Feltmakers Ireland

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Reminder: Membership Renewal Time

Published on Dec 15, 2025Dec 15, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

It’s now THAT time of year – time to renew your Feltmakers Ireland membership. Our membership is valid for a calendar year, from January to December.

Good News:

If you joined Feltmakers Ireland through the Dublin Fibre Festival in October (or later), your membership will automatically roll over and remain valid through 2026.

Why Renew? Member Benefits Include:

Monthly Sunday Sessions

Take part in our popular Sunday Sessions, featuring hands-on felting, Textile Journeys, and more opportunities to learn and connect. We now have monthly meetings in County Galway too!

Exhibitions and Shows

Members are eligible to participate in our annual exhibition and additional group shows. In 2026, we will be exhibiting at:

Phoenix Park Visitor Centre (April)
European Wool Day, Tralee (May)
A group exhibition at The Leitrim Design House later in the year

Public Demonstrations of Feltmaking

Eligible members can demonstrate feltmaking to the public. In 2025, we shared the magic of feltmaking at:

Bloom
Two August Craft Month Open Days
Tullamore Show
Dublin Fibre Festival
Fibreshed Ireland’s Textile Market

Workshops & Learning Opportunities

Members can register for Feltmakers Ireland workshops. In 2025, these included:

Two multi-day workshops with international tutors
Our annual Fine Felt Workshop
Our Basic & Beyond course

Promotion & Visibility

Have your felting classes listed on our Resources Page
Share your exhibitions, courses, and other news on our blog and social media*
Be part of our Guild’s raising the profile of Feltmaking

Community

Most importantly, membership means being part of the warm, supportive, and inspiring Feltmakers Ireland community.

*We aim to be inclusive and share all members’ news. However, due to time constraints, we may be unable to share all events. We are an all-volunteer organisation. Please send your news to feltmakersIE@gmail.com

Ready to Renew (or Join)?

To renew your membership (or join) Feltmakers Ireland, please visit our Membership Page –https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/

We look forward to another creative year!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Cecilia Vicuña Exhibition at IMMA – Galway Wool via Woolstore Ireland

Published on Dec 18, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Poster from IMMA for Cecilia Vicuña exhibition

Cecilia Vicuña‘s solo exhibition, ‘Reverse Migration: A Poetic Journey’, is the first show in Ireland by the renowned artist, poet and activist. For this exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Vicuña delves into themes of ancestry, ecological urgency, and the interconnectedness of humanity, inspired by the discovery of her ancient ties to Ireland.

Feltmakers Ireland guild member Katarina Hruskova, of WoolStore Ireland, assisted the artist in preparing the wool used in the creation of the installation, titled ‘Aran Quipu’.

Photos of the Piece, ‘Aran Quipu’

In her Co Galway workshop, Katarina washed and carded 50 kilograms of wool, which she purchased from the Galway Wool Co-op at their annual Meitheal. Then she needle-felted the clean fibre by hand into 50 strips, each 5.5 metres long. As Cecilia Vicuña wanted the strips to be very fluffy, hand needle felting was the method. Altogether, it came to 275 metres of Galway wool. The entire process from start (washing) to finish took Katarina 6-7 weeks to complete.

The Galway Wool, after being cleaned and carded

Needle Felting

The wool fibres were then needle felted.

Loading the trailer with the felted wool.

At IMMA, the long strips were then mounted, with assistance from other Irish artists, in a large hall.

Katarina **Hruskova** and artist Cecilia Vicuña at the opening

Katarina said that at the opening, visitors were encouraged to walk between the strips. Editor’s Note: On a recent visit, a museum attendant encouraged attendees to touch a sample of needle-felted Galway Wool.

In addition to the installation incorporating Irish wool, the exhibition includes other installations featuring natural materials such as plants and shells, along with paintings, drawings, and sound art by Vicuña.

The exhibition runs until the 5th of July, 2026.

Where: IMMA, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Military Rd, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, D08 FW31

For more information about Cecilia Vicuna’s exhibition, visit the IMMA’s website – https://imma.ie/whats-on/cecilia-vicuna/

Katarina has a display showing the stages of wool processing.

