Tag: CIE Social Club Inchicore

RECAP – Feltmakers Ireland’s Open Day – Dublin

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

By Deirdre Carroll

Recap - August Craft Month - Feltmakers Ireland

On a bright sunny day in Dublin, Feltmakers Ireland members held an ‘Introduction to Wet Felting Workshop’ at the CIE Sports and Social Hall in Inchicore on Sunday, the 17th of August. Our event was part of August Craft Month, and also part of National Heritage Week, which runs from August 16th to 24th.

The aim of our event was to introduce participants to the art of wet felting and provide hands-on experience in creating a felted vessel. The skills gained included an understanding of the felting process, tactile engagement, creative confidence, and the joy of having fun.

Selecting fibre
Laying out the wool
Student felting

Two sessions were held, with 12 participants attending the first session from 11 AM to 1 PM and 8 participants attending the second session from 1 PM to 3 PM. All participants were provided with wool and the equipment needed to felt a vessel using a choice of colours. Guild member Annika Berglund gave a demonstration on starting the process before the participants went to their positions, where they were assisted in completing the process by members of Feltmakers Ireland.

Annika demonstrating
Annika wetting the fibre
Annika rolling the felt

Photos of the students felting away.

In addition to the hands-on wet felting workshop, guild member Margaret Ryan Collins shared about Irish wool. She demonstrated how to card wool from Irish sheep’s fleece, showing that the wool could be used for felting or knitting. A few years ago, Feltmakers Ireland successfully self-published a book on felting with Irish wool, titled ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking.’ This book is available for purchase on our website – https://feltmakersireland.com/exploring-irish-wool-for-feltmaking/

As part of our Open Day, we showcased the sample board from our research on Irish Wool. It shows how specific breeds of sheep’s wool can be needle-felted and wet-felted.

Samples wet felted and needle felted from the sheep breeds tested for our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’.

Guild member Eva Salamon demonstrated how to needle-felt her fantasy figures. Hilary shared some of her works-in-progress.

Hillary and Eva
Eva

Several members displayed their felted creations.

Annika, Irina, Marie, and Elizabeth demonstrated and helped participants to create wet-felted vessels. The verbal feedback from the participants was very positive, and each person left with a completed vessel.

Annika and some of the students share their felted vessels.

Isha from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland and photographer Sasko arrived to view the workshop. They were very interested in the various pieces on display and the processes demonstrated by the members.

In conclusion, Feltmakers Ireland’s Open Day successfully engaged participants in the creative process of wet felting, enabling them to express their artistic side. It was a great day and a great success.

Adrienne and Deirdre welcoming students

Thanks to the members of Feltmakers Ireland who helped on the day. Thank you to Sam Fagan and Margaret for the photographs. Additional appreciation to Sam, Annika, and Lorna, who organised a very successful event. Feltmakers Ireland is grateful for the support received from the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.

On Sunday, the 24th of August, committee member Elizabeth Redding will lead a similar Open Day in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath. https://augustcraftmonth.org/acm-event/feltmakers-ireland-open-day-discover-the-magic-of-wet-felting-westmeath/ Note: This event is fully booked up. If you would like to volunteer to help, please email feltmakersIE@gmail.com

Good luck to Elizabeth and the volunteers helping her.

UPDATE: There’s a fantastic blog post by Douglas of the CIE Sports Hall in Inchicore that features even more photos and tons of interesting information. – https://inchicoresportsandsocialclub.com/2025/08/19/feltmakers-ireland-open-day-sunday-17-august/ 🌿🐏🌿

Our banner.

There is a fantastic article with TONS of photos about our Open Day on the CIE Sports Hall’s website – https://inchicoresportsandsocialclub.com/2025/08/19/feltmakers-ireland-open-day-sunday-17-august/

Additionally, we had a second Open Day in Kilbeggan on Sunday, the 24th of August. There is an article (with a paywall), here on Topic – https://topic.ie/from-wool-to-wonder-feltmakers-open-day-draws-all-ages/

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.

Recap: Basic and Beyond – Bagmaking Workshop with Annika Berglund

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland1 Comment

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 tossing
Christine 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 bag
Loli’s bag
Alison’s bag
Linda’s bag
Egle’s bag
Fiona’s bag
Juliane’s bag
Suzette’s bag
Margaret’s bag
Lorna’s bag
Siobhan’s bag
Mary’s bag
Adrienne’s bag
Brid’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 bag
Sam: a blur of helping
Suzanne 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.

Recap AGM: Looking Back & Looking Forward on the Past Year – Plus Guest Speaker Leiko Uchiyama

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland1 Comment

On Sunday, the 11th of May, Feltmakers Ireland marked a significant milestone, celebrating its 22nd year as an organisation. Twenty-nine members attended this AGM in person, and six joined via Zoom link. Our founder, President Elizabeth Bonnar, was also in attendance.

Address by Acting Chair

First, committee member Suzanne Phelan, acting on behalf of our Chairperson Deirdre Carroll, went over the Guild’s many accomplishments for the past year, which included the following activities and events:

  • Sharing our love of feltmaking at public events such as Bloom, the Tullamore Show and Dublin Fibre Festival.
  • Hosting Open Days in Dublin and Killbeggan, Co Westmeath as part of August Craft Month/Heritage Week Ireland.
  • First Lady Sabina Higgins opened our month-long exhibition of ‘Symbols of Ireland’ at the Phoenix Park Visitors’ Centre Gallery in March. 400 people attended the opening, and over a thousand people viewed the show.
  • Several hands-on events were held, including a revisit of the Fine Felt Workshop with Annika Berglund, the Pine Needle technique with Leiko Uchiyama, Needle-Felted Mushrooms with Nara Fritch, and Felt Christmas Stars with Annika Berglund.
  • In the past year, our Sunday Sessions also included learning about the creative journeys of members Maria McGarry, Deirdre Crofts, and Clodagh Mac Donagh.
  • Our hybrid Zoom class in October with Hungarian tutor Judith Pocs, where we made felted eyeglass cases.
  • Volunteers travelled to Belfast in November to demonstrate felting at the Knitting and Stitching Show, sharing a booth with the International Feltmakers Association and Feltmakers North.

Address by the Secretary

For the next part of the AGM, our secretary, Lorna Cady, discussed our upcoming activities for the coming year. Amongst the exciting events mentioned were the following –

  • Two international workshops: One in May with Marjolein Dallinga and one in July with Pam de Groot.
  • The Basic and Beyond Bag Making Workshop with Annika Berglund in June.
  • In August, the guild will again demonstrate felting at the Tullamore Show,and participate in August Craft Month / Heritage Week at the CIE Sports Hall in Inchicore, and Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath.
  • In October, we will demonstrate at the Dublin Fibre Festival
  • In November, we will hopefully again participate in the Knitting and Stitching Show, in Lisburn, with the IFA and Feltmakers North.

The Treasurer’s Report and Wool Project

Treasurer, Annika Berglund, reported on our finances, which were approved by the auditor, and the Wool Project, our book, ‘Exploring Irish Wool for Feltmaking’, which is also doing well and has been purchased by wool enthusiasts in Ireland and beyond, including the USA and Europe. She also introduced our new treasurer, Samantha Fagan, to the group.

The Bursary Draw

This year, Hilary Delaney was the fortunate member to win the 250 euro Bursary, which will be used for a felting workshop of her choice. We look forward to seeing what she learns through her short recap and photographs.

Committee News

The membership voted to approve Belinda Reid’s official joining of the committee. Two guild members, Irina Lampadova and Helena Mc Guinness, have offered to help the committee. We are so very appreciative of these members for putting themselves forward. We will have confirmations at the next committee session in June.

Guest Speaker

Our guest speaker, Leiko Uchiyama, shared her life and travels and how they influenced her sculptural artworks and functional felted objects, which range from playful to elegant. She spoke of the inherent Diversity of Feltmaking and how she enjoyed the play of textures and colour. It was a fascinating talk, and so interesting to learn more about her.

Leiko also filled the stage with her gloriously beautiful wool from her fibre dyeing business LeikoFelt, which proved very popular with the members!

Thank you, Leiko, for being part of our 2025 AGM!

Spoiled for choices of Merino, Corriedale and Silk/Merino roving from LeikoFelt.

Felt Displayed

In addition to the Committee proceedings and Leiko’s Textile Journey, several of our members displayed their artwork, and a few had pieces for sale. These members included Loli Cox, Irina Lampadova, Fiona Leech, and Evija Mezaka. Apologies if we have missed anyone.

Video of the Day

A medley of our day at AGM 2025.

Many thanks to all those who attended Feltmakers Ireland’s 2025 AGM, whether in person or via Zoom! And we understand if you could not make it – the weather was so lovely outside!

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.

News: Feltmakers Ireland AGM 2025 – this Sunday

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Poster for Feltmakers Ireland's AGM 2025 - This Sunday with guest speaker Lieko Uchiyama - picture of Leiko and some of her hand-dyed wool fibres.
Leiko Uchiyama with a selection of her hand-dyed fibres

All members* of the Feltmakers Ireland Guild are invited to our AGM on Sunday, the 11th of May.

By starting promptly at 10:30 AM, we aim to complete the meeting’s formalities promptly, allowing us to listen to the Textile Journey of our Guest Speaker, Leiko Uchiyama, an artist, educator, and master dyer, who lives in Co Carlow.

Additionally, we will feature a Sellers’ Area and a Display Area this year.

Image of wool and wool & silk fibre that LeikoFelt sells and will provide at the AGM for members to purchase.


Leiko brought a selection of her gorgeous hand-dyed fibres during the Pine Needle Felting Workshop in January. She will have similar supplies available to purchase this Sunday. Other guild members will be bringing felted artwork and supplies too. IF you want to be included in this Vending Opportunity, please RESERVE a spot by emailing feltmakersIE@gmail.com

There is no cost for members to sell at the AGM.

Agenda

1.     Address by the Chair, opening the AGM (Suzanne Phelan will act on behalf of chairperson Deirdre Carroll, who is away)

2.     Address by Secretary (Lorna Cady)

3.    Treasurer’s Report (Annika Berglund)

4.    Wool Project Wool Report  (Annika Berglund)

5.    Motions for AGM

6.    Election of Chair and Committee 2025/26. Election of other Officers will be held at the June Committee Meeting. We always welcome new faces on the Committee—if you’re interested in helping to keep our Guild active and thriving, your support would be greatly appreciated!

7.    Guest Speaker is Leiko Uchiyama, a feltmaking artist originally from Japan and now living in Borris, Co Carlow. Her journey has taken her from Japan to New Zealand, Indonesia, and France, where she developed her feltmaking techniques. Leiko creates wearable pieces made of wool and silks, which she dyes using her own colour recipes. She also makes functional pieces for the home. She teaches Felting workshops throughout Europe, America, Australia, and Japan, and has exhibited her work in many countries.

Leiko will also have her dyed wool roving for sale at the AGM. She will bring Merino, Corriedale and a Silk/Merino mix of roving, which is ideal for the craft of felting.

8.    A Bursary Draw for €250 is open to all paid-up members and will take place at the AGM. The winner can participate in a Felting course and then provide a short recap article with photographs. (In 2024, guild member Adrienne Dempsey won the award. You can read about her experience in this blog post.)

9. Sellers’ Area: Members can sell their work, fibres or supplies at the AGM. Methods of receiving payment, whether by cash, credit card, Revolut, or PayPal transactions, are the seller’s responsibility. The guild will provide tables, but NOT coverings or other displays. Please RSVP to participate in the Sellers’ Area. feltmakersIE@gmail.com

10.  Display Area: Members can also take the opportunity to display and discuss a small selection of their work with other members. Members will need to bring props to display their items. Make sure that your name is on your piece. The guild will provide two table coverings. There is no need to RSVP for the Display Area.

