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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 13:55:38 GMT
Hello! Sorry for posting silly questions: I am very new to felting. I have seen that many use objects for rubbing, and I was amazed by the idea of rubbing being less tiring than rolling, as I find it very tiring: maybe I do not have the right tools! I am looking around the house to find objects that would work better:I have Megablocks and Duplo blocks everywhere, do you think they may work for rubbing? Here is an example of two blocks that I am trying for rubbing today: www.dropbox.com/s/xoi4l29zxbdtpgu/IMG_20210405_144516.jpg?dl=0Thank you for your help! :-) Caterina
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Post by lyn on Apr 5, 2021 15:51:00 GMT
There are no silly questions - please ask whatever you want as we all learn from each other's questions and from the answers posted.
The white one may be ok - hard to tell from a photo.
Whatever you use to rub the felt with, make sure the wool fibres are protected. I use a covering of net on the wool and before I start I rub a bar of wetted soap over the net that's on the wool. I also try to rub the fibres equally in different directions.
Opinions are divided about this but I find rolling far more effective to full the felt, however if I'm working on a picture that doesn't need to be fulled to the max or if I'm worried about a design shifting, then I will rub rather than roll.
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Apr 5, 2021 16:20:24 GMT
I wonder if you are finding rubbing tiring because you're perhaps rubbing too hard? Certainly to begin with I'd just smooth soapy hands over the surface and not putting on too much pressure. Once you've done that for a while, I believe some people then do a bit of gentle tapping with their fingers or flat hands, especially if you are making very thin/fine felt or you've got a particular section that doesn't want to felt. They go on to a bit of slapping and firmer rubbing. I usually roll rather than do too much rubbing or slapping. Once you've got to prefelt stage, you could try substituting a piece of cotton or polycotton fabric like a bit of sheeting or a tea towel for the net or bubble wrap. I still don't know why it happens but I was shown this trick a couple of years ago at a workshop. If you roll your felt inside the fabric it fulls really quickly. Of course, there's rubbing the felt against itself - like rubbing a stubborn stain in a piece of washing. Then there's throwing. Some people don't rub or roll they just throw. The start up just lifting the edge of the felt a little bit and letting it gently drop back, go on to lifting higher and higher, getting more and more violent with the felt. The more violent you are the quicker it will felt. When I was demonstrating with my Guild at a Farm College where they were having a public lambing day, I would get so far with the felting, then would wrap it up in a large cloth, take it outside and wack it against the barn wall. That really brought the punters in to see what we were up to! There are so many ways of making felt, and I don't think that there is really a wrong way. I used say, when I was running workshops "if you like the result you've got then you've done it right". Sorry I didn't mean to go on so much. Hope some of this helps. Ann
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Post by MTRuth on Apr 5, 2021 16:26:58 GMT
I agree that there are many ways to felt. Keep trying different methods and different tools to see what ends up working best for you. You will continue to change the way you felt as you find different methods, I know I have.
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 17:08:58 GMT
Thank you to all: I am grateful for the positive, constructive advices!
In the end, I tried both the Duplo (green) and the Megablok (white) : the second one worked pretty well for me, I can put my fingers inside the holes on the other side, so it gives me a comfortable grip. I think that the round shapes are a bit too big compared to, for instance, beads, so I think I may have to rummage a bit more around the house for other shapes. Anyway, I used it and I could
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 17:12:34 GMT
Thank you to all: I am grateful for the positive, constructive advices! In the end, I tried both the Duplo (green) and the Megablok (white) : the second one worked pretty well for me, I can put my fingers inside the holes on the other side, so it gives me a comfortable grip. I think that the round shapes are a bit too big compared to, for instance, beads, so I think I may have to rummage a bit more around the house for other shapes. Anyway, I used it and I could Sorry, I accidentally posted it before finishing to write. I was saying, I managed to go on rubbing quite a lot more than usual, using that Megablok, so I am fairly certain that my previous issue was because I did not have good objects to use. Also, thanks for explaining about gentle rubbing and what it means: I was not so sure about it!
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 17:17:31 GMT
I agree that there are many ways to felt. Keep trying different methods and different tools to see what ends up working best for you. You will continue to change the way you felt as you find different methods, I know I have. I love this aspect of felting: I was just talking about it with my husband, comparing embroidery to felting. Embroidery stitches are done in a certain way and have a certain name, or else you can devise a new stitch and name it as you like, but it will be done only following precise instructions: felt is nothing like that, imagination is in each and every part of the process, there are so many variables and personal choices!
