Scarf Care
I have created all the scarves in my shop using a wet felting technique. They are therefore suitable for hand washing. After a cool gentle wash with a specific wool wash liquid (for example Ecover Delicate, Tesco wool wash) the scarf may be reshaped whilst damp and should be dried flat. It may be ironed on a wool setting. Below are a number of suggestions for wearing your scarf.
Making a nuno felted scarf
Where desirable, I first dye the silk or silk chiffon using an acid dye. I lay the fabric on bubble wrap and then pull out long lengths of merino wool fibres. These I lay in the design onto the fabric. This is then wetted with a soap and water solution, rolled up in the bubble wrap and rolled to and fro, one thousand times.
Once unrolled, I flip the scarf over and repeat the whole process on the reverse. After it's been rolled it's possible to see the wool fibres poking through the fabric. At this point I'll heat the wool and fabric up to begin the felting process. As the wool fibres tangle to become felt they force the fabric to shrink creating the lovely texture found on nuno felted scarves.
Brooch Care
Although flat packed for posting, the felt brooches retain a memory of their original shape and will bounce back. You can follow these few simple steps to encourage it to return to shape or to reshape it after storage.
Make a ring with your hand.
Push the centre of the brooch down into the ring.
Flatten and push the petals outwards. As you let go you'll see that your brooch has returned to shape.
You can do this as many times as you like until you're happy with the final shape.
Making a 1960s inspired flower brooch
The brooches are made from merino wool fibres which are first laid out in bubble wrap in three layers. Any decorative yarns or silks are laid on top and the whole thing is wetted with a soap and water solution.
After rubbing for a short time, the wool is rolled up in the bubble wrap and rolled to and fro, whilst occasionally turning the felt. I stop felting early on and dry the felt so that I can cut out the two flower shapes. One flower is larger than the other so that when they are then felted together the larger one creates an outline.
Once felted together to form one piece of felt I then embellish, by hand stitching with embroidery threads and beading the centre. The reverse of the brooch is finished with a locking brooch bar and name label, then it's ready to wear.