Mists of time – felt and thread hanging

Mists of time

Felt and thread wall hanging:
30cm diameter

Merino wool / bamboo fibre blend, thread, water soluble fabric

For millennia, our watery planet has been spinning in space sustained by the Plantae kingdom. Insignificantly small by comparison to the size of earth,  trees and plants ‘en masse’ are the main contributor to terrestrial life, being the viable and dynamic operation of the earth’s ecosystems. Producing oxygen via photosynthesis – they create the invisible life-giving element that shrouds the globe.

Closeup of free machine embroidery incorporated into the felt

Veiling with wool to represent ‘mists’

Densely stitched threadwork done on water soluble

Profile showing depth of piece

Mists of time in gallery

Another angle in gallery

Exhibited flat, but designed for hanging

Vertical / front view

Integrating Felt and Thread

The global reference of this piece determines the colour as well as it’s shape. To keep the shape as perfectly circular as possible, there needs to be support for the shape. After allowing for shrinkage, and using a resist, the large circular pre-felt is made.  The thread-work, which in this case involves very dense stitching on water soluble fabric, is put in place. Very gentle massaging is necessary to get the wool fibres to adhere to the thread. Although flat, the density of the stitching means it takes a while to encourage the wool fibres to migrate through the available spaces.

Once significant shrinkage becomes apparent, the thread-work, which is quite stiff, buckles. Creating this dimensional effect as well as some careful layering of wadding, results in the partial dome shape. The circular art-board was inserted once the piece was fully felted.