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 17:24:56 GMT
This is what I made with the Megablok (and rolling and shocking the wool with hot-cold, and putting it in the microwave, and more rubbing...): www.dropbox.com/s/smobshwmjencelx/IMG_20210405_181907.jpg?dl=0Now it is drying. It will need a couple of stitches to keep its shape, though: I did not have enough wool of the colours I wanted to make it stiff enough, I need to plan better :-)
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Post by Ann @ frabjous fabrica on Apr 5, 2021 17:28:02 GMT
Wow, that's good. Are you sure you're only a beginner? Ann
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Post by lyn on Apr 5, 2021 17:59:50 GMT
It's a beautiful vessel Caterina!
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 19:57:59 GMT
Thank you, Ann and Lyn, for the encouragement! This group is amazingly supportive, I really appreciate it, it gives me a lot of motivation!
I am actually not sure if it will keep its shape once dry! Also, the photo is taken from the best angle, lol!
I am on my Easter holidays this week, and I am planning to experiment as much as I can while I have the time to do it! Next stop maybe will be a different resist :-) Caterina
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Post by MTRuth on Apr 5, 2021 20:02:42 GMT
Nice job on the vessel and I'm glad you are enjoying the felting journey!
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Post by caterina on Apr 5, 2021 20:28:41 GMT
Nice job on the vessel and I'm glad you are enjoying the felting journey! Thank you, Ruth! This forum and the website are so inspiring, and you give so much good advice, that a newbie like me can happily start experimenting with confidence! Thank you so much for keeping all of this running for everybody to learn and enjoy! Caterina
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Post by Antje on Apr 6, 2021 6:42:11 GMT
This is what I made with the Megablok (and rolling and shocking the wool with hot-cold, and putting it in the microwave, and more rubbing...): www.dropbox.com/s/smobshwmjencelx/IMG_20210405_181907.jpg?dl=0Now it is drying. It will need a couple of stitches to keep its shape, though: I did not have enough wool of the colours I wanted to make it stiff enough, I need to plan better :-) Great result Caterina with your vessel....lovely use of colours & shape. I'm sure your intended addition of embroidery will make it stunning. I can only echo the comments above....there are so many ways to felt & full wool, not to mention laying out the wool fibres themselves. The more you learn the more opportunities present themselves to try different methods with confidence. There are no rights or wrongs, but eventually you will establish a preferred technique although even that will alter depending on what you are making....scarf/vessel/jewellery/garment. if you want to create additional sculpted vessels - try exploring differential shrinkage using prefelts....Ruth Lane covered this quite well in the online Studio posts. keep up the explorations.
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Post by caterina on Apr 6, 2021 7:49:13 GMT
This is what I made with the Megablok (and rolling and shocking the wool with hot-cold, and putting it in the microwave, and more rubbing...): www.dropbox.com/s/smobshwmjencelx/IMG_20210405_181907.jpg?dl=0Now it is drying. It will need a couple of stitches to keep its shape, though: I did not have enough wool of the colours I wanted to make it stiff enough, I need to plan better :-) Great result Caterina with your vessel....lovely use of colours & shape. I'm sure your intended addition of embroidery will make it stunning. I can only echo the comments above....there are so many ways to felt & full wool, not to mention laying out the wool fibres themselves. The more you learn the more opportunities present themselves to try different methods with confidence. There are no rights or wrongs, but eventually you will establish a preferred technique although even that will alter depending on what you are making....scarf/vessel/jewellery/garment. if you want to create additional sculpted vessels - try exploring differential shrinkage using prefelts....Ruth Lane covered this quite well in the online Studio posts. keep up the explorations. Thank you, Antje! :-) I bought Rosiepink's ebook on resist felting last evening, and can't wait to have some mental space to read it and try something! I have also read Teri's tutorial on book resists, but that seems very advanced, I will keep it in mind as a possible future development! :-) I will check out Ruth's shrinkage posts, for sure, thanks for pointing it out: I have felt a bit daunted by the prospect of calculating shrinkage...well,let's say that it is a must if I want to progress, so I must tackle the challenge! :-) Honestly, I am waiting for everybody' s quarter challenge masterworks: it is so exciting to see those marvellous creations, they light up my mind! Thank you all for posting them for us to admire. Caterina
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