After I did the research about the history of the wool felt I found that the one I'm going to make is called Needle Felting which is one of the method to produce felt. In addition to Needle Felting, there are also other methods like wet felting and carroting.
Needle felting is the art of sculpting wool with
special, barbed needles. Stabbing the wool over and over again meshes
the wool fibers together, creating a firm, textile object. Needle Felting is always used by artist to create sculpture looking works and this is also why I would like to chose it as my final project.
"The Origin of Needle Felting: Felt is typically very
strong and industrial, needle felted- felt is used in a variety of ways.
From the 1950′s, needle felting (needle punch) was originally used to
make felt for industrial purposes, for use with musical instruments and as building materials.
Industrial felt is made with large plates filled with special barbed
felting needles that are mechanically moved up and down to felt wool and
other materials together such as polyester or nylon. Industrial felt is
used as a damper; it’s placed between car parts to damp the vibrations between panels and to prevent dirt from entering some joints."(Lee)
Basically, the tools used for Needle Felting is wool, needles, and a sponge to put below the wool as a base. People can also choose from different colors, size or shape to bring into play of what they would like to make. :)
Work Cited
Lee, Laura, "Needle Felting 101: History, Wool, Tools." Laura's Blog. Laura Lee, May 31, 2012. http://www.lauraleeburch.com/2012/05/needle-felting-101-history-wool-tools/. Jan 5, 2009.
This sounds like a really fun project Hebe! What objects or characters are you planning to create? You might consider the size of the object as well. Perhaps, you can try small to large objects?
ReplyDeleteYou've also talked a lot about the production process but I'd like to know more about the cultures and traditions surrounding needle felting or felt in general. For example, was felting symbolic in any way? Did its symbolic meaning depend on its given culture?
I've also found a website with a tutorial and steps to felting if you need. Has a lot of information for sure: http://www.thesilverpenny.com/freeprojectneedlefelting.html
Thanks!