Lots of experimenting with textures over the last few days in preparation for the new workshop next week - with some very pleasing results !
The natural colours of the fibres & textures blend SO beautifully with the wool backgrounds. I deliberately chose non-Merino wool with a good natural colour range - Norwegian grey, Shetland browns, BFL and Welsh white.
Quite a contrast to the bright scarves of previous weeks...
The fibres shown here before (above) & after felting (below) are as follows :
Wool Slub/Knops - Linen Noil - Jute
Synthetic Mesh - Banana Tops - Skeleton Leaf
Bamboo Tops - Carded Cotton - Carded Jute
Soya Staple - Flax Tops - Crab Fibre Tops
It was surprising just how quickly all the fibres felted into the wool.
The more fibrous flax & jute were easily trapped. The fine silky crab & banana fibres
felted in beautifully leaving shiny crimps. The cotton & linen noil were applied more
thickly and the wool worked through the base of these clumps leaving the top loose and easy to pinch into shapes and ridges - perfect for surface texture.
I plan to work further into these swatches with hand stitching & beads, but for now I've simply photographed them with shells, pods and other natural forms.
'Experimenting with Textures' is for those who have some felting experience and
would like to try using this amazing range of alternative fibres.
ALL these textures will be available to use and included in the price of the day, along with other organic & synthetic yarns and fibres. You can make sample swatches like the ones shown here, create a 3-D project or cover pebbles with felted textures.
This workshop will be held at OliVEN in Newport High Street on Wed. 25th January
and places are still available.
For more details and information about booking call 554 934.