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Thursday 20 January 2011

Nuno technology not nanotechnology

Nuno felting at Morley last night.  This is an astonishing technique, where fibres of wool become trapped in a fabric base layer, causing that layer to pucker and move as the wool shrinks.

We first of all carded our own blends of dyed merino tops which was a strangely hypnotic activity.  This produces fine rolls of blended wool, rolags.  These are then placed on to the base fabric and felted in.  Hard work but great results.  We were first asked to make a sample piece, including a colour we don’t normally work with, so I chose a yellow backing.

Nuno felt 010Nuno felt 011 

This started off as about 12 inches by 10 inches, and has felted in to about 7inches by 5 inches.  Circles of rolag of graduated, blended blues, on yellow muslin backing.

Nuno felt 006Nuno felt 012 

For the second sample we had to cover the whole surface with rolag and then trap non-felting fibres in the felt.  The orange threads are silk cut tops dyed at a workshop with Myfanwy Hart several years ago, and the fine red threads ( barely seen)  are silk weft from a scrap left from my wedding dress.

1 comment:

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