Nuno Felting Class Project/ Experiment

In my previous post I wrote about my recent class with the amazing Margo Duke!( If you click on Margo's name you will be taken to her Flikr library of amazing felted creations!! SWOON!!)  I love the class and had a great time being with Margo and her wonderful spirit and trying to learn all that I can . I finally got around to finishing up the project that I started in the class and I was not at all pleased with the result.  This happens, more times than I care to remember, but when one is just trying to get a handle on a new technique, the path is not always free of ruts and obstacles. In this case I think that I pushed the envelope too much.  there is a reason for the old axiom, Keep It Simple, STUPID!!! This was one of those times.  So when I got a less than stellar result, I deconstructed it and remade the wool and cheesecloth part into this!

Once I separated the cheesecloth/wool from the silk I had a square of wool/cheesecolth with stripes of cheesecloth.  I cut the square into three rectangles and attached the rectangles to each other end to end.  In that process and the subsequent wet felting, several holes developed.  I like the random placement of the holes and I plan to add beads and stitching in those areas to add more areas of interest and tiny sparkling surprises.The edges of the scarf are very organic and the scarf itself is extremely lightweight and is full of frothy texture from the felted cheese cloth.

So from a lemon I got some extra special lemonade and I made" Nuno" felt with cheese cloth rather than silk- it is still "Nuno", as it is definitely a "New" Cloth!!


the thin threads of color that you can see running over the top of the cheesecloth are silk fibers that I added into the felting structure for some more color interest and silky shine.

  I was able to remove the vintage silk scarf that I had tried to felt with and will use it for another project.
So, in the end, it is all good and I learned  a lot, mostly about what not to do.  But often the big mistakes make for the most valuable lessons!!

So now I will be adding some bead work to this piece and setting up a bunch of lengths of cheese cloth for the dye baths as I think that I have stumbled on something that I really want to explore!!!
thank you again Her Majesty Margo Duke for yet another great class!!!

Classes,Classes and More Classes!

Teaching classes, making class samples, coming up with new class ideas and writing class descriptions is what my life has consisted of during the past few weeks.  Oh yes, I also had the pleasure of taking another class with Her Majesty Margo, Ms Margo Duke- this time it was Nuno felting!!
The word Nuno means "new" in Japanese and Nuno felting refers to the creation of a "NEW" fabric made by combining wool with another textile- ususally silk,  by forcing the wool fibers through the weave of the silk fabric in the felting process- hence Nuno Felting.

Margo brought along her baskets brimming with glorious samples and the hit of the show was her latest Blue Ribbon Award winning coat from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show.  I think that she calls it her Butterfly Coat.  It is stunning and amazing and so inspiring to examine in person!!! no wonder it was awarded  Best in Show !!! Bravo Margo!!! What a Master with fibers!!
In these two shots you see my good friend and fellow fiber artist Ms Christine Vihn, modeling the glorious piece!

This vest won the Best In Show Award at last years Wool Festival.  It takes an awful lot of work and creativity to unseat the Queen!!!  How lucky we are to have her live so close to Artistic Artifacts so she can pop in for classes almost every month!!!!

Nuno felting is by no means an easy or quick process.  One must first gather supplies- wool, textiles, silk, lace etc, lay out the design with the wool fibers, assemble the felting sandwich of silk, wool fibers, plastic sheeting; all on bubble wrap and a towel, wet the fibers down and then begin to work the wool fibers through the textile of choice.  PHEW!!! NOT DONE YET!!!!  Once you see evidence that the fibers are getting through the textile, the rolling begins!!

Barbara spent a lot of time laying out her wool fibers on her piece of white lace.  the wool will work it's way through the weave of the lace and lock onto the lace fibers and then take the lace along with it when the wool is fulled (shrunk).

Lauren and Nga were rolling and rolling and rolling and unwrapping, re-wrapping and rolling some more. Margo came by to check the progress and the ladies were able to stop rolling and proceed to rinsing and throwing !  YES, this process takes lots of energy and one can work up quite a sweat. there is even a special stance that one must assume to avoid back strain!!!

Marji was quite pleased with her piece even though Margo had determined that the rolling was not quite done!!

I have not finished my piece yet and I have only just begun the rolling step. i spent a long time laying out my fibers and included some tussah silk along with the wool to add some sheen and jots of bright color. I will post pictures of the piece as soon as I get to finishing it!

The next time you see a felted garment I hope that you will understand some of the effort both physical and creative that went into the creation of each piece.  Whatever the asking price , if the piece is for sale, it is most likely TOO LOW!!!

Now I will leave you with a few shots of what is blooming in my garden!

 Japanese Painted Fern

 New Dawn Rose

Endless Summer Hydrangea

 Siberian Iris

 Siberian Iris with Hydrangea

More Endless Summer Hydrangea

Yes ,I do LOVE my Hydrangea!!