A group of crafters met at the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre on Saturday March 11, keen to get involved in a wet-felting workshop. After a short introduction on the history and technique of felt-making from Amanda Martin, who was leading the course, the group set to with raw fleece, water, soap and plenty of elbow grease to create their own small piece of this fascinating textile. They also sampled the carding process to understand how the wool had been prepared for use.
Amanda explained: “To create felt, the carded wool fibres are laid in several layers, criss-crossing each other, to make a structure which, when wetted with warm water and worked by hand to provide friction, using soap to aid the movement, will matt together to make a firm surface.
“The secret is wool, water and hard work and, by the end of the session, all had produced a piece of work to take home, perhaps to keep as an artwork or to be further worked and embellished to be used in some other way.”
Jo Carter-Wilson, who came with a group of friends, had a super time. “We all thought it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, learning and developing our creative skills in felting. We were well led and guided in our efforts in a friendly, supportive group and beautiful location.”
Felting wool is the oldest type of textile art and although time-consuming it is very exciting to turn a pile of wool which looks rather grubby into something which is quite beautiful and creative. Anne Yates, who was also running the class, showed the group how she had embellished her piece of felt and made it into a pot cover.
It was fascinating to see the different designs people were able to create. Fishes, dragons, beach scenes and hearts were proudly displayed by the group at the end. Everyone left having had a really lovely time and new friendships were forged.
Anne and Amanda run the Wednesday Craft group at the Discovery Centre on Wednesday afternoons starting at 1pm. You are most welcome to drop by and see what they get up to and to join the group.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .