Guest Post by Feltmakers Ireland member Breda Fay.

Pebble Shoulder Bag Workshop with Anikó (Baribon.hu)

Anikó’s Boros course, creating a felted Pebble Shoulder Bag, was designed to take place on the Zoom platform over two days (five hours daily). The learning goals were to make a small bag with a flap top and a closure with an enclosed pebble, to use organza as a surface decoration, and to dye the bag to create a gradient or ombre effect. The “enclosed pebble” is almost a trademark of the Baribon experience, and in this case, it would provide the weight for the bag flap to stay closed.

A list of materials and a clear and well-illustrated step-by-step PDF of the instructions were sent to all students in advance so that they had time to be prepared. There were also suggestions on colour choice, pebble size and weight, and dyeing. While my preferred option was to work alongside Anikó during the live Zoom meeting, there was also an option to receive the recorded material and work at your own time and pace.

Having previously done three courses with Aniko, I was well aware of the teaching competencies of the Baribon Community – Anikó, who is the tutor; Andrea, her wonderful humorous hostess/translator; and her hubby and son, who are in charge of the IT.

Day 1

After a short introduction, including technical info and a general description of the process, we started cutting out the template for the bag and the pebble closure from resist material, cutting the pattern for the embellishment, and then the fabric itself. Some participants could not find the needed embellishment fabric and instead substituted other fabric. Then, we proceeded to lay out the complex arrangement of fibres and wet them down, following along with Anikó’s instructions.

DAY 2

On the second day, we finished felting the bag and proceeded to fulling and shrinking. Anikó is a believer in being thorough and having no shortcuts. So hot water and vigorous rubbing were very much reserved only for the final shrinking process. Our bag was complete, rinsed and stuffed to dry before our coffee break.

The dyeing process began after the break. I used Leiko Uchiyama’s hand-dyed merino and silk for my outer layer of fibre and consequently did not want to dye. However, the dyeing provided a better gradient of colours in a much easier way than laying out fibres.

We then created the cord. I was delighted to achieve a wrinkle-free, strong cord – but it took well over an hour of felting, fulling and shrinking.

We all showed our work at the end and had a chat about what we had learned. There was also a raffle among the participants for a Baribon piece of jewellery.

What I Liked and Learned:

• There was a second template of a small phone bag for those who wanted to work on a smaller scale.
• Opportunity to ask questions and present your work during the course.
• Loved the sheen and exciting surface of the embellishment fabric; it is similar to wood bark. But it did take work to get it incorporated – I can’t wait to try it again!
• Opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation and chat with participants during the breaks.
• An opportunity to join a Facebook page to see the work of all – and for any further queries.

To learn more about Anikó Boros – Baribon.hu’s workshops, please visit her website. https://baribon.hu/workshops/

Editor’s Note: We recommend signing up for the email newsletters of instructors that you are interested in. That way, you are informed of upcoming courses.

Editor: Thank you, Breda, for your interesting article about your experiences with the Pebble Bag Workshop. If you are a member of Feltmakers Ireland and want to share your educational experiences with our readers, please email feltmakersie@gmail.com