I like this technique. It was easy for my arthritic fingers. Discovering small felted shapes are a fun way to work on finger dexterity/strength. Love these little plants. Thanks Chantal😊
You are very welcomed! Let me ask you, what temperature water do you use? Does warmer water help for arthritis? Does it matter? Do share if you found tricks that work for you and your arthritis so we can all pass it on:)
Looks just like mine:) Did you like this technique? It goes so much faster, all you have to do is play with the template to create all sorts of lovelies.
Val I would encourage you to work the tips of each individual leaf a bit more by rolling them between your fingers. That's if you want to sharpen the look, as felt can be floppy and fuzzy, but does not have to be:)
Please do. We can always felt some more, but can't felt less, so not a bad idea to do it in stages. Letting the wool rest, as in drying in between stages, makes for easier felting/fulling.
You can always continue fulling this one Val. Keep it in a bundle, wet it down lightly with water (whether you use a spritz with a squirt of vinegar if you do not want to rinse or use soap then rinse) and roll it all in bubble wrap or a wet towel of your preferred method of fulling. Then rinse if you used soap and shape. The shaping can also stiffen everything up is you keep wiggling the leaf:)
For both plants, I used mostly merino SA 25 from Artgus (80% merino and 20% corriedale) and a little bit Ashford Corriedale (a dark green). There's a little bit of white silk that I blended with SA 25 for accents on top and bottom, following your instructions. The greens on both plants are all a blend of two colors, a darker and lighter green. The leaves of the bigger plant have a reddish bottom. Since I didn't have burgundy on hand, I ended up blending a purple, blue and red (all merino SA 25). I followed your suggestion and used black as my middle layer. The fibres migrated well throughout the felt -- for the bigger plant, both black and burgundy migrated through the greens to the top part of the leaves, giving it a great mix of colors
@Toos Thank you for sharing that Toos, this is so helpful. I think everyone will benefit from this information, I know I will:) I also like to work in large scale, referring to your goal of making a 20" plant, and have found that Gotland wool has a lovely structural aspect and felts easily. Let me know if you come across a fibre that you think will be good to supersize in:)
I am currently working on this installation of Red poppies and this larger flower started out 18" to finish to approx. 12-13". A couple larger ones might follow. Keep in mind that cuts or slits weakens the structure, so maybe you want to keep that in mind when designing your plant. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I hope you will take the time to share with all of us.
sorry! I didn’t realize this section was open to public, so I’ll answer your question in the “Workshop Participants” section.
I like this technique. It was easy for my arthritic fingers. Discovering small felted shapes are a fun way to work on finger dexterity/strength. Love these little plants. Thanks Chantal😊
Looks just like mine:) Did you like this technique? It goes so much faster, all you have to do is play with the template to create all sorts of lovelies.
The rectangular layout - version#2 Disorderly, using tickle fingers😊
Val I would encourage you to work the tips of each individual leaf a bit more by rolling them between your fingers. That's if you want to sharpen the look, as felt can be floppy and fuzzy, but does not have to be:)
Please do. We can always felt some more, but can't felt less, so not a bad idea to do it in stages. Letting the wool rest, as in drying in between stages, makes for easier felting/fulling.
My first little plant in centre is fuzzy and floppy. Will do more fulling on next one.
Great instructions! Here are my two forever plant creations that I have made so far: