BLACK SHETLAND BAG
Black Shetland outside, white Shetland inside, design drawn on with white Shetland |
I decided to make a seamless tote with 2 integral pockets:
Laying fibre for the pockets |
Placing pocket resists |
1st layer of fibre going down.. white Shetland. Having a layer of white inside will lighten it up and make it easier to see inside |
1st layer of black Shetland going down |
Starting on side 2. I use a total of 6 fibre layers on each side |
I remembered my lesson from the sample and was very careful not to let it stretch! I wet around the edges first and worked my way in.. then rubbed the edges first and worked my way in. It certainly worked.. it stayed snug to the resist and the final shrinkage was nice and even.
My inspiration for this bag was a pin I spotted on Pinterest, showing these gorgeous petroglyphs! As soon as I saw them I fell in love and knew they would find their way into my work soon :)
Native American petroglyphs at Lake Ozette |
Side 1 - The Watchers |
Side 2 - The Whales |
Part way through felting |
Removing the resist |
Removing pocket resists |
I've cut the top into a neater, more symmetrical shape |
Using tailors chalk to draw round a template of the carrying hole |
Easiest way I've found for getting the handles neat |
And to line up I use the 1st hole as template for the 2nd hole, drawing onto the inside of the bag for the 2nd. |
I 'heal' all the edges as I go..
I carried on working the felt.. fulling it 'till it had shrunk as much as it would go. Then rinsed, spun, and stuffed it with tea towels to round the bottom out as it dried.
I like to reinforce the handle area of my totes.. especially the big ones. I know I'd be tempted to fill it (even overload it :) and sometimes this can cause distortion at the top of the bag.
I had this gorgeous woven Navajo wool/cotton fabric which was just right |
Being quite loosely woven I used iron on interfacing to stabilise the fabric (so the edges didn't fray) before sewing a hem around it to match the shape of the top of the bag ... then by hand blanket stitched it into place with teal silk thread.
Watchers |
Whales |
I'm really happy with this bag! The Shetland has made a very cosy, tactile felt with loads of character. It shrunk evenly and well. The finished felt is nice and tight, with the design incorporating really nicely; it felted in easily without trying to distort. I will definitely be using Shetland more often in the future!
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For comparison to sampling data
Weight of the finished bag is 360grams
Finished size = 54cm x 36cm at longest and widest point
Resist size was 71cm x 48cm
Shrinkage is 24%/25%
I'm not surprised that the shrinkage is less than 30% (as achieved in the sample). The sample used 3 fibre layers and the bag was 6 layers each side.. more fibre = less shrinkage.
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7 comments:
Dear Deborah
I love the bag! I have some Shetland wool which I have not used, so these posts have been very useful - thank you. I haven't done any felting for ages - something I need to put right.
Best wishes and happy felting!
Ellie
Thanks Ellie :) Glad you are finding it interesting.. Yes, crack that Shetland out and get some felting fun :)
xx
Love this bag, Deborah! The way you reinforce your tote handles is so stylish and elegant!
Thanks Heather :)
xx
I like the way you re-inforced the handle area. It's pretty as well as practical - the fabric pattern is very complementary.
Pinterest is a good inspiration tool - those petroglyphs suit the style and colour of the bag.
Thank you so much for the sharing and the reference of weight, size.... and the reinforce of the handle is great.
Thank you Lyn & Terrie :)
xoxo
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