Odd shaped vessels - resist suggestions please

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Seeing Lindsay’s latest post 9 Vases & a plant pot reminded me to ask for suggestions/help in making different shaped vessels.



I keep seeing vases and vessels of unusual or particularly graceful shapes in our local charity shops and thinking to myself that I must have a go at making something like that in felt. Quite often I can but I have been stumped by one that I bought. It is a simple shape, a sort of discus-like base with the disc edge rounded/smoothed, with a long thin neck which opens up slightly at the neck rising from the centre. Try as I will, I cannot find a resist shape that will reproduce that vase. So the original sits on a shelf in my workshop taunting me.



I did try a resist that was shaped like the vase in profile, but I knew before I started felting that it wouldn't work - and it didn't.  I sort of lost heart then and haven't tried again.  The only shape of resist I can think of is a circle with the neck coming out from one edge, but the neck of the vase is too think to get much inside it other than a single finger, and it is too long to reach down into the disc base.  I suppose after working the circle into a sort of sphere on the resist I could then feed some stuffing inside through the neck and sort of squash the sphere into a disc.  The other thing there is that the vase base has a fairly thick ring shaped "foot" and how to do that without resorting to a felting needle I can't think.  I did think that a book resist might be the answer but I've never really succeed in getting them to do what I thought they would.

One other vase I wanted to make was a simple straight "column" but with a handle on one side - couldn't do that either.  The handle just wasn't strong enough to lift the felt vase, let alone one with any sort of waterproof liner.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[caterina]

Sorry, I am a beginner at vessels, so I have no brilliant suggestions, I am afraid, but I would very much like to see a photo of the first vessel that you are taking as model. Could you post one, please?
I think that I have a clear idea of the second shape that you mention (straight and with a handle), but I got lost in the description of the first vessel! Lol
I would love to puzzle on it a little bit myself, just for fun. Thanks!

[MTRuth]

It would definitely help to see a photo of the inspiration if you can.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Here it is:  Grey Vase

And it's a good job you asked to see it because it is so long since I actually looked at it that it's not exactly the shape I remembered.  However I do remember that I just couldn't get the shape right when I tried to reproduce it.  So I would appreciate any help any of you can give me with the resist.

I seem to remember that I did manage to make a spherical vase with a long thin neck rising from it's centre, but the grey vase shape defeated me.

[Shepherdess]

I think I would do the resist shape from the top view. Then use differential shrinkage to get the neck. Or possibly adding a short tube in the middle to give you more height to stretch up to get the neck. you could make the neck bigger to start and shrink it to the smaller size with full it by rolling it in your hands.

the foot maybe make a ring around some yarn like a bracelet and add it to the bottom. this wouldn't be to hard if you are making the resist from a top view.

As for a strong handle, I think I would add something I will leave in to help give it structure. Maybe one of the small "pool" noodles from the craft section but even some strong cotton rope if you don't like the foam. Wrap it in wool then use a really long wool(12 inch Teeswater for instance) to wrap around the handle a couple of times and onto the vase right around the side and then depending on the look add another layer to hide it.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Thanks Ann. Something to mull over.
It's just occurred to me that a part blown up ball resist might help with the "fat disc" shape. Even perhaps 3 separate circular resists sewn together around the circumferences but with something inside each cavity - more on the top than the bottom and I could perhaps give the vase a "foot" by embedding a ring of pre felt on the bottom side.
All this writing about it is certainly making me think about it. I shall have to make some samples!

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

I'm having lots of "what if" thoughts now about different shaped resists (not in relation to the grey vase).  The piece of lace I mentioned in the 2022 FQC post was a heart shaped piece of needle lace that I made to fit a tiny heart shaped photo frame.  The frame, being plastic, has gone the way of all such things, and now I'm wondering about making a heart shaped vessel to perhaps embed the lace into - turning the vessel into a new "frame" so to speak.  Then I though "how on earth am I going to do that?"
I suppose that I could make it apple shaped - a sphere with a flat bottom and a large dimple in the top, but I don't think that would look like a heart (or perhaps only a real one - ugh!)
I suppose I could try a heart shaped book resist.  Add it to the list!
I must also have a go at differential shrinkage, which I think I understand but which I find very difficult to get my head round.  Add that to the list too!
Now do I start making new samples for these ideas, or do I get on with the UFOs which have been waiting around since the beginning of the pandemic when my mojo up and quit?  Decisions Decisions.  I'm going to watch The Apprentice instead and just let the ideas roam around my head.  I'll see what I come up with tomorrow (p'raps)

[caterina]

Oh, please, yes, do try some of those ideas: they are very intriguing and I would love to see how they will come out!