To purchase cleaned and carded Galway wool fibre (and those from other Irish-raised breeds), visit Katarina’s website – https://www.woolstore.ie/

Katarina’s Instagram: @woolstoreireland

Of Interest: Wool Map of Ireland – World’s Largest 3D Knit Scene

Published on Dec 17, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Image from Irish Independent Newspaper with headlines of 'Huge wool map of Ireland ratified by GUinness as world's largest 3D knitted scene'. Also includes a photo of the women who knitted the map.

The Guinness Book of Records has said that the huge knitted wool map of Ireland, created by a group of knitters at Carnew Community Care, in Co Wicklow, is the largest 3-dimensional knitted scene in the world! The map is 5 by 4 metres, took over four years and thousands of hours to make. It includes buildings and places iconic to Ireland.

To read more, visit here (There ~may~ be paywall for the full article) – https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/gorey-news/huge-wool-map-of-ireland-ratified-by-guinness-as-worlds-largest-3d-knitted-scene/a1011522360.html

If you missed seeing the map on display at Gifted at the RDS, it can be viewed in person at Carnew Community Care in Carnew, Co Wicklow. For more information, visit this website – https://visitwicklow.ie/listing/knitted-map-of-ireland-carnew-community-care/

There is also a short, cute video on the above website – so many cool details!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Exhibition: Claudy Jongstra – Retrospective Solo Show – Netherlands

Published on Dec 16, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Claudy Jongstra is renowned for her large-scale textile artworks and architectural installations that draw on her approach to working with locally raised fibres and dye plants.⁠ A retrospective solo exhibition, ‘Presence in Process – 30 Years of Art and Craft at Studio Claudy Jongstra’, will soon open.

The exhibition runs from the 18th of December 2025 to the 30th of August 2026.

Where: Cuypershuis Roermond, Pierre Cuypersstraat 1, 6041 XG Roermond, Netherlands

For more information about the exhibition, visit the museum’s website – https://cuypershuis.nl/te-zien/presence-in-process

To learn more about Claudy’s work, there is also a beautiful film here by the Louisiana Channel, a site that features videos about architects, artists, designers, musicians, and writers – https://channel.louisiana.dk/video/claudy-jongstra-weaving-the-world-together

Guild member Christine Jordan visited her studio earlier in the year – https://feltmakersireland.com/2025/11/04/of-interest-felting-adventures-in-the-netherlands-rough-circle-studio/

The artist’s Instagram: @claudyjongstra

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Awards: ArtLinks Bursary Submissions Now Open – Co Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford

Published on Dec 12, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Image courtesy of Mayumi Nakabayashi, created at the European Land Art Festival as part of her ArtLinks bursary in 2024.

ArtLinks partners in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford have opened submissions for the Professional and Emerging ArtLinks Bursary Awards 2026.

The Awards are designed to support artists in developing their practice by providing them with the time and resources to think, research, reflect, and critically engage with their art.

They will consider applications for assistance with any of the following areas of support:

Travel and training
Mentorship
To assist with education at the graduate level
Projects with a demonstrable benefit to practice development

Artists must be registered with ArtLinks to avail of these supports, and new artists must be registered on or before the 12th of January, 2026, to be eligible to apply.

Deadline: the 19th of January.

For more information, visit their website to locate the application for your particular county – https://linktr.ee/ArtLinks.ie

Their Instagram – @artlinks.ie

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Education: IFA’s Quintet of Online Felting Courses – January 2026

Published on Dec 11, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

The International Feltmakers Association (IFA) online courses for wet feltmaking are currently open for enrollment. There are five different courses, and each covers a specific area of interest to felters:

Discovering Feltmaking 1 – The Basics
Discovering Feltmaking 2 – Colour
Discovering Feltmaking 3 – Surfaces and Edges
Discovering Feltmaking 4 – 3D Forms
Discovering Feltmaking 5 – Nunofelting

The January-February Coursework access begins on the 2nd of January, 20206 and ends on the 28th of February, 2026. The courses run three times a year with a period of access to the online material. The other two slots are scheduled in May/June and October/November.

