nuno felting

Experimenting with Nuno Felting…..

/ Karen Lane / 11 Comments

Yesterday I was teaching in Risley, just outside of Derby, working with a creative group of ladies called “Material Girls”.  They had invited me over to spend the day with them experimenting with Nuno Felting.

The ladies all brought a selection of lightweight fabrics ranging from pure silk, viscose and muslin through to polyester and netting as well as Merino fibres.  The idea was for this to be an experimental session making samples which could later be stitched and framed, making a unique piece of textile art.

The results were absolutely stunning!  Depending on the choice of fabrics this process can be very time and labour intensive and therefore I was a little concerned as to the staying power of my group!  I needn’t have worried….there was a lot of coffee, biscuits, laughter and determination to keep us going and the results really paid off.

Once their work was finished the ladies used picture mounts to select certain area which appealed to them for stitching.  Non of this fabric will get wasted as even small off cuts can be used for making brooches or used in card making, mixed media work, etc…..

Once again, it was a pleasure to work with a group of like minded ladies and be able to share my enthusiasm and passion for Feltmaking and Textiles.  Many thanks to Viv and Jenny for arranging my visit and helping to make the day a success.  I look forward to seeing you all again sometime.

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A quick update on the pictures made at this workshop and a big thanks to Anne who has sent me photos of the two pictures she made from her Nuno samples.  Just a little stitching is all it took to transform the fabrics into beautiful landscapes…..

Autumn Sunset Landscape…..

/ Karen Lane / 8 Comments

Earlier this month I found some small Nuno samples which I decided to stitch into and frame.  The first was this blue, green and yellow sample……

And after trimming down and stitching…..

Nuno Landscape

The second was this pink, orange and brown sample…..

And after a little stitching…..

Autumn Sunset Landscape 

 

Nuno Landscape…..

/ Karen Lane / 8 Comments

Nuno Landscape

At the weekend I was a having a clear out and came across some little Nuno samples I made a couple of years ago at Artvango.  I decided they were too good to put back in the drawer so I’m making some small pieces of art with them, this is the first Nuno Landscape.  It was felted with Merino, two of the fabrics are Viscose and the third (central section) was cut from an old wool scarf.  The stitching has been done using Perle and a variegated thread I dyed while I was up in Ullapool.  I just need to find a suitable frame now.

Autumnal Nuno Collar…..

/ Karen Lane / 2 Comments

I was pleased with the shape and size of the grey merino collar I made recently so thought I would stick with those proportions to make an Autumnal Nuno Collar using the “tile” technique.

Colour scheme based on a Charity shop silk scarf.

A shop bought yellow/orange/purple silk scarf formed the basis of my colour scheme.  Using a set of Colorhue silk dyes I mixed a yellow and purple to use on Uzbek silk to tone in with the patterned scarf.  The colours were incredibly vibrant and brighter than intended but the  “Dune” Superfine Merino from World of Wool has knocked it right back and it looks very subtle in the finished scarf.

Uzbek silk painted with Colorhue silk paints

All together there were tiles from four different silk fabrics, this close up shows some of the wonderful textures that have resulted from them.

Nuno felted collar, still wet but looking lovely!

Tomorrow I will post a photo of the finished collar……once it’s had time to dry out and show its true colours.

Nuno Collar….

/ Karen Lane / 6 Comments

I’ve been busy making samples for a Nuno Collar Workshop which I have been asked to do at the Thomas Garrett Rooms in Heighton in the Autumn.   I deliberately steered myself away from my usual pallet of greys and muted colours and I’m really pleased with the results.  These collars are incredibly lightweight (approx 35gms) making them very comfortable to wear.  Each one is held in place with a Tyvek brooch.

 

Nuno with Vivienne Morpeth…..

/ Karen Lane / 3 Comments

The weather in Lincolnshire has been dull, wet and miserable but I’ve had a fantastic day felting in Barton on Humber at the studio of IFA tutor Vivienne Morpeth.  Vivienne creates wonderful Nuno felted wearable art which I saw for the first time back in April and I knew I had to have a workshop with her.

A small sample of Vivienne’s work on display in her studio

Vivienne’s studio is very light and airy and she made me feel very welcome.  I learnt a lot from today as she is incredibly generous when it comes to sharing her knowledge, built up from her many years experience of felt making.

Laying out the silk

I chose to work with a neutral palette (no surprise there) creating a wrap using  very fine Merino tops, Uzbekistan Silk and Habotai.

Adding the pebbles

Making this wrap really helped me to appreciate how much work goes into one of Vivienne’s Nuno dresses and, having done it, I’m even more keen now to make a dress!  I’m sure this workshop will go down a storm with my group at Belchford!

Vivienne and my almost finished wrap

I’ve brought it home to finish off…..just need to tidy up the edges so will post photos of the finished item once it’s dry.  Thanks for a fantastic day Vivienne and look forward to hosting you in Belchford sometime soon.

Nuno Felting with Clare Bullock…..

/ Karen Lane / 12 Comments

What had looked like being a pretty normal week suddenly took a more interesting turn on Wednesday.  I received the Artvango newsletter which mentioned there was a spare place on Clare Bullock’s two day nuno felting workshop, starting the following day.  Hmmmm…that would have been nice I thought, as I finished my lunch and set off back to work for the afternoon.  Unfortunately Artvango isn’t exactly on my doorstep so it’s not somewhere I get to visit as often as I would like.  But two days felting, with Clare, starting tomorrow…..it’s got to be worth the long drive down to Knebworth, and it was!

Clare began by talking us through the process and showing us examples of her nuno felting using various different fabrics i.e. silk, gauze, muslin, Indian cotton, etc.  The following three photos are examples of Clare’s beautiful nuno work.


Then it was our turn.  Each sample was created with one layer of Merino wool tops and various scraps of lightweight fabric.  With Clare on hand to ensure we didn’t skint on the rubbing, we rubbed, rubbed, and then rubbed some more…..then time for a coffee and then back to rubbing……



In the next photo you can see nine different scraps of scarves in the early stage of felting.

And the finished sample which I was really pleased with.


My green and blue sample worked pretty well too and I can see this possibly becoming a base for a landscape piece.

Another of my samples which I will add stitching to at some point…..

…..and a close up.

Before the workshop Clare had prepared some rust printed fabrics which she cut up and shared with us.  The following photo shows how my rust sample, made from four pieces of different fabrics, worked out.

And another close up shot showing the textures.


Clare is a very good tutor and full of fun.  We learnt a lot and laughed a lot during the workshop, and I’m sure I can speak for the other ladies when I say that everyone came away really happy with what they had achieved.