Nuno felted dress

[lizzie]

It has been so inspiring to see what people have made it - makes me happy every time I visit and look around the forum!  My friend made tunics for her girls, so I decided to take the plunge and (rashly) make myself a nuno dress.  The pattern was so big I had to do the work on the floor! (I'm sure you've heard that before!)  And I had issues with pulling seams apart when I flipped it over, but managed to "glue" the seams back together with fresh fiber application, thank heavens!  What do you all do to keep seams from migrating?  Do you pre-sew (slip stitch) them?  I am not so handy with a needle.  I was wondering if I could just safety pin them together...! Anyway, eventually it all came together - it feels like magic when it works! I made fairy wings on the back, because the whole inspiration for this felting journey was a Fairie-Con a friend wanted to go to. The dress is almost too small - I had to stretch it a bit while still wet, and I need a friend to help me get it on, but it feels wonderful on, and has no seams/zippers/buttons. My pictures have terrible lighting, but here they are.  

www.flickr.com/photos/14066462@N06/

I wore it trick-or-treating on Halloween and I couldn't believe how warm I was AND how warm even the outside of the dress felt in the cold outdoors! I'm rather cold-blooded, so I love it! 

Thanks so much for the inspiration and support. 

Lizzie

[Pandagirl]

Lovely dress. So much fun to wear it on Halloween! I’ve never made a garment, I can only imagine how it would be to manage a resist of that size. Good for you!

[tracey]

Great dress Lizzie, a real achievement with something of that scale. Well done you for sticking with it when issues arose. So glad you feel fabulous in it!

[wolgelukkig]

I love the lay out of the dress and it looks like a Charity dress. Did you attend to a Class of Charity van der Meer? I did one couple of years ago and she is such an inspiring teacher. To prevent bulky seams I always make a large irregular seam on one side, flip that over after turning the template, some places it is more than 5 cm. Then I lay out the dry wool within the border of wet wool from the other side. The advantage is that you see the color you were working with, you can continue with the pattern you had in mind and you have a fluid, organic transition of the wool. No more bulky seams!

[lyn]

Well done Lizzie! What an achievement. The dress looks great on you.

Wool is wonderful for keeping you warm - and it doesn't trap smells as a lot of synthetic fabrics do.

[magzie]

I made a vest years ago and had the same problem with my seams coming apart - I did a quick basting stitch with matching thread and that did the trick. I didn't even remove the basting stitch as it "melted" right into my vest. Its very cold here in the winter and what a difference wearing my vest makes - certainly keeps me warm without the bulk. Also, I've wore my vest in our very steamy, hot summers and its amazing how comfortable it is then too. You did a great job with your dress - you should be proud!

[MTRuth]

I have used safety pins when making seams in garments. It worked fine.

Lovely dress and what an accomplishment!

[lizzie]

Thanks so much for the comments! Regarding smells, I read a blog post where one guy tried wearing a wool T-shirt (not felted) for 7 days while working out and not wearing deodorant and generally being as stinky as possible, and his wife still couldn't smell anything on the shirt - wool is AMAZING. I was wondering how it would wear on a warmer day - now I am encouraged to try that, too.

Glad to know I can use safety pins if I feel sewing-fearful. I would really like to try to make myself a nuno-angora (rabbit) sleeveless shirt for warm and lovely comfort...I wonder how it deals with odors!!

[lizzie]

Oh my gosh, I just had a thrill looking at Charity van der Meer's dresses - what fun! I know where my next hour will go...

[Shepherdess]

Yes safety pins or basting stiches work. I've done both. I have done it without too. Your dress turned out well. They do take up so much room when you are starting them.

[zed]

I'm the same as Marilyn, I can only guess what I'd do, and that would be to do the seams like Lyn/Rosiepink do their vessels, with wisps over the edge

I don't know about all wools, but Merino is insulating, so it's warm on a cold day, and cool on a warm day. And antibacterial. It's used for hiking/biking gear. I noticed one day last summer, stood baking in the sun ... UKers, remember that day we had Summer? ... and I had a little camera bag on, I moved it to the side to get something out of my pocket, and there was a small cool patch on my shorts where the bag had been. My back was sweaty where my synthetic little back pack was.