I Felt It

It has been a nightmare of a week. My DH had a medical emergency Monday and we've had two trips to the ER, trips to doctors. He is going to be ok in the end, but right now he requires a lot of care. It has taken all I can do to take care of his needs.

I'm trying to get supplies together for the Felted Wool jacket workshop next month. The way my life shakes out, I don't wait until the last minute because if I do, surely something comes along that takes my time.


These are my fabrics, all felted, ironed and ready.


The light gray wool I got off the grab table at a sewing meeting. There was 3 yards. To felt it, I washed it in hot water/cold rinse 4 times. Then, I threw it in the dryer. It felted beautifully. The red and the black are smaller pieces needed for embellishment. They are blazers I bought at Salvation Army Thrift Store for $4 each. I ripped the blazers apart and felted them. After they were dry, I steam-ironed them. The fabric is felted properly if you can cut into it and it doesn't ravel.

The teacher, Barbara Skimin, likes Sulky 12 wt. cotton thread to do the decorative stitching. I ordered black, dark gray, red, red variegated, black variegated from http://www.speedstitch.com/. I won't use all of them, but I have enough to make a choice when the time comes.

Barbara Skimin is well know in Michigan. She wrote a book for Brother sewing machine company. She's been featured in Threads magazine. I took a photo of her "Felted Wool Jacket with Seamless Piecing Techniques" for reference. Here it is:

Note: This is the work of Barbara Skimin, not me. I didn't get a chance to examine this closely. But, I think what she's doing is cutting pieces of felted wool, butting them together, and doing a decorative stitch where they butt together. Then taking the pieced embellishment and laying it on the jacket and stitching down with a decorative stitch.

I may be wrong about the procedure, but that is what it looks like to me.

There's a couple of things I have to pick up at the local Jo when I'm out that way. Also, I am taking my cheap, little Brother machine with me to class, instead of my heavy Bernina(s).

Make some beautiful things this weekend!