[caterina]

Mar 17, 2022 13:40:01 GMT Shepherdess said:

I think I would do the resist shape from the top view. Then use differential shrinkage to get the neck. Or possibly adding a short tube in the middle to give you more height to stretch up to get the neck. you could make the neck bigger to start and shrink it to the smaller size with full it by rolling it in your hands.

the foot maybe make a ring around some yarn like a bracelet and add it to the bottom. this wouldn't be to hard if you are making the resist from a top view.

As for a strong handle, I think I would add something I will leave in to help give it structure. Maybe one of the small "pool" noodles from the craft section but even some strong cotton rope if you don't like the foam. Wrap it in wool then use a really long wool(12 inch Teeswater for instance) to wrap around the handle a couple of times and onto the vase right around the side and then depending on the look add another layer to hide it.

I like your idea of a top view resist (with neck addition bit) for that shape, Ann, as I have made a kind of shape like that when I was trying for a spaceship for my kids (kind of a long story..). It was without the neck bit, but definitely came out disc shaped, and I made it with a simple circle shaped resist. So, my view may be a bit too simplistic, but I would go for something like that, but with the neck bit additional resist protruding from the centre of the circle shaped resist, how you said if I am not understanding it wrongly.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Thanks guys - sorry - Gals. I'm not too sure how I'd go about adding the neck. Can you enlighten me Ann?

[Shepherdess]

for the neck, it could be as simple as a small rectangle of resist material taped to the middle. Once you opened it up it could easily be rounded to make it a tube shape like when you do a flat vase and it ends up round. The flat resists piece would be easier than something 3d because you can roll the piece easier. I would keep it fairly short so you can get one or two fingers inside to help with fulling and shaping. It's fairly easy to full tubes smaller.

[MTRuth]

I agree with Ann's ideas. Here is a post I wrote about differential shrinkage and making a vase. It is not the same shape but the ideas can be used to create the base of the vase. You will see that I put a small circle of prefelt on the base of my vase and it really helped in the vase being able to stand on it's own. You can certainly do that with a bigger circle on the bottom of your vase. 


feltingandfiberstudio.com/2020/05/22/second-quarter-challenge-with-differential-shrinkage/

Perhaps you already read this post but anyone wanting to read about differential shrinkage, I did quite a few posts about it. Just go to felting and fiber studio website and search under differential shrinkage.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Mar 18, 2022 14:56:49 GMT Shepherdess said:

for the neck, it could be as simple as a small rectangle of resist material taped to the middle. Once you opened it up it could easily be rounded to make it a tube shape like when you do a flat vase and it ends up round. The flat resists piece would be easier than something 3d because you can roll the piece easier. I would keep it fairly short so you can get one or two fingers inside to help with fulling and shaping. It's fairly easy to full tubes smaller.

Thanks Ann, I think I get the idea.  I think I can visualise how to do it.  Must have a go.

Thanks Ruth,  I have been looking at the posts, but I didn't get chance to read all of them.  I remembered that one - it was that one that I was looking for when I did the search.

[Lily]

Hello!

I'm still experimenting. This is my first vase. I made it hands. Veeery long))) It seemed to me not strong enough and I twirled it in the washing machine. Somewhere here in one of the "rabbit's hole", I saw a thread about using glue for the strength of such items. So, I bought some wood glue, diluted it a bit with water and covered the inside of the vase. The glue gave a yellow tint, so it is not suitable for outdoor use. Now I will cover it again, dry it, and tomorrow I will pour water into the vase and see the result. And, by the way, it was the search for means to strengthen the vase that brought me here to the forum. So thank you all!)))

drive.google.com/file/d/1w51Rbov7JisWKG7PmsYHpf6zDzRPaTjz/view?usp=share_link

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Hi Lily
I quite often use the wood glue (PVA) for stiffening things, but it won't make your pot waterproof unfortunately. If you want to use it as a vase, you will need a waterproof insert like a plastic, glass or metal pot.
It does look very pretty though.