By Becky Striepe •
November 18, 2009
The weather is getting colder, and we have a handmade holiday on our minds! Handmade gifts have heart, are better for the environment, and, if you opt to buy, it supports independent artists!
If you want to have a totally handmade holiday, now is the time to get started. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be posting about recycled gifts and giftwrap you can make yourself and great handmade finds for sale!
I just love ornaments! Not only do they look lovely on the tree, they make great little stocking stuffers. In this video, Kim Buchheit of Wildly Wooly shows us how to make acorn ornaments out of felted wool and real acorn caps! You could also use them as pendants, like in the photo above, by just stringing them onto a cord or some hemp and adding a simple clasp.
By Lucille Chi •
June 30, 2009
New York City’s Cooper Hewitt is highlighting their Fashioning Felt exhibit in a big way. My mind is now filled with ideas about the possibilities of felt.
”Fashioning Felt presents an extraordinary range of felt. From two-dimensional carpets to three-dimensional environments, each work reveals the virtuosity of both the material and the designers. The exhibition and book focus on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting processes; they exclude non-woven felt and techniques, in order to underscore the essential elements of feltmaking — wool fiber, agitation, moisture, and pressure.”
I fell for this Felt Ovoid Jacket and Empire Pant look. Isn’t this draped felt suit creative?
Keep reading for more inspiration:
By Lucille Chi •
March 14, 2009
The Rose and Radish gallery and boutique in San Francisco offers a fresh mix of springtime creativity!
I am inspired by this creative way to upcycle felt with these little tabletop cup cozies. Their goals for showcasing craft designs are admirable and charming:
By Kelly Rand •
May 26, 2008
Felt is one of those materials that reminds me of my childhood. It brings me back to story time and felt boards. Oh, remember felt boards?! The boards were covered in felt and then people, trees, houses and many other things, also made of felt, were stuck to the board. They were a great prop that aided in telling of a story.
Today, felt is a cheap material that comes in many colors. Mostly used for kids crafts and plushes, not all craft felt found in big box craft stores are 100% wool. Most are made of some synthetic fiber blend such as acrylic or polyester.
So what to do when you want to use felt in your projects and not use fiber made from plastic? There are several options to green your craft project and feel good about your materials:
