Nuno felting with silk gauze

I finally got up the nerve to dye my silk gauze . I played it safe and only used a few colors to give a simple backing for the colored roving . I used acid dyes and wasn't really sure what I was doing because I lost the directions . I assumed that it would be easy to find directions on-line but it seemed that some people used acid like vinegar and some used heat to set color . I figured I would cover my bases and do both . I soaked the fabric in a light water vinegar mix and twisted it to get a variegated look and then painted it with turquoise, olive and a blend of turquoise and peach to produce a light tan color . I was hoping for something earth looking that I could lay on my bright colored roving . After it was 90% covered, I smushed it together to bleed the colors into remaining wight sections to create lighter tones . The above picture shows that the color variations are very subtle . After all fabric was colored I wrapped it in paper and plastic and microwaved it for 18 min with 3 min resting time between 3 min microwave time . The fabric rinsed clear starting with warm water and moving to cold . The turquoise still bleeds a little so I may not have cooked it long enough and will try steaming it on oven for 45 min next time .

I did go for a very free form felting with this piece . I traditionally nuno felted it then threw it in the dryer and let it felt more and several areas felted to other wool areas . I like the effect, super textured and reminds me of an alien landscape but this is very risky as you can't control what felts to what but you can pull some areas free and reshape them after wards .

This is the back and below is another nuno felt that I really don't like . I tried to keep a more controlled pattern and it turned out very boring and not shaped well for a scarf . Not sure what I will end up doing with this but I never throw away anything, so perhaps will cut it up and use it for something besides a scarf . I have done two needle felts, some animal toys and three more pieces of wet felting that I will try and get pictures of tomorrow .

Happy felting and keep experimenting .

first nuno felting, first pro-reactive silk dye and a few new critters

This was a weekend of first for me .

Jane from Glorious Hats on Etsy) came down from Bemidji and stayed the weekend . Our friend Eileen joined us for a bit of chatter and some dinner but had to leave before we broke out the dyes . I had previously ordered some dyes from Etsy and some Silk chiffon from Thai silks but was waiting for just the right time to play . Unfortunately, the right time was the night before e were to all go take a nuno felt class at The Fiber Studio in MPLS . It was a bit of rushing to get the silks done in time for class but we did manage to dye them up .

The dying itself was several steps of mixing and experimenting with the colors and I really had no idea what I was doing . I had bought a book but it mostly focused on painting fabrics . Our work space was also limited so we couldn't get the whole 72' scarf on our work table, leading to some dripping . All in all, it did give me an idea of the basics and I will feel more confident next time I break out the dyes .

The following day, we all met at The Fiber Studio for the Nuno felting class . I'll provide a link to Jane's blog when she finishes blogging so you can see the scarf she was working on and her perspective on the experience....

http://glorioushats.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-flew-coop.html

I would say that we both thought the class was very relaxed and well taught and we both plan on playing with more nuno in the future . I think Eileen would concur and hope she will also share a picture of her scarf on her blog (hint, hint Eileen) . We both used a tencil/merino blend for our nuno and were pleased with the results . It added a lot of shine and texture to the scarfs .

The actual process was not as messy as had originally feared but it does take several hours of rolling before we reached a felted texture we liked . I will definitely be working more with wet felting now that I have a better idea of what to do and when I my fingers need a break from the needle poking they endure to make my bags and sculptures .
I added about 4" of just the tincel/merino to the ends of the chiffon to see what it looked like and it turned out surprisingly light but durable so I hope to make some scarves and bags out of just this material, sans chiffon .

I'm still working on learning to make smaller needle felt critters . This shy little rodent is Gilbert and I will be making him his own wet felt rug to stand on....I think I will include either a rug or scarf of wet felt with each of my little critters . I think the contrast of natural animal fibers and brighter wet felting will be a nice contrast
I worked on Theador for about 12 hours yesterday because I wanted to experiment with adding a patch of imitation fur (it's on his back) with the needle felt to see how it works . This will take a bit more practice to develop a method of blending but I think it will work . He still needs a bit of work on his eye lids and a main trim .

The tiny pup was a gift for my BF's birthday because he likes the miniatures....there was a bit of blood lose and swearing involved in his construction...(I poke to hard) but I think he turned out better then my first few I tried .