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Post by halay on Jan 8, 2014 16:53:32 GMT
I've ordered some stuff from Sara's Texture Crafts, mainly for embellishments and for achieving different effects, e.g. wool knops, silk carrier rods, hankies tencel, mulberry silk and Gotland Cross curls. I am anxious to try and see how they work and have a question: do the curls of www.sarastexturecrafts.com/gotland-hand-dyed-fleece---indian-summer-9587-p.asp felt in well and retain the curly look.? How about using these for making fringes? will the top of the curl felt in well with other wool? What is you experience? And one more question: have you used silk noil? Again, with these materials, my addiction only increases and I can see so many new challenges ahead!
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Post by MTRuth on Jan 8, 2014 17:38:45 GMT
Oooooo... What fun! You have picked some great stuff for embellishing. The gotland will felt in well and can be used as fringe. If you just put the cut ends in with the other wool, they will felt right in. Or you can put them on top. I even used gotland on a nuno piece and it felted right through the silk.
I love silk noil. It gives a great shine on the wool. I usually spread mine thin and then I don't even need to add wisps of wool to hold it down. It usually catches in with the wool without difficulty. I can't wait to see what you do with your new fibers.
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Post by halay on Jan 8, 2014 18:36:38 GMT
Thanks, Ruth. I was so anxious to test my new materials so that I made an experiment on a small piece of work: this time I used tencil, silk noil and wool knobs. My experience is that you need to fix tencil with small wisps of wool or it will not stick to felt.It has nice lustre and resembles silk. Silk noil is wonderful and as you said, you don't need to fix it additionally. Wool knobs did not perform as I had expected, some of the knobs came off and after careful examination I noticed that those that had been fixed with wisps of wool were fine. When I make something more serious, I'll take a picture.
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Post by MTRuth on Jan 8, 2014 19:02:11 GMT
A test piece is always a good idea. I have been able to get really fine wisps of tencel to felt in without a problem but bigger pieces will need wool to adhere. I have always called them nepps but there are certainly other terms for them. I have never had much luck with nepps unless well covered with wool or under a nuno fabric.
Do you know how to use the carrier rods? Zed wrote up a nice article about how to use them on the blog.
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Post by Shepherdess on Jan 8, 2014 22:04:35 GMT
Embellishments are lots of fun. we will have to bring you over to the fiber prepping addiction. blending different fibers and colours and things together can be great fun. Nepps away either fall of or disappear on me. I haven't managed to get them to do what I want yet. I don't use noil so much but I do use silk hankies all the time. we like to see samples too.
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Post by lyn on Jan 8, 2014 22:28:03 GMT
Nepps (a.k.a. knops) are wonderful for adding texture and tiny blobs of colour - I find the best way to get them to felt in is to use cool soapy water to start and gentle but persistent agitation through a net with a bit of scrunched up bubble wrap as this gives the loose wool fibres and nepps time to 'join'. I used loads in the Australia challenge: linkYou could lay wisps of fibre over the nepps to trap them but be aware of colour clashes - it's surprising how just one strand of coloured wool fibre can show on a contasting colour. If you have nepps that are hanging off your piece of felt like loose teeth, you can needle felt them in.
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Post by Pandagirl on Jan 8, 2014 23:21:33 GMT
I just bought some nepps thinking they'd make good texture. I haven't used noil, but ordered some silk carrier rods and cocoons. I use silk hankies, silk and tencel, but I'm looking forward to trying these new items. The tencel is tricky just like Angelina, but it will work. Isn't fiber addiction fun? I'm trying to finish some of last years projects while I wait for my new stuff to arrive. :-)
Have fun Halay and know you're not alone!
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Post by halay on Jan 9, 2014 4:17:47 GMT
Thank you girls for your help and sharing your experience. Lyn, your approach seems to work, I will follow your advice in my next experiment. Ruth, for some reason I couldn't open the link to the Australian challenge. I still need to learn how to use carrier rods and hankies. Is there a link to Zed's blog on this topic? Yes, I can see I am already falling deeper into this fiber addiction. As long as it is not bad for health and yields something useful I don't mind. I'm glad I have a patient husband.
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Post by koffipot on Jan 9, 2014 7:41:31 GMT
Embellishments are fun, it's amazing what you can use to create good effects - even things you'd normally just throw away. Those coloured nets which fruit/veg are often packed in at the supermarket can look really good. Enjoy experimenting!
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Post by MTRuth on Jan 9, 2014 18:11:00 GMT
Here is Lyn's link again feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/thread/405/australia-challengeI can't seem to find Zed's post about this. Maybe I was just dreaming Anyways, silk carrier rods are a waste product of making silk and have a bunch of layers of silk in them. So soak them in water first and the peel the layers apart (they are stinky and ugly at this point). Then you can use dye to color the pieces of silk. These can then be used as embellishment on felt but they'll need some wool to anchor them down unless they are really thin. I have also stitched them on to the surface with good effect. Zed - if you did write something up about silk carrier rods, could you provide a link?
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Post by halay on Jan 9, 2014 20:27:02 GMT
Ruth, thank you for being helpful as ever, and Judith, you know I have started looking at materials with different eyes, always thinking whether they would be potentially useful for felting. I regret I've given away so many pure silk scarfs that I got fed up with - today I would badly need them for nuno.
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Post by koffipot on Jan 10, 2014 6:23:37 GMT
Yes, those old silk scarves are useful, do you have Charity shops where you are? They're good places to pick up cheap silk scarves. About carrier rods - I bought some really stiff, cylindrical rods at Woolfest last year. I dyed them and I'm still looking for the inspiration to use them. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Here they are soaking:- www.flickr.com/photos/koffipot/7421166952/And then dyed:_ www.flickr.com/photos/koffipot/7441916518/
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Post by Pandagirl on Jan 10, 2014 15:57:03 GMT
Judith, The carrier rods are beautiful, so shiny! I'm waiting for mine to arrive and will probably have the same problem after they are dyed. I'm trying to think of a way to use them now so I'm ready. Haha. The locks are also very beautiful vibrant colors.
I never have luck at the charity stores finding scarves. If I do, they are usually gaudy or overpriced. I know some people have a knack for finding deals. :-)
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Post by zed on Jan 10, 2014 16:27:46 GMT
Zed - if you did write something up about silk carrier rods, could you provide a link? I was going to ask you, I don't remember doing one, but that's not surprising This is everything on my flickr with carrier rods: www.flickr.com/search/?w=33138187@N06&q=carrier%20rodsI've only had raw Gotland locks from Sara, Halay, but they are gorgeous, I often use them raw, but I have occasionally washed a few odd ones in shampoo and conditioner If you give the cut ends a bit of a comb, they will attach/felt in easier, and the less you use or the more you separate them, the more they will felt in. I've never had much luck with wool nepps either I use viscose tops quite a lot, I don't know how much the Tencel brand differ, but I've never had a problem getting them to felt well. This is a viscose sample before and after, I usually use more than this, and rarely use wisps for anchoring, just for effect Viscose sample before felting by zedster01, on Flickr Viscose sample after felting by zedster01, on Flickr You can use silk noil quite thickly for a great effect, it pulls together and looks almost solid like a fabric Greens (detail) by zedster01, on Flickr if you pull it apart carefully it can be quite cobwebby, a bit like silk lap Silk Noil, Stretched out more by zedster01, on Flickr sorry for picture spam
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Post by MTRuth on Jan 10, 2014 18:17:49 GMT
Zed - I must have been dreaming. It seems like something you would do
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