Textile Artist: The Art of Felting & Silk Ribbon Embroidery

Van Niekerk Di

Description

THE ART OF FELTING & silk ribbon embroidery Di van Niekerk withToody Cassidy SEARCH PRESS Di van Niekerkis a professional fibre arts teacher and designer and has her own range of silk and organza ribbon and printed panels for embroidery that are exported world-wide. Her best-selling books have been translated into many languages. Her mission is to teach silk ribbon embroidery, integrating it with other crafts such as card making, jewellery making, knitting, crazy quilting, fibre art and dress design to show just how easy, enjoyable and rewarding this hobby is. This is her thirteenth book. One of the founder members of the Cape Embroiderers’ Guild,Toody Cassidyis an avid felter and creative embroiderer who loves to share her SDVVLRQ IRU IDEULF ILEUH DQG WKUHDG patterns, colours and design with others. She has hand-dyed and VROG GLIIHUHQW W\SHV RI WKUHDGV DQG ILEUHV LQFOXGLQJ FRWWRQ VLON DQG ZRRO and mastered the art of silk paper making. Toody and Di have worked WRJHWKHU RYHU PRUH WKDQ \HDUV A passion to work with natural fibres and fabrics ledRazaan Jakoet, founder of Chic Fusion (www.chicfusion.co.za), to explore feltmaking techniques. By training and employing women from disadvantaged communities at her studio in Woodstock, Cape Town, she helps alleviate unemployment. She designs the products in the Chic Fusion range before handing over the felting to these women.

Informations

• Publié par: Search Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781800932432
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 244 Mo

Extrait

THE ART OF FELTING & sikribbon embroidery

Di van Niekerk withToody Cassidy

SEARCH PRESS

Di van Niekerkis a professional fibre arts teacher and designer and has her own range of silk and organza ribbon and printed panels for embroidery that are exported world-wide. Her best-selling books have been translated into many languages. Her mission is to teach silk ribbon embroidery, integrating it with other crafts such as card making, jewellery making, knitting, crazy quilting, fibre art and dress design to show just how easy, enjoyable and rewarding this hobby is. This is her thirteenth book.

One of the founder members of the Cape Embroiderers’ Guild,Toody Cassidyis an avid felter and creative embroiderer who loves to share her passion for fabric, fibre and thread, patterns, colours and design with others. She has hand-dyed and sold different types of threads and fibres, including cotton, silk and wool, and mastered the art of silk paper making. Toody and Di have worked together over more than 15 years.

A passion to work with natural fibres and fabrics ledRazaan Jakoet, founder of Chic Fusion (www.chicfusion.co.za), to explore feltmaking techniques. By training and employing women from disadvantaged communities at her studio in Woodstock, Cape Town, she helps alleviate unemployment. She designs the products in the Chic Fusion range before handing over the felting to these women.

Internationay renowned ribbon artist, Di van Niekerk, joins orces with eter Toody Cassidy, incorporating designs o Razaan Jakoet o Chic Fusion, to bring the textie and

embroidery word a unique combination o mediums with abuous resuts. They have produced a book that wi deight and inspire.

THE ART OF FELTING & sik ribbon embroidery

THE ART OF FELTING & sik ribbon embroidery

Di van Niekerk withToody Cassidy

SEARCH PRESS

Stitch gaery

Tabet/hot-water botte cover: Miniature roses on felted wool

42 42 44 44 45 45 45 46 46 48 48 48 49 50 51 51 52

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129

Braceet: Marguerite daisies

Acknowedgements Thank you to Caro Car or her invauabe hep with the embroidery; Razaan Jakoet o Chic Fusion whose et designs were used or the ruled scar, sma throw and tabet/hot-water botte cover; Verde, origina artist o the pattern or the Rose hod-a, Rose samper and Rose handbag: © Di van Niekerk’s Crats Unimited and Verde; Janis Berard and Barbara L’Ange who taught Toody Cassidy the magic o nuno eting; Design o the bird on the nuno-et purse © Ji Kirstein, Ormiston, QLD, Austraia.

