Nuno Felt

Scarf Kit
Make this gorgeous, ethereal
silk scarf by embedding
wool into silk.
Kit includes:
A hand dyed

60”
Don’t just sit there . . Felt something! silk chiffon scarf,
hand dyed
merino wool,
Dancing Leaf Farm
Dalis Davidson
301-801-6995
mohair ,
www.dancingleaffarm.com
silk and glitz
 Nuno Felting
Nuno felting refers to felting wool and fabrics together into one
fabric. The wool shrinks the silk (or whatever fiber you are using),
producing a wavy or crinkled effect.
Materials:
1 silk chiffon scarf
Wool roving, mohair, glitz, silk, wool yarn or other fibers
Two pieces of bubble wrap a bit longer than your scarf
Gauze, netting, tulle that is as long as your scarf
Pool noodle (cut to about 20”)
Soap, dish soap or olive oil soap
sponge (optional)
Water
Bowl for soap and water
2 pieces cut up panty hose, t-shirt or plastic bag (to be used for
tying up bundle). Make sure these are at least 24” long.
Scissors
One or two old towels
Instructions:
Lay out one piece of your bubble wrap, bubble side up. Dip your scarf in
water, wring out and lay out flat on top of bubble wrap. Decide what sort
of design you’d like. If you want a ruffle down the entire scarf, lay out
your fibers down middle, leaving about 3” bare on one side and 1” bare on
one side. If you want circles all over, make little circles with the roving. Pull
out wispy layers of wool roving and lay onto scarf. If laying down the mid-
dle, overlap the wool slightly, keeping the edges clear of wool. This will
create a ruffle along the edges. You can do any design you wish, leaves,
flowers, crisscross or whatever. Just remember to keep the layers very light
and airy. Wherever you put the wool, it will pull in and crinkle the chenille.
If using mohair, silk or glitz, it’s best to lay a very light layer of wool on
top of these to help secure it to the base, kind of like glue, but keep these
VERY light, like just a few strands of wool.
Lay the netting over top of the scarf. Wet out the entire scarf with soapy
water, not too much but enough to thoroughly wet down the wool. Press
down on the wool to wet it out. Pat down and begin ‘fingering’ the scarf,
like playing the piano really fast. Work up and down the scarf. This is just
gently getting the wool to adhere to the scarf, pushing the fibers into the
back of the scarf.
You can now take a piece of the netting or a plastic bag and begin mak-
ing a circular motion up and down the scarf, but still gently. Do this for
about 3-4 minutes. You don’t want to do this too much as your design
will begin to felt into the netting. Gently pull the netting away from the
wool, making sure it doesn’t pull up your design.
Using a sponge or a towel, soak up the cool water. You will now be us-
ing very hot soapy water. Wet out the entire scarf and lay another layer of
bubble wrap, bubble side down, You are basically making a sandwich.
Starting at one end, roll this tightly onto the pool noodle, and wrap the
ties (plastic or panty hose) tightly around bundle. Now the hard work
begins! Put on some peppy music and begin rolling the bundle to the
beat. Roll about 200 times, unroll and re-roll starting at the opposite
direction and roll for 200 more times. Make sure you roll over the entire
tube, not just in one place as you want even pressure on the entire scarf.
Unroll and check to see if wool is pulling up by pinching it between your
fingers and pulling. If it’s still pretty loose, roll it some more. Try to keep
the bundle as warm as possible as this promotes the felting process. The
faster and harder you roll, the quicker the felting.
You can now unroll it and aggressively work the piece by taking your
plastic bag or netting and work in a circular motion up and down the
scarf. Work areas that you think need more felting. You may also use a
rough mat like cabinet liners or even the bubble wrap to rub the scarf on.
Work it fast and hard, design side down. You can really be aggressive now.
When it is complete, wash in cold water and wring out. This is the fun
part. Crumple up the scarf and throw it as hard as you can onto a hard
surface, like the floor or counter. Do this about 10 times. You may yell
something while throwing to release any pent up frustrations you may
have! “Take THAT blankety blank!”
You now have a beautiful art piece to wear, although still a bit damp.
When dry, you may iron any places you’d like to have smoothed out. If I
did one with a ruffle, this makes the ruffle really stand out.
You may choose to embellish the scarf with beads. I like to do just a bit
on each end and one or two beads in the middle.
Now just put on that darling little black dress, wrap that beautiful artsy
accessory around your neck and go out for a night on the town! Enjoy!!!