I took a beginning felting class last week. I like to take classes periodically, especially in crafts that I don't know much about. Sometimes I'll fall in love with the new craft. Sometimes a new craft
will give me ideas about an existing favorite. Almost always, the experience reminds me of this saying:
Sometimes your purpose in life is merely to serve as a warning to others.
In this class, we used layers of black roving (2 ounces), water, and soap to create small purses. This was a lot more amusing than it sounds, because the little tufts of black wool made it look like everyone in the class was creating a very full beard. Or a beloved pet.
Drying the purse with the block inside |
The good . . .
The front of mine looked correct. And I was able to get the wooden block in (barely) so that it could dry in the right shape. Whew!
The bad . . .
Unfortunately the good front was half-covered by the uneven flap. The teacher suggested that I cut the flap to make it even, but I think the unevenness gives it a certain charm
The back of the purse where I stitched it together (Photo was lightened with Photoshop to help you see the stitches.) |
.
Also, the back seams never did felt together correctly. I think what happened is that the separate pieces felted before I was ready to join them. I was so worried about the front of the purse that I forgot that the back was sitting in a puddle of water. The teacher tried to fix things by squirting enough soap on my purse that it looked like some kind of melted ice cream and furry black cat explosion. But it was too late.
I ended up sewing the back together. It's pretty noticeable if you look at the back of the purse closely, but that's okay. If you're looking that closely, then you're probably a good friend of mine. Or a purse snatcher.
The Finished Purse
The final purse |
I went to the craft store hoping to buy a package of colorful buttons in primary colors. Amazingly, they didn't have such a thing. They did have a package of black and white buttons. I did some experimenting, adding paint and seed beads to the buttons. I think it turned out cute. I decided not to add a strap, but instead made it an artsy clutch. It's the perfect size for a little beading-on-the-go carry case or a mini writing clutch with a small notebook and pen.
I liked wet felting. It wasn't too complicated and required minimal materials. The question is if I'm going to do more. I'm pretty sure there will be more felt in my future because the whole time I worked on this project, I was muttering two words to myself: Next time . . .