11.  Refreshments and chat. Refreshments will follow. If you could bring a little something, home-baked or not, we’d be delighted. We always appreciate goodies with our cuppa. If you have a travel cup, please bring it so we can reduce the waste of single-use paper cups. As always, we will provide the coffee and tea!

*We kindly ask non-members to become members in order to attend the AGM.

Zoom Access

Members who cannot attend in person can use the Zoom link, which will be emailed to members today. This session will not be recorded.

Leiko’s Instagram: @leikofelt


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.

Events: Feltmakers Ireland AGM 2025 – 11th of May

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

AGM

All members of the Feltmakers Ireland Guild are invited to our AGM on Sunday, the 11th of May.

By starting promptly at 10:30 AM, we aim to complete the meeting’s formalities in a timely manner, allowing us to listen to our Guest Speaker, Leiko Uchiyama, an artist, educator, and master dyer, who lives in Co Carlow.

Additionally, this year we will feature a Sellers’ Area and a Display Area. See below for more information.

Agenda

1.     Address by the Chair, opening the AGM (Suzanne Phelan will act on behalf of chairperson Deirdre Carroll, who is away)

2.     Address by Secretary (Lorna Cady)

3.    Treasurer’s Report (Annika Berglund)

4.    Wool Project Wool Report  (Annika Berglund)

5.    Motions for AGM

6.    Election of Chair and Committee 2025/26. Election of other Officers will be held at the June Committee Meeting. We always welcome new faces on the Committee—if you’re interested in helping to keep our Guild active and thriving, your support would be greatly appreciated!

7.    Guest Speaker is Leiko Uchiyama, a feltmaking artist originally from Japan and now living in Borris, Co Carlow. Her journey has taken her from Japan to New Zealand, Indonesia, and France, where she developed her feltmaking techniques. Leiko creates wearable pieces made of wool and silks, which she dyes using her own colour recipes. She also makes functional pieces for the home. She teaches Felting workshops throughout Europe, America, Australia, and Japan, and has exhibited her work in many countries.

Leiko will also have her dyed wool roving for sale at the AGM. She will bring Merino, Corriedale and a Silk/Merino mix of roving, which is ideal for the craft of felting.

8.    A Bursary Draw for €250 is open to all paid-up members and will take place at the AGM. The winner can participate in a Felting course and then provide a short recap article with photographs. (In 2024, guild member Adrienne Dempsey won the award. You can read about her experience in this blog post.)

9. Sellers’ Area: Members will have the opportunity to sell their work, fibres or supplies at the AGM. Methods of receiving payment, whether by cash, credit card, Revolut, or PayPal transactions, are the seller’s responsibility. The guild will provide tables, but NOT coverings or other displays. Please RSVP if you wish to participate in the Sellers’ Area, as space is limited. feltmakersIE@gmail.com

10.  Display Area: Members can also take the opportunity to display and discuss a small selection of their work with other members. Members will need to bring props to display their items. Make sure that your name is on your piece. The guild will provide two table coverings.

11.  Refreshments and chat. Refreshments will follow. If you could bring a little something, home-baked or not, we’d be delighted. We always appreciate goodies with our cuppa. If you have a travel cup, please bring it so we can reduce the waste of single-use paper cups.

Zoom Access

Members who cannot attend in person can use the Zoom link, which will be emailed beforehand on Friday. This session will not be recorded.

Leiko’s Instagram: @leikofelt

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.

Recap: Fine Felt Technical Workshop with Annika Berglund – 2025

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland1 Comment
The results of the workshop captured by Hélène Dooley

On Saturday, the 26th of April, 20 students gathered around artist and Feltmakers Ireland guild member Annika Berglund to learn about Fine Feltmaking. In the morning, we concentrated on flat, two-dimensional wet felting, and during the afternoon, we focused on creating a three-dimensional vessel.


What is Fine Felt?

With this type of wet felting, the aim is to create dense, smooth felt. It is not a fast process. She shared that she came across the slow approach during her research for the guild’s Irish Wool Project. One of the wool tester’s felted samples were exceptionally smooth and tight. In querying this person, she deduced that our usual method, which involved a bit of rubbing and a lot of rolling, needed to be reexamined. By slowly compressing the fibres, the results are better!

