Thursday 20 March 2008

felting













so here is my first attempt at felting just to make things more complicated i thought i'd dye the blanket too!




for some reason i can't get pictures in right order . . . .gggrrrr





anyway i bought an 100% wool blanket from oxfam , then i dyed it @ 60c then again @ 90c to rinse excess dye [and clean machine] .The result is a little patchy but i'm guessing that this is down to:





a/ not enough dye





b/ to big to agitate properly





c/ the dye is not for use on wool!!!




so after all this i did a test cut and felt[ha ha] it needed more abuse as it frayed a little - so i whacked back in the washer @ 90c again.




i think it is now done!!! so what shall i make?

i will be looking at BETZ WHITE'S lovely website






oh yes and i emailed Betz White for advice on dying woolen items for felting and was very pleased [starstruck] to get a reply on the same day :0) [thanks]



and here is the side effect of all this faffing about - there is a mass of candyfloss pink fluff everywhere!!!
i really enjoyed doing this and i'm all for recycling but i used loads of energy and water doing this.









3 comments:

Leah said...

Well done on your first attempt. Mine produced loads of fluff and a not very well felted jumper (which I binned) but felt guilty for using the machine 3 times on 1 item!!

josla said...

the colour is gorgeous! a nice colour to have fluffing up the whole of your house!!! i want to see what you make with it now...

Apryl said...

lovely colour!... I really want some cotton candy now...my felting went ok the only problem was that I now have a teal blue tinged towel that used to be white..