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your own felt with wool tops and use it to make twelve fairy
tale and Alice in Wonderland inspired projects. This book
covers various felt techniques from simple flat work to using
a mold and adding surface details. All the patterns are on
a sheet in a handy pocket inside the back cover where they
can be kept once cut out for future use.
This is an ideal book for anybody who has complained about
the poor quality and limited color range of acrylic felt.
If you make your own it can be as thick as you need it to
be as well as patterned or shaped. All you need to start are
wool tops, a bamboo mat, and various household items. The
first part of this book is dedicated to showing how to do
all the methods in easy to follow stages. All the photographs
are a good size and it is simple to see what you need to do
for each step. This is not a craft I have attempted or knew
much about (wool allergy) so I was surprised how little you
needed to buy to make your own felt or how easy a technique
it is to master. Once you know the basics you can make variegated
felt, embed wool shapes for a patterned look, use resists
and molds and needle felt for more detail. The projects are
pretty and rather impressive, the type of things that would
make great gifts. From the beautiful floral teacozy on the
cover to the lovely bag on the back, you can also make a lampshade,
peg bag, egg cozies, pincushion, sewing case and even slippers
or bootees. Try a few basic embroidery stitches (more clear
diagrams) but mostly this is not a book about sewing and a
machine is not used, just a needle and thread. Items which
look as though they might have been sewn together are usually
constructed using 3D molding methods so you don’t have
to be keen on sewing to make these items. This is a very user-friendly
primer that is accessible to the total beginner.
If you cannot find a good range of felt making materials locally
try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
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