A sensual affair with an old craft
What an amazing moment it is when we are completely in tune with all our senses. This evening gone, a few of us at a bit slow had an evening encounter with wool. I know what you’re thinking, the title sounded much more interesting than wool, right?! Well, you’d be wrong. It’s such an amazing experience to be in touch with a technique that has such a long history. Felting is considered the oldest textile fabric dating as far back as 6300 BC. For something so old it is truly holding its own in this modern world of ours. You only need to look at the latest Viktor Rolf Fall 2011 collection http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/viktor-rolf-fall-2011#!/photos/105403/2 to see our endless love affair with felt and it’s sculptural capabilities.
I am a complete beginner to felting, so let me tell you what an amazing sensation it was to feel these separate fibers combine to create a beautiful solid piece of fabric. The process begins with a laying out of wool (or other natural fiber), then wetting and rubbing to combine the fibers into a solid textile. The possibilities are endless! Above you can see Sabina and myself working on our first pieces of felt.
The slow-ness and awareness required for this process creates a truly meditative experience. It has the ability to be controlled, manipulated, moulded and arranged to suit your own vision or requirements; or it can be a freeing experience of placing the wool and letting the technique itself create the outcome.
For more exciting felting application please check out our very own Jess’s site http://slowpalette.blogspot.com/ and look at how felt can be sculpted and combined with other fabrics to create fashion pieces unlike any other. Jess took us through step by step, which was a great hands on way to learn, but you can learn too by following our simple step by step guide which will be in our DIY guide section….coming soon!
Be joyful and go slowly,
Mich xxx
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