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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 31, 2015 18:44:10 GMT
Merino wet felts fast and reliable. It is nice next to the skin. It is the wool that is most available, the one that is grown the most. I agree for needle felting it is not the best. I like courser wools too. There are more breeds available now than even 5 years ago. It is still much harder to find other breeds dyed and when you do find it they only a few colours, even at WOW.
I am not fussy about alpaca either. It feels soapy to me somehow and its worse when its wet. having said that I felt some last night that was really nice and didn't have the soapy feel just soft.
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 31, 2015 19:09:50 GMT
I've just finished a needle felted horse, and had to use alpaca for the outer part, because it's the right colour and has that perfect "horse" shine to it. It just gets everywhere, it's so thin and soft, and fuzzy! The end result is really nice, but working with it is a little nightmare. I actually cringed when you you mentioned wet alpaca, Ann - I once washed a bit and it feels so much like human hair that I had to give up and give it to a friend (I have a sort of wet hair phobia)...
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Post by viltmaaraan on Mar 23, 2016 12:01:51 GMT
Hi Leonor, can't you place a pic of your horse? The felted one I read somewhere on the forum about ' Die wollfabrik'. . And I made an order day before yesterday and it just arrived! So quick, in two days from Germany to Holland. The felt is really cheap . Sending is 9,50 but it is still worth it. (Sending whithin Holland is 6,50 or 6.95). I ordered also Ramie , but I don't know the properties , it looks very nice and shiny.
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 23, 2016 12:11:57 GMT
Hi Leonor, can't you place a pic of your horse? The felted one I read somewhere on the forum about ' Die wollfabrik'. . And I made an order day before yesterday and it just arrived! So quick, in two days from Germany to Holland. The felt is really cheap . Sending is 9,50 but it is still worth it. (Sending whithin Holland is 6,50 or 6.95). I ordered also Ramie , but I don't know the properties , it looks very nice and shiny. Hi, Viltmaaraan I'm not sure how to insert an image here, so I'm afraid I'll have to direct you to my online shop, where I have pictures of one of the horses I made - I hope this is ok! www.etsy.com/uk/listing/229049693/needle-felted-horse-sculpture-equine-artI too made a fibre order recently, and I am going to receive 20kg of items... ouch! Looking forward to playing with all the woolly goodness, but right now I'm panicking over where I'm going to put everything... I hope you have fun with all your wool!
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Post by viltmaaraan on Mar 23, 2016 13:20:46 GMT
Nice site on Etsy.com , Leonor! I love your mini doggys. Great job your horse!!
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 23, 2016 15:46:08 GMT
Thanks! I hope to one day be able to his my own shop If you have any questions regarding the horse, let me know!
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Post by zed on Mar 25, 2016 13:37:39 GMT
Ramie is a nice fibre, it's a bit thicker/stiffer than bamboo/viscose etc, but also gives a different result with felting so that's nice. 20kg, Leonor?! It's a while since I did a large order, I did order some cheap chunky yarn from WoW the other day, and just had to add a few other things to make it worth paying the postage
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Post by sundownalpacas on Apr 7, 2016 17:02:43 GMT
I have heard from some felters that they find alpaca hard to felt. It is all that I use for felting. My experience with my Alpaca fiber is the finer the micron, the quicker it felts. You have to be careful not to felt holes through it. It took me quite a few attempts to get it down pat. My shorter coarser Alpaca fibers I use exclusively for felting. Mostly into dryer balls, but I will also use them on Nuno felting and wet felting. For needle felting I use wool for the core, then alpaca for the outside.
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Post by Shepherdess on Apr 7, 2016 17:46:58 GMT
I am one of those. I have found it takes longer to get a good felt and I find it sheds badly. Having said that not all alpaca or Llama is created equal.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Apr 8, 2016 13:00:56 GMT
Liz, just curious about dyeing the alpaca fiber. I am putting together a course in natural dyes for the Forum and wonder what your results have been? Have you dyed your alpaca with natural dyes, or chemical dyes? What were your results?
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Post by sundownalpacas on Apr 8, 2016 13:23:25 GMT
Liz, just curious about dyeing the alpaca fiber. I am putting together a course in natural dyes for the Forum and wonder what your results have been? Have you dyed your alpaca with natural dyes, or chemical dyes? What were your results? Yes, I do both natural and procion dyes. Once in awhile acid dyes. Most of the natural dyes were from my local plants here on the ranch. Depending on the mordant used I got a lot of golden and yellow colors. I also dyed with beet juice and I got a very pale skin tone color. One of my customers who purchased some of my alpaca yarn last summer, brought it back to show me the beautiful colors she dyed it. She used wild mushrooms! She had purple, blue, red, and they were intense colors. I want to try that this year. We have plenty of wild mushrooms in the woods here.
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Post by viltmaaraan on Apr 8, 2016 13:25:51 GMT
Liz, just curious about dyeing the alpaca fiber. I am putting together a course in natural dyes for the Forum and wonder what your results have been? Have you dyed your alpaca with natural dyes, or chemical dyes? What were your results? I set a post at Alpaca fibers about dyeing.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Apr 9, 2016 13:04:32 GMT
Must have your post, Viltmaaraan! Good to hear from you and Liz about success with dyeing alpaca fiber. It’s on my list to-do!
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Post by sierrabravo on Apr 22, 2016 23:58:15 GMT
I'm glad to hear that the domestic 56 from RH Lindsay felts well! I have been considering making an order and didn't know if I should order the domestic 56 or the Falkland 56- I need some coarser wool for some projects
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Post by MTRuth on Apr 23, 2016 1:02:48 GMT
I definitely like the domestic 56's better than the Falkland. I tried Falkland and didn't really like how it felted. Seems a little spongier to me.
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