Felting wool. The basic tricks of craft

The craft of shepherds-nomads, who once from shaved wool made objects of everyday life and clothing, now again arouses great interest among applied artists. Now these techniques are used to create modern fashion accessories, beads and toys, items for women's clothing and decorations for the interior. Felting wool or felting - a simple and convenient form of creativity for classes in circles, schools and gardens, for the development of children's motor skills, fantasy, creative thinking.

Typically, applied arts are rethought and refined in accordance with modern trends, ancient types of crafts, with the help of which once created the necessary for life everyday objects. Using the covenants of old masters, reviving technology and revealing the secrets of craft, current artists create very modern, but attractive with their ancient sources of art, fashion accessories and clothing.

Felting from the wool is carried out in two ways - dry (folding) and wet, using a soapy solution. For folding, use a special thick needle with uneven incisions, which for a long time and stubbornly pierce two or more overlapping shreds of wool until they become a single whole. Folding is good to spread not only the ornament on a single-colored wool base. It is also used to create voluminous things - toys, beads and other female accessories. Wet felting creates a single rolled up cloth due to multiple friction. This method is better for using for flat objects.

In felting use only sheep and camel wool, rather thin and soft. The results of work depend on the quality and thickness of raw materials. Wool Merino, mohair and "camel" are suitable for creating subtle artwork, clothing and ornaments, from coarser and thicker - toys, shoes, floor mats are well received. To check whether the felting material is suitable or not, you need to wet the wool patch with a soap solution and roll it with your fingers for a few minutes. Then wash off the soap and look at the result.

Felting toys out of wool

For work, you will need fur for felting and a special falsetto needle (you can buy everything in an online store or a specialized salon). It is better to purchase the materials ready, specially designed for this equipment. Still need a pillow or a piece of thick foam - this is the basis for work, and a metal brush for combing the wool. First try to make a butterfly.

In thick cardboard we cut out a stencil in the form of wings of two sizes, one larger for the upper wings, the other for the lower wings. We take a piece of wool, put it in the hole, giving the desired shape, and pierce the needle with rapid movements on the entire surface until the hair falls. We remove the stencil, turn the work over to the other side and make the same with the needle. To decorate the wing, take a small piece of contrasting wool, roll it into a ball, superimpose it on the wing and pierce it with a needle until it completely joins its surface. The same is done on the reverse side. In this way we produce felting from the wool of the remaining wings. Now from the black wool roll the sausage, lay it on the pillow and start piercing the needle, continuously rolling over the surface of the pillow. As a result, it should not be a flat, but a rounded part. To thicken the head, add a little wool from one edge and again work with a needle. The butterfly's taurus is ready. We attach to it one ready-made wings, also with the help of a needle. From a thin twisted silk thread we make a mustache (you can use a wire). Felting of wool blends well with the decoration of beads, sequins and beads. Wings at the butterfly can be additionally decorated with these materials.

The basic principle of felting toys is as follows. For flat shapes, we work with a needle first from one side of the product, then, turning it to the other side, from the reverse side. For rounded shapes, a piece of wool, piercing with a needle, continuously rotate along the axis. The result is not a flat, but a round shape.

Fashionable beads

To create original women's ornaments, also successfully use felting out of wool. Beads in the form of oblong or round balls, strung on a string, in combination with other decorative elements look very fashionable and creative. It uses both a dry and a wet method. For wet felting, take a thick enough soap solution, wet a piece of wool and start rolling it on the palm until you get a tight ball or oval. Then wash off the soap, dry the ball, decorate it with embroidery or beads. From these separate elements of different size and color, we collect beads.