The workshops are delivered step-by-step, on-screen, and as downloadable or printable PDFs through the Ruzuku platform. Students work at their own pace and can use the online group forum to ask the course mentor any questions. Students can also share their work through peer feedback and discussions.

Fibre packs can be ordered if needed.

Feltmakers Ireland guild member Hélène Dooley is one of the mentors with the IFA Discovering Feltmaking Courses. She masterfully guided us through the ‘Cracked Earth’ and ‘Geode’ techniques during our April 2023 Sunday Session!

For more information and to register, visit the IFA’s website – https://www.feltmakers.com/discovering-feltmaking-course/

The IFA also has a branch for all of Ireland – Region 14. To join, visit here – https://www.feltmakers.com/join-the-international-feltmakers-association/

These online courses are open to both IFA members and non-members, and would make a perfect gift for oneself!

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Of Interest: Wool March in Tilburg, Netherlands – the 20th of December

Published on Dec 10, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

On Saturday, the 20th of December at noon, there will be a Wool March in Tilburg, Netherlands.

The Wool March is a growing movement that supports shepherding and the revaluing of wool by literally walking together. Each year, the organisers lead a march in which local shepherds guide their flocks—along with members of the public—to and from pasture. Past editions have been held in Tilburg, The Netherlands, and have been generously hosted by the TextielMuseum, which is an inspiring destination in itself. https://www.textielmuseum.nl/

Participants and supporters of the Wool March come from all walks of life, including farmers, felters, and fashion designers, as well as politicians, breeders, and biologists.

There will also be a Wool March to the European Parliament in September 2026. The group is selling ‘Wool Activist Kits’ that include felting instructions and raw Kempische Heideschaap fibre from sheep that graze the Dutch coastal dunes. These kits are to create a blanket to be worn (or sent) to the Brussels Wool March – https://www.woolmarch.com/wool-activist-kit

For more information and to register for the Wool March in December, visit the Wool March website – https://www.woolmarch.com/lets-walk/wool-march-tilburg-2025

Their Instagram: @woolmarch

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.

Sunday Session Recap: Crafting Together, De-stash Sale & Mince Pies

Published on Dec 9, 2025Dec 9, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Treasurer, Sam Fagan, on the far left, ringing up sales.

On Sunday, the 7th of December, an excited group of felters gathered at our Sunday Session in the CIE Hall to purchase felting fibres and materials from our founder, Elizabeth Bonnar, and former guild secretary, Clare Brophy.

Elizabeth Bonnar, in blue sweater, chatting with Anne-Marie about Nunofelting

Although many of our members were unable to attend because they were vending at craft fairs or participating in other events, we still had an excellent turnout, as evidenced by the long line of shoppers. Elizabeth and Clare had hardly anything to bring home! HUGE thanks to our new treasurer, Sam Fagan, for taking the credit card payments.

Sam Fagan, on the far right, helping members

Happy Shoppers

Clodagh, wearing amazing felted accessories, and carrying her purchases

Members stocked up on fibres, novelty yarns, and fabrics to use in future projects!

Crafting Together

In addition to purchasing gorgeous wool and silks, members gathered to work on their unfinished projects. One member stitched pockets onto the purse she created in our Basic and Beyond Bagmaking Workshop. Another continued working on her Christmas Angel, the subject of our November Sunday Session. One member sewed the tiniest beads onto her needle-felted name tag, which was the theme of our September Sunday Session. Others simply enjoyed the warm atmosphere of being amongst feltmaking friends!

Dessert of the Session

Lorna’s ‘Pan Thirties’, a twist on the traditional Italian Panforte.

Our secretary, Lorna Cady, always makes the time to bring a vegan baked good. For this session, she made a version of panforte.

