Novice questions

[elfin]

Hi guys, I'm new here and have never done nuno felting. I'm hoping to make a shawl and I've found 100% silk georgette 8mm in a local shop. Would that be suitable/easy to work with? And in terms of wool tops does the microns make a big difference? I've found a few shops ranging from 18 up to 24 microns.
Some tutorials mention putting tulle over the top of the work and others say you can sandwich the work between bubble wrap?
Sorry for all the questions..Thanks so much in advance for any advice or tips you can offer.

[Pandagirl]

Hi and welcome Elfin! Great questions! 8 mm can be worked, but it takes a little more work. I've not worked with Georgette only chiffon and habitoi. Unless there are different names.  As Far as wool, those parameters of microns will work fine with Nuno.
as far as tulle and bubble wrap it's a personal  preference and both work well. I have moved on from tulle to bubble wrap. But there are situations that tulle is preferable,  experiment and find what works  well for you and what you are working on.  I wish you well on your fiber journey. Believe me we've all  been there. Let us know how you fare.

[elfin]

Thanks so much Pandagirl Since I posted I've learnt that tissue silk and silk georgette seem to be the same thing. Not that that really helps anything haha but interesting to know. I have found one that is 4.5 mm so perhaps that would be better for nuno?
Does it require a lot more rolling and time if you put wool on both sides of the silk or it doesn't really matter?
Thank you

[jwugg]

I'm not sure that georgette & tissue silk are the same - usually georgette is like a firmer, crisper type of silk, sort of chiffon weight but firmer, I think tissue silk is more probably like a fine, light habotai (which is also called China silk just to confuse!) or chiffon. Chiffon would be the easiest & quicker to felt for you to start with. If you found some 4.5mm that should work well. Take a look at the fabric, if you can see light through it & if it's an open weave it will be easier to felt with - the lighter the better to start.

I use bubble wrap under my layout then thin painter's plastic on top as I didn't like how the tulle/ netting would stick to the felt. The downside is you have to wet it out before you put the plastic on.

Good luck on your felting journey & most of all - have fun experimenting!

[elfin]

Thanks very much Jill i didn't think they were the same but I don't know anything sbout silk. The website that I'm looking on says that they are, it's an online store so I can't feel the fabric. Thanks for your feedback re tulle - I had wondered whether there would be issues with it sticking to the wool..thank you  

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[Pandagirl]

Sept 6, 2016 4:32:46 GMT elfin said:

Thanks so much Pandagirl Since I posted I've learnt that tissue silk and silk georgette seem to be the same thing. Not that that really helps anything haha but interesting to know. I have found one that is 4.5 mm so perhaps that would be better for nuno?
Does it require a lot more rolling and time if you put wool on both sides of the silk or it doesn't really matter?
Thank you

Some vendors use different names for things, so it can be confusing. 4.5 mm would be great for Nuno.  As far as wool on both sides, I don't know that it makes huge difference if you're using wisps of wool.  

[luvswool and dyestuff]

As a beginner in nuno-felting, you might try adding wool from both sides. I found that it increased the likelihood of having the fibers "stick," if that makes sense.
There's more to grab onto. Be prepared to roll, and then roll some more. You can let it rest between rolling sessions. ;-)

[Shepherdess]

I uses old nylon curtains to cover or plastic. I don't like bubble wrap for nuno I like the stick blinds or the "grass" beach mats. try different things and see what you like. It may change over time or for different things. there are lots of ways to do it all. watch out for people that tell you there is only one right way.

[elfin]

Thanks very much for your replies, really appreciated I'm wanting to make something along these lines so will try for wool on both sides www.flickr.com/photos/cheenara/6159394903/in/faves-creativebumblebee/

Ann, thanks for the idea of nylon curtains. Do you mind me asking why you prefer not to use bubble wrap for nuno in particular?

[Shepherdess]

I found that bubble wrap was not aggressive enough to get the wool to migrate quickly. The grass mats or plastic straw mats are what I like best. they sell the plastic ones as outdoor rugs. So they come in lots of sizes. When I teach hats or birdhouses I use bubble wrap.

Curtains are great. you can get huge ones cheap and second hand stores. I have a horrible orange set that are great for doing white things on because you can see what you are doing.

[elizabeth]

I also use bubble wrap and painter's plastic like Jill. I didn't like the nylon curtain because wool migrates onto it and I'm afraid that it will contaminate the next piece.
I don't mind the rolling - I get into a Zen state, or I use it as a triceps workout.

[elfin]

Thanks again very much everyone for your help and tips - just reporting back that it was a success! I'm not with flikr or photobucket or anything so can't show a pic yet but it turned out ok, I ended up sandwiching it between bubble wrap. The shrinkage was huge, not sure if there's a way to minimise that. It's all a learning curve

[chookie2]

Elfin congrats on completing your first felt project. Shrinkage can be affected by how you lay out your fleece,opposite layers shrink more evenly than one way or more one way than another if laid out unevenly. Most felters allow for around 30% shrinkage but I have had up to 50% and down to 20% on rare ocassions. Making a test piece in the same colors and layout at about 10" square will give you an idea of shrinkage but it also depends on amount of rolling and fulling on each work being the same to get accurate shrinkage in the sample.

[elfin]

Thanks very much Sue,I only layed the fibres one way,I was worried if I put another layer on that it might be too thick and not felt or not get through the silk...silly in hindsight! Thanks for your tips.

[MTRuth]

The less wool you use, the more shrinkage you generally get. If you do a small sample first, you can figure out the shrinkage in advance.