maisie
Junior Member
Posts: 33
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Post by maisie on Oct 28, 2015 23:04:31 GMT
I went to a nunofelting workshop at the weekend. We used prefelt scarves and added silk, merino wool wisps and prefelt on top. I've never come across this method of nunofelting. We laid out our designs and then rolled for hours - from 11am until 2pm and I suffered the next day!! This seems to be a great deal of hard work and quite expensive. If I had known the content of the workshop I doubt I would have gone as it really was not what I was expecting or really wanted - and it cost rather a lot of money. I have since looked at WOW and they sell the prefelted scarves for £8.50 each so not cheap. Is this a usual way of nunofelt I've not met before??
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Post by Shepherdess on Oct 28, 2015 23:23:06 GMT
First I must say there are may different ways to make felt. Non are wrong if it gets you what you were trying to make. I don't do it that way. I don't see the point in hiding the silk between layers of wool. I usually put wool in a pattern on one side or the silk or add silk to one side of a wool scarf for textures and effect. I have added wool to prefelt to make scarves but prefer laying out my own wool. 4 hours of rolling is not for me either. my scarf workshop is 10-4 with an hour for lunch and we usually finish early. I just don't like people to feel they need to rush if they are going slower. Class starts with teaching people about wool and how to pull it apart and lay it out. I have put cotton gauze in the middle of a piece I was going to use as a back ground for something else. It allowed me to make the piece thinner but keep it stable
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Post by MTRuth on Oct 28, 2015 23:29:34 GMT
As Ann says, there are many ways to felt and nunofelt. People have different ways of working. I don't use much commercial prefelt because it is expensive. I also don't roll that much either. Usually when the wool starts to penetrate the silk, I stop rolling. Then I full in a different method. I also do a lot of rubbing on the silk side to encourage the fibers to migrate through the silk.
But it is nice to try different ways and see which you like and which you don't.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Oct 29, 2015 0:05:23 GMT
When I nunofelt, I use a piece of silk then add wisps of wool roving on top and sometimes underneath as well. I have never rolled that long, but then if you begin with a piece of pre-felt, it could take a lot longer.
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Post by Pandagirl on Oct 29, 2015 0:22:09 GMT
I have made scarves with prefelt with merino/silk mix on top and bottom and it's not my favorite method. Also, as mentioned expensive.
As Luvswool mentioned, I usually add wool wisps to silk for nuno to get the ruching. That was a lot of rolling. I usually do more rubbing, then rolling.
As Ruth mentioned there is no right or wrong way. You need to find a way that suits you. Hang in there, experience makes it easier.
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 29, 2015 9:48:28 GMT
Who taught you workshop Maisie?
I have used prefelt with silk before, you can get some nice effects by cutting holes in the prefelt first but like the others I can't see why you would encase an expensive fabric like silk in two layers of wool. Similarly, I don't understand the rolling for hours mentality either, even on my Nuno dresses I only roll for 20 min max. I prefer to gently stroke the silk to encourage the fibres through, then once attached I kneed it gently for a few minutes before dropping it on the table for a few min more.
I attended a dagmar binder workshop last year where she insisted on rolling cold, wet prefelts for an hour, and to add insult to injury, we were only allowed to roll away from us. I don't think she was all that impressed that I stopped after 20 min and added some hot water when it was clear nothing was happening inside my roll but I finished two pieces in that Workshop while some didn't manage to finish their first piece.
As others have said, there's no right or wrong way to make felt and there are at least as many methods as there are makers, it's all about discovering what works for you and what you are trying to achieve.
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Post by Shepherdess on Oct 29, 2015 10:45:08 GMT
You could only roll away from you? Its funny I found being to gentle with nuno doesn't work. I couldn't get it to work properly at the beginning until I switch to a reed mat instead of bubble wrap.
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Post by Pandagirl on Oct 29, 2015 13:45:03 GMT
I learned to Nuno felt with online videos. While rolling is usually recommended, I do very little now that I've learned other techniques. I kind if have developed my own, but have enough experience to try other things if something doesn't work,
Good for you Teri! I would have done the same. I have a bad back and couldn't roll for hours or even an hour. Its great to know even with your dresses you aren't rolling for days. :-) It's a shame some instructors feel their way is the only way.
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 29, 2015 13:55:22 GMT
I agree Marilyn, it's a shame that when some people start teaching they think they have reached the pinnacle and there is nothing more to learn. I must have made more than 500 felt items and I still learn something new with each piece, for me, that's what makes fibre art fun, it's the constant exploration and experimentation. That said, I do try everything that is presented in workshops, no matter how daft it seems, even if only so I can cross it off my list of things to try!
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Post by Teri Berry on Oct 29, 2015 13:59:12 GMT
You could only roll away from you? Its funny I found being to gentle with nuno doesn't work. I couldn't get it to work properly at the beginning until I switch to a reed mat instead of bubble wrap. Rolling away from you keeps the bundle tight and stops it unraveling. I have adopted a halfway approach (and discovered that judit pocs does something similar so it must be right! ) of rolling away for the first 20 rolls, this makes the roll nice and tight, then go back to my usual roolling forward and back routine.
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Post by elizabeth on Oct 29, 2015 15:00:34 GMT
I agree with everyone here! That was waaay too long to roll. I lay wool directly over silk. I've never used a prefelt as the base - all that wool would probably be too hot for Texas. I also find a lot of thrift store silk and other light fibers to use as my bases. My original teacher has had several artists teach classes here. Her complaint it that many of them are very adamant that their way is the only way. Some people use a sander for the felting. For me it takes just as long to use the sander as it does to roll. I also don't like the noise since I'm usually watching TV or listening to a podcast while I'm working. I also enjoy feeling the roll getting smaller as it felts.
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Post by Shepherdess on Oct 29, 2015 22:44:37 GMT
I tie my roll in 3 places so it stays rolled up. I always tell people in my classes that there are many different ways to felt. Try them all and find what you like. I am with you Elizabeth I didn't find a sander worked any faster and I hate the noise. I am listening to an audio book at the moment while I work.
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Post by Pandagirl on Oct 29, 2015 23:17:04 GMT
I agree Marilyn, it's a shame that when some people start teaching they think they have reached the pinnacle and there is nothing more to learn. I must have made more than 500 felt items and I still learn something new with each piece, for me, that's what makes fibre art fun, it's the constant exploration and experimentation. That said, I do try everything that is presented in workshops, no matter how daft it seems, even if only so I can cross it off my list of things to try! You are absolutely right Teri that's what makes it fun!
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Post by koffipot on Oct 30, 2015 8:51:40 GMT
We all have our own ways. I'm incredibly lazy and impatient so always happy to hear of quick and easy methods. I find this method best for me:- Roll back and forth with the 'tail' of the bubble wrap/bamboo mat/microfibre towel hanging over the edge of the table. I lean on the tail, whilst rolling to create tension - no need to tie as it tightens up a little with each roll.
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Post by zed on Oct 30, 2015 12:28:27 GMT
Do you have a link to the 'prefelt scarves', Maisie? Do you mean prefelt or precut?
That really is far too much rolling. Was it rolling in bubblewrap? I can't understand the 'science' of that, how does the pressure reach the middle? It seems counterproductive to me.
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