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.)
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
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.
After Felting
After the students had shrunk their bags, they had the exciting adventure of creating the strap and pocket.
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.
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
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.
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
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