us all laughing....particularly when the shortest amongst us looked down and noticed that her ample chest was water soaked from the endeavor.    It seems that she had colored her hair that day and it was a "radical-for-her" look that had her husband teasing her about looking younger. Her plan was to go home and tell him that she had entered a wet T-Shirt contest.  You go, girl!

Hmmmm...who had the wet T-Shirt?  I'll never tell!

The evening was filled with fun, silliness, food, and a wee bit of wine.  The ladies were so pleased with their crafty creations that I thought I would share the tutorial with you! 

Basic Felted Purse Tutorial:

Materials List:

Bath Towel

Wool Roving/Wool Top  (I used Merino bits and pieces that I had laying around the studio)

Silk Top for embellishment

Bubble Wrap/Felting Mat (I used a piece of Pool Solar Cover that I cut to size)

Pool Noodle (Yup...a pool noodle.  I cut mine in half.)

Piece of Netting (I buy Toile by the bolt from JoAnne's using my 40% off coupon)

Plastic bag (a gallon size zip lock baggie will do the trick)

Olive Oil Soap Solution (I cut up a bar of Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soap,  put it into a jug, pour 1/2 gallon of boiling water into the jug and shake.  Voila!) 

An empty plastic bottle (I use a vintage glass bottle with holes punched into the lid, but a gatorade bottle is perfect, too.) 

Three ties (I used three strips of an old cotton shirt.  Old knee highs will work equally well.)

Ready?  Let's go!

Put your towel on the work table.   l use a high-ish table to make my back happy.  It is easy to convert a folding table into a felting table.  I cut some PVC pipe into 12 inch sections and when I am ready to felt I simply put the PVC risers on the table legs----cheap and easy!    Not that industrious?  No worries....your kitchen counter is probably the perfect height.  Put the bubble wrap on the towel, bubble side up.  Fill your bottle 2/3 of the way with hot water, and then add the soap solution to the top.

Now the fun starts!

1.  Pick up the wool top and lay the end of it down on the top left edge of the bubble wrap.  Put one hand on the wool to secure it and gently pull off tufts of fiber with your other hand.  If it is difficult to pull, then move your hands further apart. The wool should separate gently and easily…no major effort should be expended!   This is called “Shingling.”  The wool will shrink by about a third, so consider this shrinkage when determining the size of your purse.  The back of this layer is important as it will form the back of the purse as well as the purse flap, so make it real purty.

 

 [Note:  a bit about the felting process.....wool fibers are protein fibers.  They have teeny tiny barbs that you cannot see with the naked eye.  When the fibers get wet, they expand, and as we agitate the fibers using hand pressure, the barbs will hook up with one another, forming a durable fabric.  It is like magic...you'll see!]

2.  Lay down a second layer of fiber using the shingle method.  The second layer should run perpendicular to the first.  Now lay down a third layer, perpendicular to the second.    Your should have a fluffy bit of fibery goodness staring up from the bubble wrap.   Make sure that you do not see any "bald spots."  Bald husbands are acceptable, bald purses are not.   Do not extend the fiber over the bubble wrap.  This is one time where it is better NOT to color outside of the lines.

Third layer--puffy with no bald spots

  

Edges of fiber should be baggie free!

3.  You now have the basis for the back of the purse and the purse flap.  It is time to form the front of the purse.  The challenge is to create the purse Front without permitting the purse front to felt into the purse Back, which would leave you with a thick piece of felt but no purse.  This is where the plastic bag comes in.   You will use the baggie to create a resist, which will serve as a barrier between the two layers.   In the picture at left I taped two bags together to get the size needed.

Make sure the top of the bag is peeking out!

4.  Create three shingle layers of fiber, as described in Steps 1 and 2, covering the sides and bottom of the baggie.  It is important to leave the edges "baggie free" so that the fiber will seam together, serving to adhere the Front of the purse to the Back of the purse.  Be certain to leave the top of the baggie peeking out; otherwise you will wind up sealing the plastic bag inside the felted fibers, lost forever in a fibery version of Edgar Allan Poe's  "The Tell-Tale Heart."   This is the time to add any silk embellishment for additional sheen.     Remember that silk will not felt...it needs wool to serve as glue.  If you pile on too much silk it will fall off.  A little silk goes a long way.

5.  Cover the puffy pile with the netting and sprinkle liberally with warm, soapy water.  Press down on the fibers in an effort to push the water throughout the fibers.  Do not rub or pat.  Simply press down firmly to help the water migrate through the fibers.  The plastic resist will impede the process so feel free to cheat a little by gently lifting up the resist to add additional water.

I needed my right hand for the camera....Pretend the micky hand is mine.

Create a fiber jelly roll.

6.   Once the fiber has been fully wet down, it is time for the physical labor to begin.  Pick up the pool noodle and wrap up the entire project--bubble wrap, fiber, netting, pool noodle--like you would a jelly roll.  Secure with the ties. 

Edges are neatly tucked over.

7.Roll the bundle gently back and forth 100 times with light pressure.  Time to take a peak!  Unwrap the roll and gently pull the toile netting away.  The wool might tend to stick to the netting...no worries, just pull it off.  You are in charge.  Take a minute to smooth out any creases that may have developed and fix any stray fibers that have gotten out of place.  See how the colors are starting to blend together?  M'mmmmm....I usually feel kind of dreamy and color drunk at this point in the process...how 'bout you?

 8.  Once you are satisfied with the positioning of the fibers, cover them with the netting, role the bundle, and secure with ties.  Roll another 100 times, using a bit more pressure this round.    If you are working at a low table, your back is probably starting to really hurt about now.  Move to the kitchen counter!

9.  Unwrap the package and take another look.  Felt shrinks in the direction that it is rolled so you will notice that while the purse is getting shorter, it is not getting narrower.  Wrap up the package from the side this time and roll 100 more times, exerting lots of pressure.    Unroll the package and re-roll from the other side.  Do another 100 rolls, continuing to exert a lot of pressure.  Tired yet?  We are almost done! 

Rub briskly with your fingertips

10.  The fiber should look pretty solid at this point but you still need to go through one more step---Fulling.  “Fulling” refers to the process by which you agitate the felt to shrink it.  The agitation forces the fibers to become more entangled, compressing them and forcing out the air between them.  This will cause the fabric to shrink and become stronger.  Start the fulling process by rubbing the material against the bubble wrap.  Squeeze out the excess water and throw the fiber against the bubble wrap.  You will hear a satisfying "thud" and relieve some stress.  I told you this was fun!

11.  Rinse out the soapy water and take a look at what you have created!

Ooooh!  Ahhhh! 

 12.  Considering turning the purse inside out...you will have a very different look.

Wow!  What a difference!

 

Stay tuned---I will be adding handles, a pocket, and some sparkly Swarovski embellishments in the coming weeks.  Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions.

Crafting is uncomplicated joy---pass it on!