Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Ah - now I much prefer wet felting, especially 3D seamless pots and bags.

Elaine - do you knit, then felt or felt around a form?

I lay up over one side of a flat foamsheet template and get it to the pre-felt stage leaving, a sort of fringe round the edge; turn the whole lot over; pull in the fringe over the template and repeat the process taking the "fringe" round to the other side.

Then rub/scrub a few more times; decide where I want to cut an aperture; pull out the template and carry on rubbing until I have a good firm felt.

(http://www.briallen.co.uk/Shop/img/felt/hidpots.jpg)

(http://www.briallen.co.uk/Shop/img/felt/urchins.jpg)

(http://www.briallen.co.uk/Shop/img/felt/dishA1.jpg)

There's some needle felting on this bag - the discs and the fastening button, then the handle is needle felted into the bag.

http://blogbriallen.blogspot.com/search/label/felt%20pod (http://blogbriallen.blogspot.com/search/label/felt%20pod)

Wow, these are wonderful - very nice.  I love the colors you choose and the layering. very, very nice. I'll have to post some pictures when I get back from dinner at the in-laws. It's very satisfying, isn't it, to see it transform before your eyes? I think that's what I like about soap. That, and it turns into something practical.

Have you seen these felted soaps - I can't figure out how she does them? with the needle at an angle?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/32618237/happy-owl-whimsical-woolies-felted-soap

She writes

Wonder if she does the whole soap like that rather than wrapping the wool round and wet-felting.

I tried it once with a "square" of roving and then needle felting a shape into the center of the square before wrapping the rest around the soap to wet felt (did I explain that well enough?) anyway, it worked well for a large design but not as well as I hoped. I wonder if she literally means it is pushed into the soap - maybe she felts the white onto handmade soap that hasn't cured very long? I could see being able to get the needle straight in then for the details... hmmm, I'm torn between needing to figure it out and enjoying the magic!

I have wool, needle and bar of HP on the go ATM - will take a pic at the halfway stage (may be late tomorrow 'cos we have a Tractor Run).

I want to know how to do this please HBOP? I know the wrapping way,but the rest is a mystery to me.I need instructions as though you were speaking to a very young child  :mwaha:  :buttrf:

@Elaine - I've just looked a little closer at her site and I think she does needle felt directly into the soap (you can see the needle marks on the whole bar) and she does use handmade soap. I think I'll give it a go tonight, too.

Samantha - happy to teach you when we figure it out! I've only done the wrapping myself, but that was before I started making my own soap and I really think there's no way to needle directly into a commercial bar. I'm off to see if I can find my supplies - will report back!  :)

Okay, I'm back. Here ya go:
The first few pictures are the roving on the brush - I started on the brush ecause it seemed easier - it was, next time I think I'll do most of it on the brush and finish by securing it onto the soap. The new soap made all of the difference - the needle sunk right in.

Okay, my pictures are awful but you'll get the idea. I wrapped the roving around and kept felting with the needle - I really wanted to wet felt at this point as the soap was coming through the wool but I kept on just to see for this time. I'm glad I did, I think it was actually faster.

I added some green to make a really lame landscape - I didn't really have a plan when I started so don't laugh!

Total time - 30 minutes (and half a margarita if you're paying attention to the photos). Here are some pics of my other stuff. They're way better in person - whimsical and they make me giggle. Thank you, Elaine! for getting me inspired again. When I was felting more I was so interested to know how she did that soap and now I get it - it's the soap!. I'm thinking about simple leaves, pumpkins, holly, etc. for holiday guest soaps... Thanks!!!

Just one more post! The peas I made for the baby's room  :)

WOW.  :buttrf: :buttrf:

These are all so nice and really well done. The harvest ones - they might be whimsical but they are very nice and really well made. I love the 3 peas in their pod, but really, they are all so nice.

There really is a lot of talented people on this forum, and not just in relation to BB things.

Wow wow wow indeed  :buttrf:

Wow that's all fab!!! Really love the peas, they're so cute!!!

I have no idea what you're even talking about but I love em!

Thanks, everyone,  :buttrf: I had forgotten how fun these were to do. I think the peas are my favorite, too. If anyone is interested I can look for some links with general instructions, I seem to recall finding a good needle felt one.

Wow that's really clever - love all of them

 :buttrf:

Wow indeed!  :-* How inspiring. I particularly love the oval shaped "abstract" ones that look like giant hollow pebbles - real work of art.

Can I have the link please HBOP  :buttrf:

I'll have to look for it but will post as soon as I can.

Thanks,looking forward to it  :buttrf:

This isn't the one I was thinking of but should get you started - I just googled "needle felting tutorial" and this one looked pretty good. Didn't want to leave you hangin' - I know how it is when you're ready to learn something new. I'll keep looking, too.

http://theknitter.nicolehindes.com/2006/12/02/needle-felting-a-tutorial/

Bit later than I intended - first pic is of a part felted soap. - from the GF mould

I needle-felted an end and part of the base before placing the soap in position then I worked be needle-felting on to the edges until I'd covered the soap and sealed the opening.

Then I did a brief session of wet felting, finishing up with alternate boiling and cold rinses to really firm up and full the felt. This gave me a thick covering without losing so much of the soap as in a completely wet-felting process.

The soap is Nos Da (Welsh for "Goodnight") with rose and lavender EOs - so I needle-felted on a sprig of each - a bit crude 'cos I was wrking out how to do it as I went along.

The lilac/lavender coour of the base has come out rather more blue in the pics.

Elaine - this is beautiful! Really lovely work. If you enjoy this, you should really add these to your shop. I can see them selling on their own or as a lovely accent in a gift basket, no? Thank you for trying this and sharing your experience.  :buttrf:

Thanks HBOP  ;D

ElaineJ that looks great. Love the purple colours.

Thanks.

I'll have to make a few more - to see what the time taken is when "proficient" and whether it would be feasible for a selling price.

Elaine  - absolutly beautiful  wow

 :buttrf: :buttrf:

EJ, that is beautiful, the colours and the attention to detail are amazing, and the flower is just lovely

I know this is an old topic, but I just wanted to say how cool I think this is.  The felting I was shown to do for the soaps is nothing like what you've shown here.....

EJ did you ever decide if you could do them quickly enough to make it feasible to sell them?

I've not found many people prepared to pay he price for feltwork - whether on a soap or not Lindy, certainly not in this area.

Nor here Elaine.  I did some silk felting on soap a couple of years ago.  Got a lot of ooooing and aaaaing but very few sales.  For me it's one of those things that you do for yourself but without thinking of selling it because you're not going to get paid.   ::owl::