Welcome back after the summer break. We had a very successful exhibition in Carlow as part of the Eigse Carlow Arts Festival. One of the highlights was introducing people to the wonders of felt and stitching. Read the exhibition review here
Now that there is a chill in the air and the evenings are drawing in its time to drag out the wool and find the sewing needles again. This post will highlight some useful resources for people starting to learn about wet felting. The following video link is an introduction to wet felting and shows the making of a simple square piece of felt, video link here
One of the big questions people new to felting ask is where to get wool and equipment. Below are some useful shops and websites:
Craftspun Yarns, Crafstpun Yarns Ltd, The Mill, Johnstown, Naas, Co. Kildare LINK
The Constant Knitter, 88 Francis St., Dublin 8. link here
Wingham Wools in Yorkshire. LINK
DHG in Italy. LINK
Woodies DIY stores are great for getting some of the hardware for felting such as bubble wrap and pipe insulation (grey hollow tubes used for rolling felt). A pool noodle can also be used.
Your local health food shop will usually have a supply of olive oil soap which is used to mix with hot water to start felting.
You will also need a supply of old towels, old net curtains or synthetic tulle.
A flower mister for spreading water on wool or recycle bottles which have a spray nozzle.
Another useful piece of equipment is a bamboo mat for rolling pieces of felt. IKEA did have some last year. Buy a few as wider pieces of felt will need 2 or more.
Feltmakers Ireland ( LINK www.feltmakersireland.com) run many workshops and tutorials on making felt and are a great source of advice on all things felt.
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Many thanks to Catherine Dowling for writing the above post.
