3/15/12 Product Info Tip Of The Week - Felting

[Blick Art Materials]

In honor of Crafting Month, our tips of the week for March will be exploring crafting methods and materials that have been gaining popularity in the art world. Today's tip is about felting. Felting is labor intensive and highly tactile, perfect for those who like a really hands on project, and the results can be truly spectacular!

Wet felting is used to make sheets of felt, often with images worked right in to them as part of the sheet. There are many methods of wet felting, but they usually involve laying wool roving onto some sort of light weight, textured surface (bubble wrap is popular), then wetting it, rolling it up, and rolling it back and forth to apply pressure and create friction to compress the roving into felt. The finished sheet can be embellished with stitches, beads, paint, or needle felting and used to make everything from wall art to clothing.

Needle felting is used to embellish existing fabric or to create 3 dimensional objects. For fabric embellishment, wool roving is laid on fabric and pierced repeatedly with special barbed needles so that it becomes completely embedded in the fabric. It is often referred to as painting with wool, because of the way the tufts of wool are layered and blended. If the wool roving is rolled into balls and other shapes, the needle can be used to compress them into solid shapes. Add details with more wool, and you have a wonderful soft sculpture or unique piece of jewelry.

Want to give felting a try? Check out Start to Felt by Ewa Kuniczak, Felted Bags, Boots, and Other Things by Cendrine Armani, or take a look at our lesson plan!

FAQs
Q. Is a felting mat necessary?
A. A felting mat is necessary for needle felting on to fabric because the needle has to go all the way through and out the back. The mat gives you something soft but firm to rest the fabric on which still allow s the needle to go all the way through.