On Sunday, the 12th of October, 2025, Feltmakers Ireland Guild hosted a fully booked workshop for 25 members, led by Sandra Coote of Crafts of Ireland, based in Cavan.
Sandra, an accomplished feltmaker, raises Roscommon sheep on her farm, processing their wool for her felting projects. She offers workshops and sells felting kits, sharing her expertise with enthusiasts.
The Supplies
Clockwise from the top left: Roscommon needle felted wool for core of birds, grey-coloured felting pads, sharps container for broken needles, sample wrens, scissors, templates, bark with wires, and extra felting needles.Roscommon wool dyed in Wren colours by Sandra
For our Sunday Session, participants crafted needle-felted wrens mounted on tree bark, using wool from Sandra’s sheep and materials she provided. Her clear instructions, detailed templates, and inspiring samples guided attendees in shaping the birds’ bodies, wings, and tails. Sandra’s hands-on teaching style, coupled with her warm, humorous demeanour, created a welcoming environment for all skill levels. She offered personalised support, visiting each table to assist.
Students Concentrating
Sandra recommended that students look at their phones to find photos of what a wren’s feathers looked like. As students layered on Sandra’s hand-dyed wool for the colouring of the birds’ feathers, Guild member Jane Fox shared about an app to identify birds’ songs: We downloaded the Merlin App so we could hear both the song and call of the Wren.
The guild expresses gratitude for Sandra’s generosity and expertise; we are thrilled to have a renowned artist lead the session. The workshop’s success highlights her skill in teaching and the charm of her 3D felted sculptures, which left members inspired and eager for more.
To see more of Sandra’s work, purchase her kits or book a workshop, visit her business, Crafts of Ireland – https://craftsofireland.ie/ You can also find her at the Knit + Stitch The Eikon Exhibition Centre, in Lisburn, UK, stand D53.
This month, committee member Lorna Cady brought ‘Biscuits without History’, the latest instalment in her ongoing series of baked goods, which she kindly brings each month.
We are once again grateful to Sandra Coote for travelling from Cavan to teach us, for the fully enrolled workshop, and for the students who generously brought baked treats to share. We also appreciate the committee’s help in organising this Sunday’s Session.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
As of the 9th of July, the workshop is FULLY BOOKED. If you want to be put on the waiting list, please email Sam – see below for her details.
Workshop Description from Pam:
“In the workshop, we will learn several skills useful for fibre jewellery making. We will make one or more pieces of felted jewellery depending on the complexity of the individual design. We will look at how to design the piece for wearing, and how to construct various closures and attachments. You can also learn how to incorporate foreign objects if necessary.”
WHEN: Friday, the 18th through Sunday, the 20th of July 2025, 10 AM to 5 PM
To apply for PAM de GROOT’s workshop, please email committee member Sam Fagan at samantha.d.fagan@gmail.com
Please include Pam de Groot’s name in the ‘Subject Line’ of your email.
All participants will be notified via email and provided with a payment link for secure payment using a credit or debit card. The cost is 250 euros for members / 265 euros for non-members.
Additional Information
Supplies are not included in the workshop price. Once registered, we will email students the supply list provided by Pam.
Cancellation & Refund Policy for Workshops
If you need to cancel your place in a Feltmakers Ireland workshop, please notify the Guild by email at least 7 days before the start of the class. A €10 handling fee will be deducted from your refund.
Cancellations made less than 7 days before the workshop are not eligible for a refund. However, if you can find a replacement student to take your place AND inform the Guild within this period, you will receive a refund (minus the €10 handling fee).
Please note: In exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, the committee may consider refund requests at its discretion.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
On Sunday, the 7th of June, 18 students gathered for this year’s Basic and Beyond Workshop, a Felted Bagmaking course taught by member, artist, and tutor Annika Berglund.
We had much to accomplish within one day—laying out fibre, rubbing, rolling, fulling, shaping, and transforming the wool roving into stylish, one-of-a-kind bags with a flap, strap, and pocket!
There are tons of photos from the day—here are some of them! (Next time, we will individually photograph each member with her completed project,as that would have been nice.)
