The craft of feltmaking goes back thousands of years. Various cultures, including Asia, Mongolia, China and Rome have all made use of this durable, warm, hard-wearing fabric. It has been used to make blankets, carpets, boots, hats, tent-coverings and more.
There has been renewed interest in feltmaking recently as it is a relatively easy technique to learn and does not require a lot of expensive equipment.
My feltmaking workshops begin with an explanation of the type of fleece we will be using, followed by a demonstration of how to lay out the fleece to make a flat piece of felt. Once everyone has done this, we move onto adding the hot water and soap and rolling the fleece. The soap, water and the rolling are all that are needed to turn the fleece into durable felt.
The use of vinegar in the rinsing process is explained, this ensures all remaining soap is removed, as this would eventually rot the felt if left in.
The next stage is how to make a seamless felt bag and full instructions are given regarding laying out the fleece and using a resist to enable the bag to be made in one piece.
At the end of the day everyone goes home with a felt picture and a unique colourful felt bag.
I can tailor any workshop to your requirements and deliver at any level from beginner to advanced. If you'd like me to run a Felt Making workshop for your school, textile group or community group let me know.
I'm happy to travel anywhere - in fact I'd love to visit you.
I also offer individual tuition.
Please get in touch for more information.
Click below for workshop dates.
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