Super Fine Felted Scarf

Experimenting once again.  This time with super fine merino and mohair to create a cobweb effect.  This scarf is just divine to touch and incredibly light.  I can see myself making lots more.

A large piece of bubble wrap was spread across a long moulded table...bubbles facing up... to serve as the fulling surface as I worked.  I then placed a thin plastic sheet.....(the kind used by painters as a drop sheet)...on top with the overhang toward me.  The overhang would be folded up over the top when I'm ready to felt and also serve to stop excess water dripping down my jeans.......which is really uncomfortable in cold weather.

To start the scarf.... I split the tops length wise until I could not split any further without losing it's shape and placed the strips next to each other along the full length of the table.  The whole length of the table is needed as the very fine merino shrinks quite a bit.

Cob web strands of natural Mohair were sprinkled across the joins. When felted in these would hold the scarf together.  Rose coloured tops were split length wise and used to create and simple pattern at each end of the the scarf.  The pattern was highlighted with curls of rose and white Mohair.

After wetting down,  the whole area was covered with the overhanging plastic and then sanded directly onto the plastic.  The sander was put straight down onto the surface of the plastic, then lifted and then put down....again and again over the whole area.

Sander and ear muffs

In the finished scarf above one can see the cob web strands of Mohair between the lengths of Merino.  This is my first try and it will be a challenge to see how fine I can make a scarf using this process.  This is an original art piece and process, so if you do give it ago, please be kind and acknowledge the source.

I have just  bought Christine White's book Uniquely Felt.  It shows exquisite cob web scarves made from the curly fibres of long wool breeds.  I bought some lovely silky Romney (below) at the Jondaryan Woolshed Felters retreat last March and can't wait to try it out.  I also have a some extra long coloured wool from a Romney Lincoln cross (above).  Neither have been washed so I will use them as they are letting the felting process do the washing for me.

Romney with long curly staples

The Romney Lincoln cross wool is several years old so I will need to rejuvenate it first.  I'll do this by placing the fleece on an old sheet in full sun. Cover it with another sheet and sprinkle with water.  I'll  re wet the sheet now and then to keep the gentle steaming process going.  Eventually the fleece will be fluffy and easy to separate ready for felting.