Beaded scar: Vintage roses on felted wool

Hod-a/hussi: English rose on felted wool and silk

Contents

Sik ribbon embroidery

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Wisia Metz Liez Maree Gynne Newands, Susan Redeinghuys Wendy Brittne Ivan Naudé; Di van Niekerk

Projects

Cutch bag: Wild roses on wool and silk

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106

Wa art: Fuchsias on felted wool and silk

ISBN 978-1-78221-442-7 E-ISBN: 978-0093-243-2

Iustrations Photographers

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8

10 12 16

17 23 25 28 33 36

Getting started and handy hints Patterns on felted backgrounds About backing fabric Embroidery hoops or frames About the ribbons Threading the ribbon Making a stitch Working with silk ribbon About ribbon stitch Working with two needles About making holes in your felt More about needles Threads and fibres Other tools and requirements Where do I start? Handy ruler (cm/in.) Techniques

Copyright © Metz Press 2017 Embroidery text © Di van Niekerk Feting text © Toody Cassidy Photographs and iustrations © Metz Press & Di van Niekerk 2017

124

Originay pubished in 2017 by Metz Press Wegemoed 7530, South Arica

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A rights reserved. No part o this pubication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieva system or transmitted in any orm or by any means, eectronic, mechanica, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission o the pubishers.

Every efort has been made by the author and the pubisher to ensure that the inormation and instructions in this pubication are correct. The resuts cannot be guaranteed and no warranties are given. No iabiity can be accepted or any injury, oss or damage sufered.

Buyers o the book are aowed to reproduce the designs or persona use without permission rom the pubisher or authors. Copying or any commercia purposes whatsoever is not aowed under any circumstances.

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Introduction

Feting un

Wet felting What you need Felted backgrounds Rectangular wool background with silk embellishments Silk paper circle Nuno felting background Ruffled scarf Small throw/blanket Tablet/hot-water bottle cover

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This book is dedicated to aLL fibre enthusiasts, wherever you are in the worLd!

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First pubished in Great Britain in 2017 by Search Press Limited, Wewood, North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wes, Kent TN2 3DR

Purse: A sparrow on nuno felt

Sma throw/banket: Countryside flowers and a sunbird

Braceet: Medallion rose

134

139

96

Wa art/hat-box cover: Nasturtium circle on silk paper

83

Patterns

154

Pubisher Design and ayout Prooreader

142

Samper: English rose on felted wool and silk

Spectace case: Pansies on nuno felt

Neede case: Wild poppies

For detais o suppiers, pease visit the Search Press websitewww.searchpress.com

Handbag: Roses on felted wool and silk

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Introduction

When I first thought about the idea of embroidering onto hand-felted backgrounds, I knew it would work, simply because the textures complemented one another so well. Toody Cassidy and I got together to discuss different felted backrgounds and later met with Razaan Jakoet of Chic Fusion in Woodstock to add further design possibilities. Everyone agreed that the natural wool and silk made a perfect mix and so it all started. I have so enjoyed designing and writing this book and had great fun creating the various embroidery projects on their luscious felted backgrounds. This is my thirteenth book and perhaps the most enjoyable one so far. To complete the embroidery, I worked with another talented friend, Carol Carl, and together we made magic, I think!

We hope you will like the unique combination of mediums that we bring to the textile and embroidery world. It is our wish that you will enjoy our idea of teaching embroiderers how to make felted backgrounds and of showing felters how to embellish their own creations with silk and organza ribbon.

Experience the thrill of combining these popular, decorative art forms. They are perfect for those who enjoy working with colour and texture. If you can follow step-by-step instructions you will be able to do the hand-felted backgrounds. For the embroidery, simple stitches were used throughout (ideal for the beginner). To boot, the layers of texture in these lovely designs make them fun to make, with spectacular results.

Enjoy taking time out to create your very own masterpieces!

Love

“Creativity can be described as etting go o certainties.” Gail Sheehy

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8

Feting un

The felted pieces in this book were created for the specific purpose of using them as backgrounds for silk ribbon embroidery – a combination we find quite exquisite. So while the information is not exhaustive on the subject of felting, there is enough to enable readers to create similar backgrounds.