Annika demonstrating how to shingle the wool onto the resist.The CIE Sports Hall was excitingly decorated by a Polish organisation that booked the hall for the evening.Annika is spraying the water on with a ball brush/water sprinkler.
So Many Choices
Students created their bags using DHG Merino wool in black or dark grey, plus brightly coloured Merino wool in green, navy, orange, red, or lilac from LeikoFelt. After laying out the fibres, the students could decorate the bags with pieces of prefelt in black, white, grey, and/or black roving. Annika brought many samples to show the variety that could be created. And if you scroll towards the bottom of this post, you will see that no two bags are the same!
Annika shared samples of other ways to create the bags, including using Bergshaf wool, the Cracked Mud technique, and additional methods.
In Process Pics
Loli and Margaret are laying out their bags.Mairead is working on her bag.
Each student decorated her layout uniquely. Here is a small selection to show.
After Laying Our Fibres….
After layering the black and coloured wool around a resist, the students began the feltmaking process: Rubbing, rolling, massaging, and throwing.
Alison rolling her felt.Suzette tossingChristine and Adrienne tossing
After Felting
After the students had shrunk their bags, they had the exciting adventure of creating the strap and pocket.
Lorna is cutting the strap of her bag.Healing cut edges.Working on the strap.Shaping the bags – Egle is shaping her dark blue bag.
Some Finished Bags
Below are some of the bags the students and class helpers created. There will be a few more photos to come! Email feltmakersIE@gmail.com to include your Felted Bag from the class.
Click on the images to see the bags better.
Mary’s bagLoli’s bagAlison’s bagLinda’s bagEgle’s bagFiona’s bagJuliane’s bagSuzette’s bagMargaret’s bagLorna’s bagSiobhan’s bagMary’s bagAdrienne’s bagBrid’s bag Áine‘s bag
More Information
After the course, students received written instructions via email.
For those interested in learning more, Annika mentioned that the method of creating the bag’s clever handle was adapted from Mandy Nash‘s book, ‘Making Felt Bags’, which, while out of print, is nonetheless available via Dubray Books’ website – https://www.dubraybooks.ie/product/making-felt-bags-9781785008627
Screenshot of the Dubray website.
Thanks to All
Special thanks to our helpers, Dee, Fiona, Sam, Suzanne, and Juliane, who helped the students, filled up water containers, mopped the puddles, and served the cake. Also, special thanks to committee members (and Bag Making students) Adrienne, who helped sign in the attendees, and Lorna, who made the Burco work.
We didn’t manage to photograph all the helpers.
Fiona helping shape a bagSam: a blur of helpingSuzanne with water
Our BIGGEST thanks go to our tutor, Annika Berglund, who worked tirelessly to prepare for and teach this Basic and Beyond Felted Bagmaking Workshop! Thank you for another excellent course!!!
Unexpected Decor
A Wire and Wood Nymph Decoration from another organisation graced the adjacent CIE hall and received much appreciation. Seeing our ‘usual space’ transformed for festivities was fun!
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.
On Friday, the 16th of May, twelve members of Feltmakers Ireland enthusiastically came together for our first in-person workshop with an international tutor since the COVID pandemic. Our teacher was the esteemed Canadian artist and teacher, Marjolein Dallinga, who has a wonderful hands-on teaching style, where students experienced the sculptural possibilities of wool.
We learned how to create three unique felted sculptures, each incorporating many stages of the complex techniques Marjolein uses in her artwork. As specific processes needed to be followed when the projects were dry, it was a choreographed dance!
Here is a lovely photo of some students gazing with adoration on their damp, in-progress work.
Students Watching
Throughout the three days, there were step-by-step demonstrations of techniques.
Everyone is hard at work.
Students Felting
Exhibition
At the end of the course, we had a mini-exhibition in the sunshine. It was wonderful to see how each student’s work came out!
Thanks to the Many
Many thanks to Suzanne Phelan for taking care of so many details and keeping everyone caffeinated. A tip of the hat to Elaine Peden for recommending Kilteel Hall – isn’t it beautiful? Also, thanks to Elizabeth Redding and Breda Fay, guild members who came by to lend a hand. ENORMOUS thanks to Elizabeth for bringing the tubes that we used to raise the tables—it was such a treat to have those! Of course, thanks to all the students who helped create such a focused learning community and knew how to laugh!
