There are many different techniques for making felt, and I have been trying out several of them to see how different the finished result is. I have summarised the different processes below with images to show what can be achieved.

Standard wet felting:

Standard wet felting is based on building up layers of washed, usually carded, fleece and working the surface with hot soapy water until the fibres shrink and “felt” to form a fabric.

- Wallhangings can be made to match your decorating scheme and can be mounted on board or a hanging rod

- Bags can be as exciting as you want, in a range of colours and textures

- Seamless jackets – I have been working on different patterns and shapes for several years, and although this is a time-consuming process for such a big piece of work, it is well worth it

The ultimate Ladies Jacket! This is a seamless hand-felted jacket that is luxuriously soft yet warm, made from 100% pure merino fleece. Individually made to order, you can choose the colour combination/ style of neck opening/ plus any other features such as pocket or belt loops. Guaranteed never to see the same one again!

Nuno felting:

Nuno felting is different as you start with an open-weave fabric such as net, silk, muslin, organza and add fleeces + other yarns to form a surface pattern. Work with hot, soapy water as with standard wet felting until the fleece shrinks. It then starts to pull in the fabric in the exposed spaces between the fleece so that you get some interesting surface textures

Pre-felt:

Using “prefelt” – this is fleece (usually Merino as this is ideal for felting) that is washed and carded by machine thus producing a fine, even layer of short fibres that you then buy by the metre like fabric . Although it is referred to as “prefelt” it is not treated or pre-shrunk in any way as you can still pull the fibres apart easily.

Lay it flat, add other fibres to form surface pattern or combine it with another layer in a different colour. Still use hot soapy water, but this time you do not want to rub the surface to shrink it. Instead, roll it up in a densely-woven fabric such as satin, secure the roll with elastic bands as a sausage shape then throw against the worktop turning continuously. The fibres need to be pushed through the other layers, so keep throwing until it starts to felt/shrink. You can remove the satin and just carry on throwing the felt piece itself to speed up the final stages. This is ideal for larger flat pieces, throws, scarves, cot blankets.

Using prefelt, you can also combine this with a fine-gauge silk chiffon layer, catching lots of other fibres and fabrics between the layers to give some wonderful textured surfaces. Roll and throw in the same way to felt. More expensive, of course, but this felted fabric has a much softer feel and is ideal for shaped garments such as jackets.

Here are some examples of the felted designs and peg loom weaving produced at Pen Coed Textiles. I hope they inspire you to find out more, commission a piece of your own, or attend one of our Workshops. Please contact us for more information or to place an order.

Setting up the final layer for a felted wall hanging. This is the stage where you can add lots of other materials and fibres to give it an interesting finish.

There are different fibres added to this sample wall hanging - I love the fancy threads that you can find now as they give lots of movement and interest to the finished felted piece.

Detail of the Tryptych design - partially felted with extra surface pattern added through other fibres plus streams of satin ribbon to bring the whole piece together.

PEG LOOM WEAVING

The wooden peg looms are made here in Wales, in our workshop, and come in a range of sizes. They can be made to order in any size you require – just email with the details.

The smallest one is 30cms long and is made up of a single row of 9mm pegs. It is still popular with children as it is compact, easy to use and pack away, and is plenty wide enough to make a scarf or small bag.

The same length but with two rows of pegs – 6mm and 9mm – is referred to as the Double. This gives more options for the choice of yarns to use, so you can be a bit more adventurous with your scarf and bag designs.

There is also now a longer peg loom with a single row of 9mm pegs. This one is 45cms long so is cushion-cover width and suitable to make wider panels, scarves, shoulder bags etc.

Of course, the standard Treble at 45cms long gives you a choice of three sizes of pegs/tension with 6mm, 9mm, and 12mm pegs and a perfect width for cushion covers, bags, panels to join together for bigger pieces.

Finally, we have added an extra long peg loom (60cms) with the same three sizes of pegs as the Treble (6mm, 9mm, 12mm), but just that much better for the serious weaver especially for making rugs, throws and larger decorative panels. Try strips of fabric for a “rag rug” – much quicker than the peg process we used to do when I was a child – or raw, washed fleece just teased out into lengths to weave around the pegs.

If you are looking for a small gift to get people started on peg loom weaving, we also do a pack with 5 pegs + a threader so that you can hold 3-5 pegs in your hand and weave belts, straps for bags, edgings etc.

As the peg looms have been so popular, I am putting together a book with examples of different things you can make, complete with instructions, photographs and hopefully lots of inspiration. If you have any unusual items you have woven with your peg loom, and want me to include them, then do send me some details.

Peg loom weaving is a simple method for producing exciting woven pieces that combine an endless selection of materials and fibres. This one is a small loom - ideal for children to use. Full instructions provided with sets.

You can use three (or five) of the pegs to weave a strong strap or belt using the same yarns as the woven piece - you can easily make it into a bag, or keep it as a wall hanging. Again, the choices are endless

Example of a wall hanging made on a medium-size peg loom. This one incorporates double-knitting yarn/ chunky knit/ raw fleece/ fine fancy yarns/ strips of fabric