Wool becomes felt when it is subjected to heat, moisture and pressure. Unlike weaving or knitting, felt is in itself the fabric. There is no yarn, no weft and no warp per se. Felt is an unwoven fabric. It is primarily made from sheep’s wool by matting, condensing and rubbing. All that is needed to make a piece of felt is the fleece itself, water (preferably hot), soap and agitation. When the wool fibres are wet, the microscopic hooks or scales on the surface of the wool open and when the tufted fibres are heated, pressed and rubbed, cooled and dried, the hooks lock, bind together and intertwine to make felt, which is documented as the oldest textile known to man.

There are different ways to make felt and there are different kinds of felt end products. Felt may vary in width, length, colour or thickness and texture, depending on its intended application and the manner in which the fibres are fulled. Other fabrics and fibres can also be used in the felting process to create exciting and different effects. Felters refer to two specific felt-making methods: traditionalwet felting(which includes nuno felting) and the more recently developedneedle felting, also known as dry felting.

The felted backgrounds in this book have been made using the traditional wet-felting method, while the little birds and daisy bracelet were made with the needle-felting method.

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Wet feLting

Wet felting can be considered a form of physical exercise! You flex your wet hands and fingers and you stretch your back, arm and leg muscles! It can be both gentle (the initial rubbing stage) and rather vigorous (the final shocking or fulling stage).

The key aspects to felting are adequate preparation, choosing the right tools and equipment, and executing the right procedure. For an exciting end result you simply need to follow the basic steps of felt making, which are:

• Laying down a base • Applying hot water and soap • Rubbing/rolling/agitating the fibres until they felt together • Shocking or fulling the felt • Rinsing • Drying

This is a diagrammatic representation of the whole process:

• Purchase wool and silk fibres • Gather basic equipment

• Read instructions carefully • Compare similar notes on Internet • Consult other felting texts • Talk to other felting enthusiasts

PREPARATION

INSTRUCTIONS

BASIC EQUIPMENT

END RESULT

• Scale • Plastic sheeting • Old towels • Net curtaining • Bubble wrap • Spray bottle • Liquid soap • Dog combing/grooming glove

• Allow sufficient drying time • Dry flat • Add interesting embellishments • Enjoy and start again

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12

What you need

Woo and sik ibres

The most ideal raw product to use for felting, particularly for the projects in this book, is commercially produced, washed and carded wool from Merino sheep. It felts beautifully, is easy to use and is readily available. It is referred to as wool batts, wool roving, wool tops or woolly fibre. Merino wool is soft and gives a lovely smooth finished surface. It is available undyed or dyed in a multitude of colours, including space-dyed and variegated. The quality of the wool is indicated by the micron value, a measurement of the diameter of the wool fibre. Most Merino wool ranges from 20–22 micron, with super-fine wool at 18–19 micron.

Other fibres, preferably natural fibres such as silk and lace, can be added to (matted or felted into) the wool. There are various types of gorgeous silk fibres, to name a few:

•Tussah silk. This is produced from the cocoons of Tussah moths, collected in the wild. In its natural state it is ivory coloured, but it is dyed in all the colours of the rainbow.

•Silk hankies. Widely used by textile artists and for silk papermaking (see p. 23), these consist of lightweight fibre with a frilly edge, easy to pull apart to embellish your felting.

•Mawata caps. Similar to silk hankies, these are produced from a cocoon pulled out over a frame in a cap shape and often used for silk papermaking which we will show you on p. 23.

•Mulberry silk. This is produced from the cocoons of worms that eat mulberry leaves, a pure white silk that dyes into crisp, clean colours.

•Silk throwsters waste. These bundles of fibres of varying lengths are also a by-product of cocoon reeling and silk winding.

•Silk carrier rodsare tubes of silk that form on guide rods as a by-product of silk-fibre production. They add exciting texture to felting and embroidery. See the sunbird on p. 151.

•Silk noil. Short rather than continuous fibres, noil is fibre leftovers from spinning silk or combing wool, effectively used as embellishment in textile art.

These are obtainable from specialist silk fibre suppliers. The Internet is a good source for ferreting out information pertaining to these fibres, their availability and costs.

Dyeing your own wool and silk for any felted pieces you wish to make is very satisfying. You can achieve any number of colours your heart desires. This is beyond the scope of this book, but details and instructions for doing this can be found in books on the subject and on the Internet.

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