New felted vase

[Pandagirl]

Since I really loved the texture on the ribbon felt I did on a recent project, I decided to do a vase using Rosiepink's Wet Felted Vessels with flat resists ebook method.  Sorry Annie and Lyn, I didn't follow all the instructions. I had a shape in mind for a cubby in my dining room and was determined to find a way to make it work.  So, it was a bit of a challenge.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get good inside pictures so I took the pics outside.

I made the paper patten with the 40% shrinkage included then cut the resist and laid it out.  I didn't have a vase with that shape so I was really winging it.  The pattern was 28" high and 18 " wide without the fishtails.  After laying out both sides I felted and fulled it, then rinsed it well. I stuffed the shape with plastic bags and a pool noodle at the top to help shape it and let it air dry.    I also made a separate  bottom with whisps of wool around the edges to help attach it to the bottom.  The plastic retained some water so I had to take out the bags and let it dry further.  When it was totally dry I stretched and sewed the bottom to fit. I also tried needle felting, but that didn't work.



The front has a little peak, the back is a little lower.  I restuffed it with bags this time tieng them together so I just have to pull instead of digging down into the vase. Fortunately, I kept the top big enough to get my hand in. LOL.  Since I'm still on physical restrictions I used a felting machine and a glass bead board for fulling.  It still was a big project for me.  thanks to Ruth's advice I didn't feel bad about doing it in steps which worked well for me.

I would like to stiffen it up without compromising the texture so I don't have to keep the bags in, but don't have any idea how to do that. Without the stuffing  it gets a little saggy.



The finished vase is 22" high and 26" in circumference at the widest part.  Not quite a 40% shrinkage, but it was the size I wanted.  Any ideas or comments are welcome.  Now perhaps I'll have to felt some flowers for the vase. :-)

[MTRuth]

I think it came out great. Do you think it is completely fulled? Because you could full some more to see if that would harden it up. Or you could get some kind of stiffener and put that on the felt. However, it would be best to put that on the inside so it wouldn't get shiny or change the felt. I'm not sure how you could do that very well due to the shape of the vase.

[Pandagirl]

Ruth, I thought about fulling it some. I may try that. I've never used a fabric stiffener either, but using it on the inside makes sense. Fulling it some more may also give the bottom a better foundation and felt some more to the sides. Thanks.

[lyn]

Hello Marilyn - Wow! That's a wonderful shape and I like the pattern.

For vessel stiffness, I rely on fulling it completely. There comes a point at which the felt feels different i.e. it feels solid, and when it's dry the felt has a 'hollow' feel to it.

I have used CMC paste to stiffen cobweb felt vessels though.

The size of the vessel will determine how many layers you need - the larger the vessel the thicker the felt needs to be for strength.
Several years ago (the photo below is the only one we could find) my daughter made a pair of vessels and the larger stood, unsupported, 38-40" tall depending which part of the sloped top the tape measured (that's finished height so you can imagine the size of the resist). It was made with 6 not-fine layers of merino wool and 2 outer layers of a coarser wool that made for an interesting texture (but neither of us can remember what it was). She nearly broke her back with the weight of it during the felting process!

I have an idea but I've never tried it - this is theoretical. If you don't want to full your vessel any more, have you considered some kind of permanent supportive stuffing? Hex wire comes in different sizes/weights, and I'm wondering if a fine wire net would make a suitable internal support?

[Pandagirl]

I will probably try fulling it some more but don't want to lose the height. I love the vessels they have a really unusual texture. It's fun to experiment. I'll have to think about the wire. Because of the shape, the CMC may be a challenge to get good coverage inside. Ive used it for paper making and silk paper.

There is always batting for the bottom. Thanks for your encouragement and suggestions! I'll post my results.

[zed]

Wow, that's a great vase, Marilyn!
I'd suggest fulling it a bit more too. The only problem you might have with just fulling the bottom and not the top is, the height might be too much for the smaller bottom to support. It looks like good proportions right now.

I love Annie's vessels too, Lyn

[Pandagirl]

Thanks Zed. I'll try the fulling first. Since its for me, I'm not too worried about it. I can always repurpose it. :-)

[Shepherdess]

Great vase. When you full you can stretch as well as shrink. You need to harden it. You could stuff it hard and then beat it to harden. That way it won't shrink much. We do that with hat brims. we use a pool noodle and beat the brim flat on the table to harden it. There is hat stiffener that isn't supposed to change the feel of the felt if you dilute it.

[joey]

Has anyone tried spray foam to fill a vessel with?
A problem if you want to put anything in it, or maybe you could put a plastic pipe i the centre to keep an area to put things in.
I might have to try this.....

[Pandagirl]

Thanks Ann. That sounds like a great way to get rid of frustration, too. :-)

Joey, I haven't used spray foam. I imagine it could get quite messy. And wouldn't it stick to the felt inside? I did use a pool noodle at the top to help shape it.

I'm going to try fulling it again next week and perhaps beating it as Ann suggested.

[lyn]

Hello Joey - If you try this, please take notes and photos to share!

Wouldn't matter if the felt vessel was filled solid because a lot of 'vases' or 'pots' are decorative in their own right and never intended to hold flowers.

[MTRuth]

I think the spray foam would work if you could keep the mess away from the outside. Do let us know how it works if you try it Joey.

[jufergu]

Wow, I have no suggestions. However, I think these would be stunning a flowers on them. Can't wait to see them finished.

[billieanne]

Your vase looks great!
Are you just looking to weight it down or make it stand upright? You can partially fill with sand or just fill the bottom with sand and use a pvc pipe or piece of cardboard to make a tube and push into the sand or make a tube out of cardboard to support the neck. If you're worried about the sand leaking out you could use small zip lock plastic bags filled with sand. You could use small plastic bags filled with sand to weight the bottom and use small plastic bags filled with packing peanuts on top of the sand bags to fill the neck. That last solution is what I do (bigger bags though)to fill up extra large planters on my deck. It saves on potting soil but still weights down the pot from tipping over. My mother was just saying how I can blather on.....sorry, hope some of my blather helps.

[Pandagirl]

Thanks for your ideas billieanne! I am going to try fulling it some more it the bags of sand sound like a good idea to give it some stability. I think the neck of the vase will be fine, it's just the bottom that needs strengthening.