Text: Lucia Janulíková
Felting
Dry felting is mechanical joining of fibres together, most commonly of sheep’s wool. More and more people are falling under the spell of wool these days, and that’s a good thing, because it’s bringing back into our homes an ancient material that has been with mankind for over six thousand years.
Let’s talk about what mechanical fibre joining actually is. You take sheep’s wool, a felting needle, a pad and you begin. You put the wool on top of each other layer and you stab it with the needle. You create the shape you need. Then you just finish the colour details. For example, you can create eyes, hair, but you can also combine different shapes. You can even “patch” a leaky sock.
How did I get into felting? It was one giant accident. One day I was thinking how to entertain my son, so we went to Kotul’s wood barn in Havířov, where there was a craft day.
I tried felting there and immediately found a liking for it. This purely mechanical activity calms me down and I “needle out” all the accumulated stress and anger.
Unless I have an exact picture of what I want to create, the wool usually takes on a life of its own under my hands. For example, I start with the idea of creating a kitty, and it turns out to be a little creature that everyone sees as a different animal in.
I buy coloured wool for felting according to my mood at the moment. From blacks and earthy colours to pastel bright shades. I always find an idea in my head of what to create with each colour. I have “felted” fairies in pots by the flowers around my apartment, I have created a gift – a cat that looks like a poly-animal. I am also working on board game figures that will represent characters from Harry Potter. I’m particularly excited about those.
There are no limits to the imagination when it comes to felting. Each creation is its own original itself. Thoughts and ideas made of wool. It’s fun for everyone who likes to create.