The warmest thanks go to Marjoelein for sharing her warmth, wisdom, and talents. We look forward to her return to Ireland!
Marjoelin Dallinga in Kilteel, Co Kildare.
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.
NOTE: MARJOLEIN’S CLASS IS NOW FULL – as of 28th of April.
Feltmakers Ireland is thrilled to announce that we will be hosting TWO exclusive, wet felting workshops this year with renowned international tutors! We haven’t hosted an international workshop in a long time and are super excited!
Each workshop runs for three days and is limited to twelve students.
Registration is now open to non-members of Feltmakers Ireland. (Guild members have already received emailsannouncing the workshops.)
The workshop with Marjolein Dallinga is appropriate for intermediate to advanced feltmakers.
The workshop with Pam de Groot is appropriate for most feltmakers.
It is from the dance of often conflicting emotions that creativity and art are born. Though sculpture is usually perceived as static I see it more as movement, and in this workshop the movement of wool fibers into felt.
And as long as there is movement there is life and possibilities.
This 3-day workshop will deepen the consciousness about experiences learned from sculpting with wool and other fibres. We will explore different techniques for sculptural form ideas, with themes like: folding and unfolding, building relief clamping, binding, etc. All to become more aware of how and why we want to use this medium. This workshop is inspired by different ideas to make three-dimensional sculptures with conceptional, intuitive and sensual sources to create from. We will play with the processes of shortening, thickening, tightening, shrinking, and other transformations of the felted surfaces.
All out of the experience of discovery and surprise when working with this surprising wool medium.
WHEN: Friday, the16th through Sunday, the 18th of May, 2025, 9 AM to 5 PM
“In the workshop, we will learn several skills useful for fibre jewellery making. We will make one or more pieces of felted jewellery depending on the complexity of the individual design. We will look at how to design the piece for wearing, and how to construct various closures and attachments. You can also learn how to incorporate foreign objects if necessary.”
WHEN: Friday, the 18th through Sunday, the 20th of July 2025, 10 AM to 5 PM
NOTE: As of 28th of April, Marjolein’s workshop is NOW FULL.
To apply for PAM de GROOT’s workshop, please email committee member Annika Berglund at annika@annikaberglund.com
Please include the tutor’s name in the ‘Subject Line’ of your email.
All participants will be notified via email and provided with a payment link for secure payment using a credit or debit card.
Additional Information
Supplies are not included in the workshop price. Once registered, we will email students the supply list provided by each tutor.
Cancellation & Refund Policy for Workshops
If you need to cancel your place in a workshop, please notify the Guild by email at least 7 days before the start of the class. A €10 handling fee will be deducted from your refund.
Cancellations made less than 7 days before the workshop are not eligible for a refund. However, if you are able to find a replacement student to take your place and inform the Guild within this period, you will receive a refund (minus the €10 handling fee).
Please note: In exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, the committee may consider refund requests at its discretion.
Feltmakers Ireland is very grateful to have received grant money from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland to partially cover the costs of these two workshops.
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 the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Colour Field is a newly developed garden at the Workhouse Union, in Callan, Co Kilkenny. It is dedicated to cultivating colour-giving plants. The project hosts workshops, talks, artists’ residencies, and a community celebration.
Different plants and the colours they create will be studied in the upcoming months.
The workshop programme begins with GREEN on Thursday, the 10th of April, 10:45 – 16:00. A full day working with fresh spring Nettle tops, this workshop will introduce natural dyeing, botanical drawing and embroidery.
Residencies
The Making Colour Studio Residency Programme invites artists to explore their practice through the creation of natural colour from plants. Selected through invitation and open call, participating artists will engage in a shared residency at Workhouse Union in the summer of 2025.
Artists will have access to the Colour Field dye garden, PrintBlock Callan print studio, outdoor dye kitchen, and the Workhouse Union library, which offer resources for research and experimentation.
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.
