Fleeting Summer

For me there is a real tension between summer being a season to savor and a season for getting things done. I have let some things go this summer, but one good-weather dependent thing that I really wanted to finish up was some felting I’d prepped for a few months back.

And since summer is slipping away, this morning I dug out my felting gear and got down to it.

Yoga mat, couple yards of chiffon, one long bootlace, bubble wrap, 3-4′ length of 2″ PVC pipe, pot full of soapy hot water, and large cup for scooping that hot soapy water.

The layered wool had been standing by, rolled in chicken food bags to keep it nice and orderly. (yet another use for chicken food bags! I used to use paper grocery bags, but they would inevitably get wet with all that hot soapy water flying around.)

The steps: transferring the wool to the yoga mat already lined with chiffon

Folding the chiffon over the layered wool to keep it in place,

Thoroughly wetting the wool and patting out any air pockets

Placing bubble wrap (bubbles down) on the surface of the wool

Tightly rolling the whole thing up around the length of PVC and securing with bootlace

Then roll, roll, roll. It helps to have some pressure applied in the rolling process, so I’ve been using a “leaning on the roll with my forearms” technique, and just gliding back and forth on it with a rocking motion. 50 or so times each direction is usually enough to get the fibers starting to lock.

From there I work the felt manually, folding and rolling it against itself from a variety of directions, adding water to keep it quite warm and sudsy while it shrinks and thickens.

And finally I take the sheet inside to rinse in the deep sink- not just to get the soap out, but to shock it a little to further firm up the felt- hot /cold/hot/cold.

And after all that, and a little drying in the sun, you have the magic that is felt

Mmmmm. Felty goodness.

I have recently been distracted by the idea that I need a sloth (google Bellingham giant tree sloth), so that might be where this felt is headed.

Found a cute pattern, but I think that it will require the addition of long claws. Another pattern-as-starting point type of project 😉

Have a good week folks-