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Post by simplynaturalfarm on Feb 2, 2017 18:00:09 GMT
I disappeared for a month because I was becoming obsessed with felting *G*. I did manage to felt another pair of boots and get distracted trying to figure out best way of making soles for icy winter weather as we have inches of ice here.
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 2, 2017 18:54:55 GMT
I'd love to see your boots!
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 3, 2017 15:23:13 GMT
There are quite a few choices of soles on etsy theses days. I would like to see your boots too.
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Post by aberwacky on Mar 13, 2017 2:13:49 GMT
Hi there! Chiming in a bit late, but I think I've bought just about all the wool that RH Lindsay sells, and tested it for felting, LOL. Here's my thoughts, in no particular order: They sell a dehaired churro that felts well--it doesn't have the guard hairs (at least in what I've bought), and felts into a softish but strong felt, and is white. It is kind of carded, and is easy to layer and felt.
I like both the Falkland and the Domestic 56s--they felt up very similarly, but the Falkland is a whiter white, which might influence your dyeing.
The quilt batting felts fine. I got it with the idea of dying it before felting, but haven't tried that yet. It has about the same softness level as the domestic 56.
I do like their naturally colored slivers a lot for felting. The Tasman comebacks (oatmeal and brown) are a medium fine that felts into a heathery effect. The oatmeal is very nice when overdyed. Soft enough for inside of hats as long as someone is not super sensitive.
I love the domestic fine brown--a bit coarser than the comeback, and darker than the pictures, but the heathered brown it felts to is lovely--a good compromise between softness and strength. I have used it for mitts and gloves, and it would work well for bags and boots.
The 23D (Light Gray local) and 23DK (Primitive Gray) are nearly indistinguishable from each other when felted. Both are coarser, with guard hairs, but make nice sturdy felts. Good for boots and other items that would see a lot of wear. Not for next-to-skin in my family.
The 21DF Fine local is fine (Targhee, mostly) but has more VM than I like to use in felted items. It dyes well, though, and is soft enough for a scarf or hat.
Their merino is a great price, and is pretty much the same as the other merinos the same micron count (21.5).
I have also used their black opal top as well as their black merino top. The black merino is, well, black merino and felts as expected. The black opal top was harder to felt than the domestic 56s it is made from, but it is a good, deep black.
I'm sure I've forgotten some, but if there is one you are interested in and I haven't mentioned it, feel free to ask. Most likely, I've tried it!
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 13, 2017 4:49:59 GMT
Wow, thanks for the summary Leigh. I've only used their Dom 56. I had ordered Texas mohair and it had so much VM I really haven't been inspired to use much of it.
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Post by aberwacky on Mar 14, 2017 2:15:23 GMT
Marilyn, I found the same thing with their Texas mohair. I have also gotten some of their scoured wool to use in blending, and found a good bit of VM in the dark brown scoured, but not as much in the tasman comeback scoured. (I'm not looking at the website at the moment, so I'm not sure if I got the names of those right.)
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Post by aberwacky on Mar 15, 2017 17:36:00 GMT
Okay, let's see if I can do this (let me know if I did it wrong). I took a picture of my felt samples of Falkland and the domestic 56s from RH Lindsay--you can see the color difference in them. The Falkland is white and the domestic is cream, otherwise, they felt and feel pretty much the same.
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breezy
Junior Member
Posts: 14
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Post by breezy on Mar 22, 2017 17:02:35 GMT
Hi! I'm new to the forum, but would love to get in and ask a question on the topic.
I felt large blankets, so spreading 6+ layers of roving is not only time consuming but hard on my body. Leigh, you mentioned that you have used the quilt batting for wet felting? I was also thinking about buying the New Zealand Romney open top, but the batting has a lower micron count and may be softer. Did you find that you were able to get a uniform thickness from the felting of the batting? It's very important to me to have a final product that doesn't have any thin, weak spots.
Does anybody else have experience with the Pennsylvania quilt batting from RH Lindsay? Or any other "shortcut" when it comes to making large projects?
Thanks! I'm happy to have found such an active and informative resource. Bree
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 22, 2017 17:59:37 GMT
I have felted the sides and top for a 16' yurt. I used batting that I had made for me at a local mill from local coarser wool. I used several thicknesses of batting and generally had good luck about not getting any thin spots. The only time I had any real trouble was when it was getting cold and it was much harder to get everything to felt. We worked outside and rolled the work behind the tractor in our field.
I haven't personally tried the quilt batting but I do order from RH Lindsay on a regular basis.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 22, 2017 18:57:58 GMT
Welcome Breezy! Sorry I don't have any experience with the quilt batting, But you've come to the right place to ask.
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breezy
Junior Member
Posts: 14
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Post by breezy on Mar 23, 2017 2:14:52 GMT
Thanks, Ruth & Marilyn! This has already been helpful, but I'll wait and see if there are any other felters with experience in using these types of wool. I have so much to learn.
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Post by aberwacky on Mar 23, 2017 15:35:41 GMT
I would say that it takes a little practice using the batting to get it even, just like it does with roving, but it is a good timesaver for large projects like blankets. Unroll it and unfold it carefully. It is not perfectly uniform (or as felted) like commercial wool quilt batting, but is a bit airier. I would use two layers of it to avoid thin spots.
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Post by zed on Mar 24, 2017 10:34:37 GMT
I've not had loads of experience with batts, I must admit that most of the ones I bought, I ran through my carder and made roving But I tried a few samples out, and I just had to feel if they were even or thin in places. A lot harder for a blenket than small sample, I know Oh, just a thought, you could always do it by weight–split the batts for your 6 layers into evenly weighed layers, lay out as usual, then use what's left of each layer to fill thin spots before moving on to the next one.
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 25, 2017 1:07:42 GMT
I have used bats I made my self. I have a large carder so the bats are 18 inches by about 7 feet. iven feeding the carder carefully you get thinner spots. You need to feel the felt by pressing down to find the tin spots and fill them in. World of wool sells batts or several breeds of wool. www.worldofwool.co.uk/collections/carded-wool-batts
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Post by simplynaturalfarm on Apr 14, 2017 3:03:18 GMT
I have a friend who does custom felted boots and shoes, and she uses the batts from RH lindsey exclusively for the boots and then dyes those. I asked and she said if you can make an even blanket with roving, you will feel the thin spots on batts and it will still go way faster than roving.
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