Winner of Feltmarker’s Ireland’s Educational Bursary of 2024, Adrienne Dempsey, attended Lindsey Tyson’s online course, ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’.
I would like to thank Feltmakers Ireland and guild member Doris Reinisch for the generous bursary prize of €250 award for 2024. Doris’s name was originally pulled from the draw at our annual AGM. However, due to her having previously won the bursary prize, Doris kindly permitted us to randomly select another name from the draw and give the prize to another member. {You can read about what Doris studied HERE on the blog.}
To my surprise and joy, I was informed I had won the bursary prize. I chose an online course, ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’, with Lindsey Tyson. The bursary prize money contributed towards this course.
I first saw Lindsey’s printed felt products on Instagram and her website, Lindsey Tyson Art. Lindsey had a successful career in textiles, has been printing on felt for many years, and has developed her own techniques. I am amazed at her printed felt products and how she mastered such clear, precise and detailed images – especially onto felt. The course is not a felting course; it consists of How to Transfer Prints onto Felt and other Fabrics. Lindsey has produced a comprehensive pre-recorded course to share her expertise. Lindsey’s video tutorials provide hours of demonstration, which is backed up by documentation that can be printed out, which I found really useful.
I pondered for some time before signing up for this course, as I knew this printing method would involve a certain amount of equipment and software. I decided not to rush out and buy a laser printer or a heat press. I used local resources around me, as I had access to a laser printer that I could use. I had been a member of a print studio, and I arranged to use their textile heat press to get me started.
The course covers in great detail how to design and manipulate images. It includes tutorials on using free software as well as paid software like Photoshop. I had an old version of Photoshop on my desktop that I could use, and I had great fun at the start trying to remember how to use this software, as it’s been a few years since I used it. I found Lindsey’s Photoshop tutorials a great guide, and I hope to get more proficient using Photoshop.
I’ve enjoyed all the course content very much, especially the fabric design elements. I was delighted to find a way of combining my line drawings, paintings, and photographs. I learned how to design my own imagery and patterns so that I could transfer my designs onto felt. I also learnt about fabrics suitable for printing.
This course taught me the importance of choosing the right type of paper to transfer onto felt when using a laser or inkjet printer. I used Lindsey’s paper recommendations and purchased paper from her website.
I experimented a lot. I had several prints with which I was not pleased with the print quality. I discovered that the quality of your print can be down to not using the right temperature, pressure, and trimming on the heat press.
I felted large squares of felt in white 19-micron Merino wool, and I also bought prefelt Merino wool in preparation to print. To practice printing onto felt, I used free image resources recommended in the course, my photography, line drawings, and paintings.
The First One
For my first attempt at printing, I used free images printed on 19-micron Merino wool.
Floral Experiment
Next, I worked with a flower photograph that I edited in Photoshop, ready to print and transfer onto extra-fine prefelt. I wanted to see how clear I could get this image from a photograph printed onto paper and then transferred onto felt. I hoped this image would pick up the shadows and colours that I liked about the original picture. It was interesting to see the printed results when transferred onto felt.
Repeat Patterns
Experimenting with a repeat pattern, tree images were transferred onto a 19-micron Merino.
Three-Dimensional Work
I really enjoyed making the below nature-printed pebbles and brooches using core wool and 19-micron Merino wool. I am pleased with the finished printed results.
Line drawing flower printed onto a felt pebble.
A robin painting printed on three felted pebbles, with a free robin with a holly branch image transferred onto a felted brooch.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this course if you want to learn to print onto felt and other fabrics. The beauty of the pre-recorded online course is that you can access it indefinitely, always revisit parts if you are unsure, and can take it at your own pace.
Ongoing course support is great. There is a private Facebook group where you can share your ideas, questions and any problems you may have, and Lindsey is always on hand to answer your questions and ensure you have all the information you need to succeed via email and Facebook.
Lindsey Tyson is having a Moving-On course sale on ‘Transfer Printing onto Felt and Other Fabrics’. She is moving away from feltmaking and printing to focus solely on her painting practice. NOTE: Registration for the class closes on the 30th of April. But once you purchase this course, you will have unlimited access.
