Nuno Felting

What a great day, my mind is still spinning. Our good friend and very accomplished fiber artist, Nancy Bruce showed a group of us how to Nuno felt. I've admired the technique for years so was thrilled to have this opportunity. Nuno felting uses small amounts of rovings which are felted into a sheer piece of fabric. The rovings and fabric become one. Pieces of thread, fiber curls etc. can be "caught" in between the rovings for more interest. This is one of Nancy's pieces - Wow!
We started on the deck outside. It was raining and windy so we moved inside very quickly. Our first step was to lay very sheer silk -  3.5mm silk gauze, on top of a bubble wrap type material. This was an old pool cover cut into strips.

Next we laid the rovings. Nancy dyed them in many beautiful colors. This part was great fun and very creative. Martine was wanting her rovings to hang off the edge. Wait til you see how interesting this turns out.

Mary is working with wonderful colors on a navy background.

After the rovings are in place, a polyester curtain like material is laid over the top. This holds the rovings in place and will not "felt" with the rovings, leaving them to felt with the silk gauze.

Next comes the water;  this little orange contraption is similar to the sprinklers our grandmothers used when ironing clothes. It brought me back in time. The entire surface is rubbed and smoothed out.

Making sure there are no air bubbles.

Then comes the rolling, and rolling, and more rolling. This is what felts the rovings to themselves and the silk gauze.

Using a bubble wrap mitt, the next step is to gently rub the scarf with hot water and soap.

The end results - I love the felted points.

Patsys' wonderful scarf - great colors!

The Nuno felters - Martine, Judy (with her scarf), Nancy, Patsy and Mary in front. What a great day-thank you Nancy, you are the best!