Felting in the washing machine

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Did you know you can felt in the washing machine?. You may have accidently done this with your favourite knitted jumper that you put on a hot wash by mistake. So why would you want to purposely put the wool in the washing machine?. Well it can save you a lot of time if you have a project that you need to complete in a hurry.

Soap & Agitation

Felt is made by adding water, soap and lots of agitation will make wool fibres attach together and most f the time I do this by hand, I have been making some bird pods lately and these take around 2 hours to lay out and felt but half way through I can add to the washing machine and save about 40 minutes and my arm muscles.

Not all wool will however felt and each time you undertake a project the results may differ due to the type of wool and water temperature. The bird pods are ideal for the washing machine method as they are all unique in colour size and texture.

So the next time you accidently shrink a garment…tell them it was meant to be.

Felt From Fair Trade

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Although I make a lot of felt items to sell I also buy felt from Fair Trade suppliers. Over the last few years I have visited many trade shows to talk to suppliers to ensure there is traceability of the gifts I was purchasing and they are part of a Fair Trade scheme which you can read about here https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/ . The supplier I now buy from has been a Fair Trade organisation for over 20 years in Nepal so they have been able to build and sustain relationships with the surrounding families and towns.

The wool used by the wonderful artistic Nepalese crafters is New Zealand wool , brought in a raw state which is then washed, carded and dyed with a fantastic rainbow of colours. Then comes the hard work with the wet felting. with some wool, warm water, soap and a lot of elbow grease you can make some fantastic items from small keyrings an inch wide to vast blankets and clothing. If you have never tried wet felting it is very therapeutic – you can book onto one of our workshops and try it your yourself when we get beyond Covid.

Weekend Forecast

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Crafting with no chance of social interaction!. My husband has already had the weekend forecast, it has been another busy week at work with not much time or energy for crafting, but this weekend I am going to put that right.

For my day job I do a lot of planning and usually when it comes to my crafting I am quite fluid and may swap between crafts at a weekend, however this time I have actually made a list…..what is the world coming to?. The reason for the list is that I have decided to unpick a few and have a clear out – shock horror.

Crafts of the past

I love to try new crafts and I am not alone. Did you know the results from the annual crafters survey show people have about 5 crafts on the go at once…I think I am slightly over by about 3, ok maybe 4.