Filament to Fantasy – nuno felt mosaic

Filament to Fantasy

Wrap / wall hanging
Nuno felt mosaic

180cm x 65 cm

Embellished prefelts deconstructed, reassembled and nuno-felted

Fine merino wool, hand loomed silk gauze, silk fibres

The gossamer fibres of wool and silk are barely visible fibres but when amalgamated in their millions, combine to create the magic of a whimsical fabric -light as a feather and reminiscent of a fanciful creature with wings outspread. Portraying the enigma of the delicate, tough and mysterious nature of its fibrous components.

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Featured in FELT magazine issue #16 December 2016

Many colours of wool

Making the prefelt

Adding various silk fibres

Wetting out the fibres to make the prefelt

Drying the 3 metres of prefelt

Dyeing the silk gauze – acid dyes and then steamed

Pre-felt pieces applied to silk and massaged

Early stages of fulling.

Closeup of mosaic

Wet, not ironed

Showing distressed silk fibres

Drying the wrap flat

Easiest way to take a photograph

In gallery as a wall hanging

Reverse side is more subtle

The Process

Another rather large project with multiple processes but with a very satisfying result. This piece can be a wrap, wall hanging or throw. It is extremely lightweight as it uses the lightest of silk gauze and extra-fine merino roving. The thin layout and gentle nuno felting processes gives the piece a very good drape. The pre-felt consists of many wool colours and a variety of silk fibres. This is cut up and placed on the dyed silk.

The very flat smooth finish is thanks to a lot of surface rubbing and subsequent rolling. The process involves no aggressive felting method except a bit of tossing at the end.  The fibres of the silk gauze distress slightly during the felting process and add to the final result.