Wraps – doodling with nuno-felt

With various opportunities to sell and donate felted wraps and scarves this year, I had a go at techniques I have not tried before. Having dyed around 60 metres of Margilan silk gauze a while back, I had plenty to work with!

Doodle nuno felt wrap
Doodle nuno wrap
Doodle wraps?

Scribbling with wool over Margilan silk gauze creates a very lightweight nuno felt, which is most suitable for our mild winters and occasional cool evenings in summer. With wool laid on one side of aound 3 metres of silk gauze, each side has a different look.  The seemingly random  placement seems to fit well with the equally random patterning of the dyed silk.

Using a double layer of silk gauze for the frills and covering one side completely with extra fine merino wool roving produces a more substantial wrap. The green one has a frill each side, which is a bit much for my taste. The red one had the frill on one side only, which enables a different look when worn.

Deconstructed nuno felt

The white scarf is made along the lines of my doubly deconstructed nuno wrap  .  The main difference is the silk gauze which I used on both sides giving it an overall sheen.

The asymmetrical blue wrap was made deconstructing a soy fibre and superfine merino prefelt  and applying it to cotton gauze. It produces  a noticeably heavier fabric than silk gauze. Originally white, it was dyed twice – first in an acid dye for the protein fibres, and then in fibre reactive dye for the cotton component.  Using slightly different shades of blue, seems to give in an interesting depth.

A wrap made in a workshop was finally finished properly!

I learn something new  about wool fibres, layouts, shrinkage rates and edges with every wrap or scarf. Fortunately almost all sold at the Feltwest popup shop a few weeks ago or I would be buried in nuno felt!

nuno felt wraps
Wraps for sale – popup shop

Deconstructed nuno wrap – in print!

Sari Nuno Wrap – Doubly Deconstructed
deconstructed nuno wrap
Finished wrap

It was the highlight of the week to see my project in print in the June 2017 issue of ‘Felt’. While the title is a bit of a mouthful, it is an accurate description. A little different to more traditional nuno felt projects, this one also includes wool ‘cheese’ (pre-yarn) and sari silk ribbons.

To keep the wrap as light as possible I use Uzbek silk gauze and 18.5 micron merino wool. I did have fun with this one, as I like working with a combination of unusual materials in textiles. I think my felt making is heading that way too!

Initially, I wasn’t sure how this project would turn out, but was curious to see what textures would result from using the contrasting materials. Stripes or checks? As it turns out, chopping up and rearranging the sari ribbon pre-felt creates both effects.

sara quail deconstructed nuno wrap
Deconstructed nuno wrap

Although all the elements were  off-white / ivory, there are interesting colour and pattern variations, depending in what light it is viewed. While ironing the end result gives the wrap a subtle sheen, I also like the exaggerated ‘pebbly’ nuno effect that is created after fulling.

The gallery below gives an indication of the process – click to enlarge photos.

Deconstructed nuno wrap in Felt Magazine

As a result of this experiment, I was asked to submit an article for ‘Felt’ by the editor Martien van Zuilen.  4 pages of comprehensive instructions for making this deconstructed nuno wrap appears in ‘Felt’ – issue #17.  It is pretty special to appear in such a high quality magazine alongside some great felting names which include local and international makers. The magazine contains felt-related articles as well as a variety of projects and lots of visual inspiration.

Perth felt exhibition – MACRO-micro 2016

Explorations in Felt – Perth felt exhibition

Exhibition Felt perth
Opening night

A dedicated felt exhibition is a rarity in Perth, so the opportunity to exhibit in MACRO|micro as a member of Feltwest was enticing. I have participated in quite a few textile exhibitions over the years. This was the first time I used hand made felt as the main medium. A little daunting, but it was a good opportunity to try different techniques, play and experiment. Continue reading “Perth felt exhibition – MACRO-micro 2016”

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