Day #3 was again at RDI.
Katharine Jolda was the felting instructor. She creates felted items and teaches felting and is the inventor of a bicycle powered carding machine, or cyclocarder. She has a great website called Felt the Sun, and the SF Chronicle just had a nice article and interview with her here, and in it is a good explanation of the whole felting process – which is essentially turning a pile of raw fiber into a fabric through the addition of hot soapy water and friction. It is a simple and physically involved process. With a very grounded and calm teaching style she gave us the option of making either a felted bag or a hat. The following are examples that she brought in:
raw wool waiting to be felted
Churro - Navajo sheep. I made my bag from Churro fiber she brought. (photo from Katharine's collection)
fluffing the wool.
unfluffed vs. fluffed pile
Katharine giving herself a beard
the cyclocarder
Katharine demonstrated for us how it works.
my fluffed pile on top of and overlapping a simple pattern
Katharine preparing hot soapy water.
after laying a plastic mesh sheet on top, she pours the water over it.
demonstrating the patting and rubbing technique to begin working the fiber.
it is a gentle and rythmic process at first.
hat pattern
my bag has been rubbed and patted and the edges rolled over the pattern, flipped over to add more fiber and do the same to the other side.
at a certain stage when the fibers have started fusing and felting, there is the process of fulling - vigorous rolling.
teamwork.
vigorous - it's all about the friction!
finished hats
finished bag - just have to add straps and button closure.
Katharine's handmade spinning tools
Katharine all felted up in her own designs. (photo of a photo she had)
I still need to put the finishing touches on my bag, but it was a fun day that makes me want to do more. So many possibilities. You can’t get much more hands-on than this.
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