Post by blythwhimsies on Sept 21, 2016 10:43:10 GMT
I finally overcame a blockage I'd had for a while, which is nuno felt scarves! I bagged up a piece of silk, some wool and silk yarns about 6 months ago, meaning to create a scarf. Partly it was the expense of the silk that got me tied in knots, thinking I'd have to do something really fabulous with it! I'd also sourced some lovely silk and silk chiffon scarves in charity and vintage shops but full on summer in Suffolk prevented me from doing much during July and August.
So once I'd cleared my table - always a bit of a task - so that I could layout a scarf, I got the bug and went on to make 4 in a row.
Here's my first one using the very expensive silk with a burnout pattern on it. Unfortunately by adding extra length to it just with wool, I made the ends a bit too heavy so the drape of the silk gets a bit lost and it doesn't hang so well. I wanted to use wool on both sides which meant flipping it over. I don't have big boards which I've seen some people here use, so I rolled it up then unrolled it up the other way.
nuno felt silk scarf burnout autumn berry handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.49.14 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
The second one was meant to be autumnal but looks far more like Spring! I used a simple plain pink scarf and laid out some floral-ish patterns in wool and yarns. Although I'm not a great one for pink I have to say I do like this one:
nuno felt floral pink silk chiffon scarf handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.50.28 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
Then I tried a plainer one using some quite cheap silk chiffon in a rather horrible beige colour as the base, covering it with a very fine layer of blended merino and bamboo. I discovered that laying out the wool in a 'random' pattern was a real brain squeeze and there are some gaps in the wool layer where the silk peeps through. It has stayed very nice and light with good drape though
nuno felt scarf warm autumn red brown orange handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.45.15 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
I haven't yet been able to get really good photos of this glamorous one in silver grey. The wool layout is really simple because I wanted the beauty of the scarf itself to stand out:
nuno felt grey silver silk chiffon scarf shawl stole handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.54.10 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
And then last but possibly the best of the bunch is this one based on a crinkle silk scarf which had been already dyed in some gorgeous earthy shades, possibly even eco-dyed, I'm not sure. I lucked out at WoW finding some of their trial runs of dyed ultrafine merino in just the right shades!
autumn nuno felt wrap scarf stole blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-19 14.02.46 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
I no longer feel so scared by nuno felting this way, and am ready to try with some polyester/silk blend scarves I purchased from China, as well as to use some more of my very expensive silk which was a lovely Christmas present!
One thing I would like to improve and that is getting a very light but even coverage of wool on a silk base. What are your techniques for doing this?
So once I'd cleared my table - always a bit of a task - so that I could layout a scarf, I got the bug and went on to make 4 in a row.
Here's my first one using the very expensive silk with a burnout pattern on it. Unfortunately by adding extra length to it just with wool, I made the ends a bit too heavy so the drape of the silk gets a bit lost and it doesn't hang so well. I wanted to use wool on both sides which meant flipping it over. I don't have big boards which I've seen some people here use, so I rolled it up then unrolled it up the other way.
nuno felt silk scarf burnout autumn berry handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.49.14 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
The second one was meant to be autumnal but looks far more like Spring! I used a simple plain pink scarf and laid out some floral-ish patterns in wool and yarns. Although I'm not a great one for pink I have to say I do like this one:
nuno felt floral pink silk chiffon scarf handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.50.28 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
Then I tried a plainer one using some quite cheap silk chiffon in a rather horrible beige colour as the base, covering it with a very fine layer of blended merino and bamboo. I discovered that laying out the wool in a 'random' pattern was a real brain squeeze and there are some gaps in the wool layer where the silk peeps through. It has stayed very nice and light with good drape though
nuno felt scarf warm autumn red brown orange handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.45.15 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
I haven't yet been able to get really good photos of this glamorous one in silver grey. The wool layout is really simple because I wanted the beauty of the scarf itself to stand out:
nuno felt grey silver silk chiffon scarf shawl stole handmade blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-15 17.54.10 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
And then last but possibly the best of the bunch is this one based on a crinkle silk scarf which had been already dyed in some gorgeous earthy shades, possibly even eco-dyed, I'm not sure. I lucked out at WoW finding some of their trial runs of dyed ultrafine merino in just the right shades!
autumn nuno felt wrap scarf stole blyth whimsies marian may 2016-09-19 14.02.46 by blyth whimsies, on Flickr
I no longer feel so scared by nuno felting this way, and am ready to try with some polyester/silk blend scarves I purchased from China, as well as to use some more of my very expensive silk which was a lovely Christmas present!
One thing I would like to improve and that is getting a very light but even coverage of wool on a silk base. What are your techniques for doing this?