Appreciation

Thank you, Elizabeth and Clare, for sharing the treasures from your textile stashes—your contributions were truly appreciated by all our members. A big thank-you as well to our treasurer, Sam, for efficiently managing all the credit card payments. Lastly, thanks to all the feltmakers who attended the session and contributed to the warm, creative atmosphere. The event offered so many delights that we will certainly host another de-stashing sale in the future!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas holiday.

See you in the new year—on Sunday, the 11th of January. We will be mind-mapping on the theme for our 2026 Exhibition.

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Open Call: World of Wearable Art Competition 2026 & Webinars

Published on Dec 8, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

For more than 35 years, finalists in the World of WearableArt (WOW) Competition have captivated audiences at the annual WOW Show in Wellington, New Zealand. The event celebrates the fusion of art, design, fashion, and performance, offering designers a global platform to showcase their work and join an international creative community. The competition invites creators to push boundaries and craft extraordinary wearable artworks.

Each year, six themes are introduced to inspire creators. Three of these are recurring: Aotearoa, Avant-Garde, and Open. The remaining themes are unique to 2026: Metallic, Kinetic, and Bizarre Bra.

This year, there is also a series of live webinars, which will be recorded –

9th of December 2025, 12 PM New Zealand Time = GMT + 13 (It is tonight at 11 PM, Irish Time) – From Everyday to Extraordinary: Your Guide to Bizarre Bra
21st of January 2026, 6 PM New Zealand Time – Photography & Video: How to Capture Your Creation

The sign-ups for the webinars are here – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/content-hub/wow-webinars

There is an inspiring archive of past winners on the website – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/explore/wearableart-archive

The application deadline for designers outside of New Zealand is the 12th of February, 2026.

For more information, visit WOW’s website – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/competition/entry-information

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Sunday Session: Crafting Together, De-Stash Sale & Mince Pies – THIS Sunday

Published on Dec 5, 2025 by Feltmakers Ireland

Crafting Together

Looking for the perfect opportunity to finish those incomplete or long-forgotten projects? Our upcoming Sunday Session is designed just for that! Bring along any works-in-progress (and the supplies you need) and enjoy a relaxed, supportive space to finally give your WIPs/UFOs (aka: works in progress/unfinished felted objects) the attention they deserve.

De-Stash Sale

This session comes with an added treat: our founder, Elizabeth Bonnar, and Clare Brophy, former guild secretary, will be hosting a very special de-stash sale. They are parting with some of their felting supplies —an inspiring assortment for makers, fibre artists, and curious crafters alike.

There will be bagged Merino fibre, Assorted other breeds of wool, ArtYarns, Curly locks, Tussah silk fibre, Silk fabrics, and more available for purchase.

All proceeds will be donated to the Guild toward a future educational project. We’ll be accepting both cash and credit cards for convenience.

Throughout the Session, Elizabeth will demonstrate feltmaking using the various fibres and fabrics available. Come and see!

The sale is open to ALL. One does not need to be a member of the guild.

Please spread the word amongst your textile-loving friends!

When: 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Where: CIE Sports Hall, Library Square, Inchicore, Kilmainham, Dublin, D08 PA07

Directions

If coming by car, turn off Grattan Crescent onto South Terrace, then right onto West Terrace, and arrive at the Square outside the Hall. It is the large building facing Library Square.

If taking public transit from the centre of Dublin, the G1, G2 and number 60 buses stop on Sarsfield Road. The stop on the route from town is 2643. Facing the stone wall, turn left and walk back approximately 16 strides from the bus stop to go through a ‘hole’ in the stone wall. Walk along Inchicore Terrace North past the houses, and you will see the CIE Hall as you come around the corner.(Do not walk forward from the bus stop towards the train underpass).

Additional Information:

To add to the festive spirit, please bring mince pies or other festive desserts to share. Also, please bring a travel mug so we can reduce the use of disposable cups.

And, as this is the season of coughs and sneezes, please refrain from coming if you feel unwell. We do have the benefit of technology – there will be access via Zoom. We will email a Zoom link to members on Friday afternoon.

Questions or concerns about our Sunday Session? Please email feltmakersIE@gmail.com

Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog

Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.

Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.