Dyed Wool Versus Undyed Wool

I've noticed something really interesting about dyed wool versus natural wool. It is just like going to the beauty salon and coloring you hair. The coloring treatment leaves your hair super shiny and smooth. Natural wool fibers smooth out when they are dyed. I have found it much easier to create a super fine cobweb felt using dyed fiber. The natural wool has more crimp left in each fiber and when felted it makes the finished textile bulkier.

The Purse That Should Have Been A Tote Bag

I laid out wool on a mold to make a flat bottomed tote bag...

And then I felted it with Dr. Bronner's organic soap and water. But after fulling it and shocking it it was too small for a 3 ring binder, so now with the addition of a repurposed belt it is a flat bottomed bucket purse.

Three Dimensional Objects

I'm getting more and more interested in three dimensional felted objects. The "birch tree" bag was felted around an oversized bleach bottle. Now I'm eyeing one of those big orange gatorade dispensers like sports teams use for a larger cylindrical bag. And the styrofoam container Omaha Steaks ships things in. Nothing is safe from becoming a mold!

Felted Purses

Here are three of the purses I made for the Denton Craft Show. They all are inspired by nature. Pebbles in a riverbed, the littoral area at the beach, and a birch tree. The birch tree is nuno felted on linen.