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Your Guide
International Feltmakers Association
Hello my name is Louise. I will be your mentor for this online workshop. My first taste of feltmaking was over 10 years ago with Sheila Smith, our last IFA President. I was hooked at my very first class and have spent most of my spare time since trying to learn more and more exciting techniques. I hope you enjoy your exploration as much as I did and continue to do.
Questions? Comments? Email me!
About this course
You are about to embark on this online course primarily to learn techniques in felt making with the main aim being to use non felting fibres and fabrics to add interesting surfaces to your feltmaking.
We will use a variety of plant and animal fibres in a few different ways as well as a few loose weave fabrics to practice this. When we have mastered enhancing the surface we will then go through how to create interesting edges for you to use on your future projects, all the time ensuring we make good quality felt.
This course has been developed by the International Feltmakers Association to help to create an understanding of the further processes of enhancing our making of wet felt.
Aims:
To develop a further understanding of wool and felt in order to encourage high standards and success in feltmaking.
To work with a range of fibres and fabrics and how they can be used to create interest on the surface.
To explore wet feltmaking techniques to acquire a knowledge of using additional fibres, and manipulating the edge shape as a design choice in your feltmaking.
To create a series of swatches to use as a reference in your future project planning.
This is one of the foundation blocks on which all future feltmaking experiments or projects will be based and where you will learn about the feltmaking processes from the perspective of adding fibres to the surface and finishing your projects with a professional looking edge.
If you require fibres for this course they are available from the IFA website shop. Ensure you choose the correct pack for Part Three.
Getting started
It is important you allow yourself time and space to work your way through this course but be realistic with your other commitments. It can be useful to set out your workspace in advance whether it is your craft room, your studio, your dining table or your kitchen worktop. Have a project box or basket that you can use to gather your ‘ingredients’ for your pieces of work so that you can keep your work accessible for when it is convenient to pick it up again then you can be immediately productive.
We suggest you keep a simple notebook to help you keep your notes and samples together. This makes it easier to compare and self-assess your samples and to record your observations and thoughts. You may also wish to consider your outcomes and what you may do differently next time. This will be useful if you wish to progress further.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions on the online group forum, this is what it is intended for and no question is a silly question.
If you complete this Discovering Feltmaking course you can then build on your skills and enjoy the felt making process through further practice.
You may want to look out for our next Discovering Feltmaking course Part Four which will be available later in the year which will be focussing on three-dimensional felting. Also you may want to look at Certificate in Feltmaking Techniques Course (CiFT) on the IFA website.
FInally the Education Team are working really hard to make these courses worthwhile. At the end of the course you will receive a Mailchimp newsletter with a survey attached. Please do the survey if you are able. If you have any comments that are not covered on the survey please email us at dfcoordinator@feltmakers.com so we can continue to provide you with quality courses and improve existing ones where required.
Good luck!
