FELT by Joanna Niemiro

The material I was researching for the materials brief was felt. I have chosen to research it as I really like using felt in my work. 

“Felt is a non-woven fabric manufactured either solely from wool or from a wool blended mixture. Manufactured by means of compression, heat and moisture its construction depends on the unique properties of the wool fibre.” 

(“The Art of Felt - Inspirational Designs, Textures and Surfaces” F. Tellier-Loumagne)

There are many different techniques that could be used to make felt and felted fabrics. The most common are: wet felting, needle felting and tufting. 

WET FELTING

is done by matting together wood fibres using moisture heat and friction. The finished fabric can vary in thickness and suppleness. 

NEEDLE FELTING 

can be done with both woolen and synthetic materials, which take on a felted appearance on one or both sides. 

TUFTING 

is a process of passing threads or yarns through a base fabric to create textured, smooth or felted surfaces. 

Felt is widely used in many many different fields. Especially thanks to its excellent sound and heat insulation properties but it also has many other uses. It’s used for packaging, jewelry, toys, rugs, cushions, clothes etc. 

Felt is also a great material for various arts and crafts because it comes in many sizes, colours and thicknesses, can easily be cut to very precise shapes and doesn’t require hemming or finishing. 

"Feltri" armchair by Gaetano Pesce, Italy (1986)

Anne Kyyro Quinn (Finland), Leaf (2004) stitched felt, Target (2003), stitched felt and linen, and Pod (2004), stitched felt.

Felt Pebbles, Branch Sustainable Design for Living, Johannesburg South Africa

(www.fivetimesone.com)

iPod cover by Josh Jakus (www.joshjakus.com)

Bag by Josh Jakus (www.unicahome.com)

Felt Pepples (www.unicahome.com www.molodesign.com)

Chair Edere by Isledes Gn (www.isledesign.pl)

Chair Nobody by Komplot for Hay (www.hayshop.dk)

Floral rug by Joanna Rusin, Zoom

Notebooks made of felt

(top) Cupboard by Agnieszka Bartosiewicz, Indivi

Missoni pouf by Indivi

Dia rug, Moho Design

Purol Design

Balance for Fuci

Slippers, NAP

Rugs, Pink Pug Design

I decided to try prototyping “my own felt” using human hair and soap. I asked my friend who went to the hairdressers to bring me some hair and I used it to prototype felt.

This is what I got:

Natural Fabrics by Julie Fry

Natural Fabrics

Cotton

Cotton comes from plants that produce seed pods filled with ball shaped clumps of cloth fibre. The seeds are separated from the cotton fibre mechanically. The process continues by spinning threads from the remaining seedless white fibre. The threads are woven. Cotton production started in Pakistan Indus Valley more than 5,000 years ago.

Flax

Flax grows to a height of four feet and has leaves that consist of long, tough fibres. Flax has been used since ancient times to make clothing. The ancient Egyptians were the first to make linen cloth more than 4,000 years ago.

Hemp

Hemp comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant. In the 1980s, producers were able to make fione cloth, suitable for clothing, from hemp. This development occurred following the discovery of a process using enzimes that removed the fibres’ roughness while still allowing the fabric to retain its durability. Deisgners use hemp blended with other textiles to make fine cloth. Hemp fibre is resistant to stretching which allows clothes made from hemp to reatin their shape and size.

Hessian

Hessian (is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant or sisal fibers,[or may be combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, and similar products. Hessian, a dense woven fabric, has been historically produced as a coarse fabric, but more recently it is being used in a refined state known simply as jute as an eco-friendly material for bags, rugs, and other products.

Images of Natural Fabric from the Cloth House, London

Samples of natural fabric

From the Cloth House

Stephen Jones started as a student at St Martin’s in 1980. He opened his first Millinery Salon – in Covent Garden – in the late 1980s. His work is included in the permanent collections in the V&A and le Louvre.

Spring/Summer 2008

The Spring/Summer Model Millinery collection comprises 15 abstract model hats inspired by a retreat to a mid-century Craftsman cabin in the Utah desert. All the toiles for this collection were created by Stephen himself in the desert.

Rock formations, bleached mesquite, dawn & dusk.

Desert Rose

Spring/Summer 2008

Bryce

Spring/Summer 2008

The Cabin,

Spring/Summer 2008

Spring/Summer 2003

The South. Lands of our imagination. Exotica, mystery, romance, fun, sensuality. The warm sun cooled by Pacific breezes. Nature, flowers, leaves, shells and straw.

Shapes: the trilby, beret, beach hats.

Rock-a-Hula

Trader Steve

Myth

Bounty

Judy Bentinck set up her own label in 2002. Originally named "Portland Hats", she has recently rebranded as "Judy Bentinck" to emphasize the exclusivity of her product. She gained her degree in printed textiles at Liverpool College of Art,then later moved into the world of costume design, working for the RSC, the BBC and the Royal Opera House. Judy made her first hat while teaching costume design at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and her passion for the exciting sculptural aspects of millinery led her to train with Rose Cory - Royal Warrant Holder and world renowned teacher.

HD_13

Ivory base covered with a spray of natural heckle feathers, peacock hurl and coque feathers.

Spring/Summer 2011

COCO_22

Looped crin mounted on straw base with coque feathers.

Spring/Summer 2011