Project by Laura Kochevar from Chicago, Ill.
Laura was home sick one week during high school and discovered a half-finished knit sweatshirt in a box in the basement. She also found some of her mother’s neglected knitting books and within a couple of weeks, she had finished the sweater herself! Since then she has been hooked on fibers. In this project, Laura makes a colorful bowl out of handcrafted wool felt and polymer clay.
Materials:
2 colors 100% wool roving or batting
2 colors wool pencil roving
small ball
old nylons
washboard and/or washing machine
polymer clay
pasta machine
toaster oven
glue
warm soapy water
electric knife
Steps:
1. Wrap a ball with one color of pencil roving.
2. Then wrap ball with second color of wool batting.
3. Wrap this with another thick layer of wool batting.
4. Wrap entire ball with remaining color of pencil roving. Ball should be about the size of a basketball.
5. Insert ball into nylon stocking and tighten.
6. Gently pour warm soapy water over the ball and tighten the nylon as it compresses.
7. Rub ball on washboard to felt (shrink) and put in washing machine to harden, if needed.
8. While ball is drying, make clay base. Make a small ball of clay the size of a racket ball.
9. Layer this ball with a thin layer of colored polymer clay that has been rolled through a pasta machine.
10. Smooth out the surface; then press down with a large round object to make an indentation for the felted bowl to rest in.
11. Bake according to clay package directions. Allow to cool.
12. When felted ball is dry, slice open with an electric knife and take out the inside ball.
13. Glue half of the felt ball (bowl) to the clay base.
Website: www.FeltInspired.com
E-mail: Laura@FeltInspired.com
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