The answer? Hard. After agitating until my arms were sore, my bangles still looked like an unfortunate elementary school craft involving Elmer's glue and dog hair. I think the problem with my first attempt (the bottom, darker brown), is that I didn't use enough roving, so the fibers weren't able to lock together well. The second attempt (pictured on top) is better, but it is still more hairy than felty. Definitely not the look I was going for.
An excerpt from wet-felting night at my house:
Nate (glancing up from TV): Are you having fun?
Me (with wild eyes, using pruney fingers to rub a sudsy, hair-covered bangle on a bamboo mat): NO!
Are there any expert felters out there? I used Resurrection Fern's felted egg tutorial, with some adaptations to suit the bangle shape. Do I simply need to spend more time fulling (these were each fulled for about a half hour)? Is there some other secret that I'm missing?
14 comments:
I think your bangles look nice, but it really doesn't sound like fun. My blog friend Mary Ellen seems to know all sorts of stuff about roving and felting and such - her blog is yourstilniagarafalls.typepad.com
I've felted a bunch of knitted beer cozies and they didn't take that long. Maybe knit a thick bangle and then try felting that?
I'd definitely try your library for some felting books. I work in one and we keep getting more and more, on everything from jewelry, knitted felt, dolls and household items. My favorite so far is Felted Jewelry by Candie Cooper. There's a tutorial for a felted bangle, as well as some pretty basic wet and dry felting techniques. I've tried both and I'm hooked.
If you decide to try again, good luck!
There may be some youtube videos demonstrating it. Your description made me laugh out loud. :) I always think I want to try it too, but I'm not sure I'd have the patience.
Ugh. But funny! and I rather like the look of the brown one.
I also like the idea of knitting a bangle cover, and then throwing the whole shebang into the washing machine. Not that I've ever felted... I can barely get through the finishing details for a regular knitted item, let alone go that extra step. You should have seen my attempts at blocking.
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
Barbara, I will definitely check out your friend's site!
Anne, that's good to know - I think I might be doing something wrong. I just need to figure out what it is!
Michele, I'll take a look at the library. I actually check out tons of craft books, but sometimes I get an idea in my head and want to do it *right now!* I'll try the Felted Jewelry book; thanks for the recommendation!
Oh, youtube is a good idea, Lisa! I'll see what I can find and let you know.
Haha, Larkin, I'm not sure if you'd be so fond of the dark brown one in real life...it sort of looks like something the cat threw up. The picture is very kind to it. Finishing is definitely the worst part of knitting - although I sort of like the satisfaction of blocking, especially with lace knitting. Weaving in ends is horrible, though!
I must say, Alli, in the kindest way possible that the dark brown one looks like a giant human hairball that I'd find stuck on the bristles of my Dyson vacuum. I mean that in the very kindest of failed-craft-project comments.
I've had many a craft project failure so I know how you feel. I'll get so inspired that I don't think how to do it and sometimes it don't turn out all that great.
I did laugh a great deal reading your retelling of the experience. Definitely made me feel a teeeeeensy bit better about having to finish a rough draft by Thursday, reading two chapters and doing three essays by Saturday. Who invented Midterms? And why am I always assigned Essay Hell the week of my choir concert? I can never do ANYTHING after a concert as I'm so wiped out that I have to finish it BEFORE the concert (aka Saturday). Oh, the joys I put myself through.
Whoever invented this phenomena known as Midterms should have been shot dead before it was initiated. I hate Midterms essays!
Haha, don't worry Kate; I agree with your impression of the bangle (also, I'm extremely jealous of your Dyson!).
Yikes, good luck with all the schoolwork. You're kind of making me feel bad about how much of the Iliad I've assigned my students to read this week!
We really had no choice but to get a Dyson, Alli! We killed a Bissel, a DirtDevil and a Hoover in less than two years! Zena likes rolling all over the floor and because she's smooth and short-haired, she sheds. The other machines' suction just died from the amount of doggy fur after about three uses. Our Dyson was $300 or somewhere around there. It takes about thirty seconds to warm up and then that Dyson picks up more stuff than I can imagine. It pays itself off quickly.
Reading isn't so bad. I can handle that. I'm nearly done with my Physical Geography reading. It's the essays. They're all on different topics (page-to-screen for Children's Lit, psychoanalytic on Brothers' Grimm's Briar Rose for Gender & Sexuality, Reflection for Social Psychology).
My favorite (and the only real part I remember from high school) part of the Iliad is when Achilles drags the dead Trojan hero Hector by the feet to rub it in all the Trojan citizens' faces that he has had his (ever so lovely) revenge for Petroklos' death. The scene always plays out in a Looney Tunes cartoon fashion in my head. Achilles needed a few anger management courses.
how about needle felting them?That should take care of the flufflyness!
Oh, needle felting is a brilliant idea, Fi! I have felting needles, so I'll try it out and let you know how it goes.
Kate, we'll be discussing that section on Friday! I hope my students enjoy it - it definitely raises interesting points about Achilles' character.
(PS - at least your course load sounds really interesting, even if it's really intense!)
Alli, I picked out my classes because they were interesting; so, even when I have essays to write, at least they're on something interesting and not "Why learning physics is crucial" or "explain, in your own words, the phenomena of mass hysteria in a twenty page essay" types of essays. Boring and no fun.
I always pick 12 credits of academic classes (that's as much as I can feasibly handle) and I take choir for my "fun" course. It's a stress outlet. I just hate performing (which I do Sunday, ick). I'll be a zombie on Monday; hence, trying to finish all essays and homework by Saturday. I can't think in Zombie Mode.
What do you teach? Somehow the thought of your being a teacher is so weird. I tend to think of you more as the person digging and studying in Pompeii but not teaching.
The bangles are almost there. Felting is harder work than most people think. I made a purse this summer and I thought my arms would fall off.
Here's how to take care of the fuzziness. Wet the bracelets down again and add a bit of liquid soap. Dr Bronner's is good soap for this. Then turn a plastic grocery sack inside out and scrunch it up. (The ink can transfer if you don't.) Dampen it too, and use the scrunched up ball of plastic to "polish" the felt. If needed,put a little soap on the bag too. This will help mat down the fuzzies. Rinse the bangles when you are finished.
Also needle felting on top once everything is dry could be really cool.
Kate, I've been teaching classical (Greek and Roman) literature courses for the past two years, but I've also taught Latin in the past. It's a big part of what I do when I'm not in the field, and I really enjoy it. Picking out the classes that interest you most is definitely a good plan!
Francie, thanks for the tip! I'll definitely try it out.
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