Feltmakers Ireland would like to thank Adrienne Dempsey for her lovely report and congratulate her on these brilliant course results.
We will hold a raffle for another Educational Bursary at our AGM in May. If you have not done so already, please renew your membership for a chance to win!
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.
We realise we shared an education course yesterday. However, many tutors are announcing their upcoming class schedules for the new year. This class from Felting School Online focuses on creating ‘Magical Hats’. It is a prerecorded, downloadable ‘video’ with English subtitles and an English voiceover.
There is an early bird price for the class until the 16th of December.
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.
Editor’s Note: Fiona’s classes are popular. To find out earlier, you may want to sign up for her email newsletter.
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.
Some students share their still-in-process, wet-felted eyeglass cases created during a hybrid workshop with Judit Pocs. From left to right: Clodagh, Siobhan, Breda, Dee, Adrienne, Elizabeth, and Hélène.
Hybrid Workshop with International Tutor
On October 6, 2024, eighteen members of Feltmakers Ireland came together at the CIE Sports Hall in Inchicore, Dublin, for an innovative hybrid workshop. Taught remotely by renowned Hungarian artist and tutor Judit Pócs via Zoom, this innovative course blended the advantages of group learning with international expertise. The project, a wet-felted eyeglass case with intricate embellishment options, challenged participants to develop their advanced felting skills.
Students introduce themselves to tutor Judit Pocs – via Zoom
Getting acquainted. Grateful for committee member Suzanne’s expertise with Zoom and projectors! She is wearing a black jumper with a red stripe down the sleeve.
For the workshop, students could use deliciously coloured Merino wool kits from Feltmakers Ireland and Design and Crafts Council (DCCI) member Leiko Uchiyama (https://www.leikofelt.com/shop/) or fibre from their own stashes.
Wool Kit from Leiko Felt
Students working away at the CIE Sport Hall and Social Club
As the projects were small, we shared tables.
Everyone could see the projector where the Zoom was cast.
Some students opted to wear gloves.
Fulling a section of the project.
We organised the CIE Sports Hall’s tables in three rows, with a ‘U’- shape of tables surrounding it. We wanted to ensure all the students could see the projector screen AND be able to get up and walk around the room.
Students show their work to Judit via the Zoom connection
Adrienne shows her case.Hélène shows her case.Clodagh shows her case.Helen shows her case.Elizabeth shows her case.
With the class structured as a hybrid—our teacher, Judit, in Hungary, and the students gathered together in Dublin, Ireland—we had to adapt creatively. If we had been taking the class individually, each of us would have worked in front of our own computers and shared our work directly. With our hybrid session, we interacted differently since we used only one laptop to communicate with our teacher. Consequently, we took turns lining up to share our progress with Judit. Special thanks to committee member (and fellow student) Suzanne Phelan for her excellent expertise in using Zoom and for kindly loaning us her hardware – her laptop, projector, and screen. THANK YOU!!!
Some of the finished eyeglass cases
Felted Eyeglass Case by Hélène Dooley.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Maria McGarry.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Breda Fay.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Siobhan Ryan
Felted Eyeglass Case by Sam Fagan.
Felted eyeglass case by Zivile Zeniauskaite.
Finished case by Elizabeth Redding.
Finished case by Clodagh Mac Donagh.
Felted Eyeglass Case by Helen Kiersey.
Each student used creative decision-making to ornament the outside of her case, and each one came out uniquely!
We sincerely apologise if you attended our class in October and we missed the photo of your felted eyeglasses case. Please email your photo to us, and we’ll happily add it to the slideshow above.
Conclusion
Our class with Judit Pocs was a rewarding experience. Students enjoyed the process and significantly advanced their feltmaking skills. Completing intricate eyeglass cases showcased their ability to master advanced techniques such as shaping three-dimensional felt, attaching gradient cords, using prefelt for patterning, and devising sturdy closures.
We can’t wait to see how they bring these newly acquired skills into their future creations, pushing the boundaries of their artistry even further!
Judit has several pre-recorded classes available to purchase from her website, along with live ones. For more information, visit her website – https://pocsjuditstudio.hu/workshop/
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.
Feltmakers Ireland 