Wet Felted Pod

All ready and set up on the dining room table.

Laid the wool over the template.

Wrapped the wool over on the other side.

Layers of wool laid on the other side of the template.

I massaged soapy water onto the piece and got more aggressive as it started to felt. I kept turning it over and also made sure I worked the edges.

Once I was happy that it had felted I cut a hole in the middle of the front and pulled out the resist.

And this is what I ended up with after I'd gone in again with the soap around the cut edges to felt them.

Then I stuffed it with dusters to the shape that I wanted it to take once dry and left it over night in the airing cupboard.

It is now totally dry, but I wanted to show how much you have to allow for shrinkage.

Jo Prosser very kindly sent me some locks still attached to the wool so that I could attach them around the outside edges of the opening.

I put toy filling inside to make it a bit stronger and to help it hold its shape better. I also made like a shelf at the front too with the locks.

I also felted some of the same locks at the top of the hole as were on the top.

And this is how it looks from the back. 

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Frankie

Once I'd made the body I attached the head and the hands which is why they don't look in proportion.

Close up of the head. The bits on the chest are just oddments of wool I've used up.

After speaking to Emma on a felting group and watching a video I decided to have a go at wet felting the clothes. Here I'm making a resist using the doll as a guide.

Then I roughly drew in the shape.

This is how it looks after they've been cut out. I just put the tape measure in for reference. This is to allow for the shrinkage of the wool. I'm using Merino which I know shrinks around 30%.

I gave one side of the resist four layers of black wool. Layering at 90 degrees to the previous layer. Make sure you overlap the edges.

Flattened it down and added more wool to any shallow spots and covered with netting.

Next I wet it down with a bottle of warm soapy water.

I very carefully peeled the netting off.

I covered them with another sheet of bubble wrap

and flipped them over. Wrap over the extra wool. You may have to make a cut or two to follow the resist, like in the crotch and under the arms.

Make sure it's a snug fit on the resist.

Then do exactly the same to the other side of the resist. Cover it in four layers of wool at a 90 degree angle for each layer. I now have each piece on a separate piece of bubble wrap.

Once wetted out, flip over and wrap over the overlap. Work on it a little to massage it onto the wool.

Then felt each piece gradually being more aggressive. Remember to work on the edges.

Also keep turning them over and keep pulling up the netting.

Once I was happy that the wool had felted I rinsed the soap out.

And the same with the bottom half.

Next it was time to take the resist out, so I cut the ends, top and bottom and the sleeves.

Be careful when taking the resist out, however the wool is quite felted by this stage. Once the resist was out, I rinsed them in the sink and did the hot and cold shock. As I wanted to shrink them even further I rolled them in the bamboo mat. I forgot to take any more photos, but I cut the jacket down the middle and placed it on my doll together with the trousers, I then placed everything into the airing cupboard to dry.

This is him this morning all dressed. I needle felted his jacket and pants to his body, shaped the collar and tacked the middle of the jacket down. I also gave him some feet.

And this is how he looks from the back. I just love how his trousers have ruckled up.

He is now complete with shoes so I am calling him finished. However, I am quite disappointed as he won't stand on his own. His right leg seems very weak.

Craters & Spikes

I decided to make my resist from cardboard as I wanted it a bit thicker because I wanted to slightly shape it and didn't want to create a seam.

I also wanted to experiment with craters, so I made six circle resists and a tiny ball of wool to mark where I'd placed each one.

I also wanted to make some spikes, so I rolled one end just with water and left the other end fluffy. I wrapped three round cocktail sticks, but that wasn't necessary at this stage.

Next I placed my layers of wool over the template.

I did both sides and then decided which side I wanted the holes on.

Once the resists had been covered in wool, I placed the orange dots in the middle so I could easily identify where the resists were. I also decided to see what linen bouche would do too so laid it down in a spiral around the middle.

I wrapped the twisted lengths in cling film as I didn't want them to felt to the base but I did want them to become attached at the fluffy end.

I wet the fluffy ends and massaged them onto the base with soap and water.

I worked on both sides and then when I thought I'd finished I pulled the cling film off and soaped and rolled them individually in my fingers.

I cut a hole in the middle and pulled out the cardboard resist and shrunk it more by rolling, hitting with hot and cold water and throwing it on the mat. Once I was happy with the shrinkage, I cut the resists out using the orange dots as a guide.

And once I was happy with everything, I stuffed it with cloths and dusters, tied it to help it keep it's shape and twisted three of the spikes around the cocktail sticks. 

It's now in the airing cupboard drying.

So this morning I took it out the airing cupboard, took the string off, took the cocktail sticks out and unstuffed it.

And I was really, really please with how it came out. Again, I learnt a lot from the process and what to do differently next time.

I probably should have worked the edges more and next time I won't cut as much out so I can leave more of a crater.

These ones worked a little better.

And the spikes held their shapes, the straights and the spirals but in future they need to be longer and thicker to start with.

Finally a view from the top with the linen bouche and the original hole.

But for a first try at incorporating a different shaped vessel, spikes and we'll call them craters, I am really, really please with the outcome.