Consequently, during the Fine Felt Technical Workshop, we didn’t toss or throw. Instead, we took it slow. Annika said we might never seek this patience-requiring method again, but we would know and have the option to use it in our future felting. Nevertheless, Annika reminded us that “Felt is Forgiving”.

Throughout the workshop, the students used only two colours: black and white. This simple limitation allowed us to experience how colours combine through the feltmaking process. Similarly, we learned about the differences between the wispy and the blunt ends of a wool shingle and how they can impact the final project. There was a lot to think about!

Annika demonstrating layout of Merino wool fibres.
Annika demonstrating layout

Morning

In the morning, we worked on a flat square of felt. We learned how to carefully lay out Merino wool roving to a specific size and then gently transform the fluff into felt. Annika explained the hows and whys of why we might want to shrink our samples more or less. Interestingly, we worked in imperial measurements (inches) because the percentage shrinkage was more obvious. As we shrank down our pieces, she reminded us to remember the edges!

Annika is demonstrating compressing the fibres

Afternoon

In the afternoon session, the students concentrated on creating a three-dimensional sphere. We used a flat, circular-shaped resist to make this hollow form, a vessel. Interestingly, the afternoon vessel layout was a quicker process. However, similar to our morning education, this felting process needed a delicate touch. Annika reminded us that with rolling, it can get bumpy; the resist inside may bunch up, but you’re in control.

Annika is demonstrating how to lay out a three-dimensional sphere.
Annika is demonstrating how to lay out a three-dimensional sphere.

Busy Hands

Laying out the fibres.
Compressing the fibres through the bubblewrap.
Making a flat square
Microfulling in pointy corners.
Rolling in hands.
Checking shrinkage.

Additional Information

Educator and artist Vanda Sousa has several excellent blog posts about wet felting. This one on how to create fine felt is helpful – https://www.vandafsousa.com/blog/tutorial-how-to-make-fine-and-flexible-felt. 

If you are more experienced with three-dimensional felting, Vanda Sousa has an upcoming online course that may be of interest. It is for designing resists to make felted slippers, shoes and boots – https://www.vandafsousa.com/resists-made-easy-for-footwear


Appreciation Time

Many thanks to the volunteers who assisted in setting up the room and helping the students: Loli Cox, Adrienne Dempsey, Hélène Dooley, Marie Dunne, Sam Fagan, Juliane Gorman, Fiona Leech, Caitríona Nolan, and Suzanne Phelan.

Sam was invaluable, continually lending a hand behind the scenes.

Sam Fagan filling the Burco.
Sam filling the Burco with more water.


A special thanks to Lorna Cady for taking care of the CIE Sports Hall and the tea, coffee, and sweet treats!

Lastly, a huge thanks to Annika Berglund for taking on this workshop for the Guild. She has a marvellous way of getting the students’ attention and also making us laugh!

A Video of the Day!

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.

Recap - Sunday Session

Recap: Clodagh Mac Donagh – April Sunday Session

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland2 Comments
Clodagh wearing her colourful, hand-felted vest pictured next to a photo from her teaching years.

On Sunday, April 13th, long-time Feltmakers Ireland guild member Clodagh Mac Donagh shared her Textile Journey. Her colourful adventures in three locations—London, Paris, and Skerries, IRELAND —where she has lived, been educated, worked, and raised her family, enchanted us.

Like many guild members, Clodagh trained in fine art (in Ireland) and textiles (Goldsmiths in the UK). She worked in education. She taught textiles in multiple settings: to young people via schools, large-scale community projects funded by her local Fingal County Council, and even a textile education centre she opened in Balbriggan. Most recently, she taught a ten-week course on Wet Felting to adults at Castleknock College. Although now retired, she continues to teach Shibori Dyeing and other textile-related classes through Mel Bradley Silks Studio in Drogheda.

Teaching Felting

Besides working as an educator, Clodagh also worked as a dyer for high-end textile designer Sabina Fay Braxton.

She has also traveled extensively and shared some of her Japanese textile collection, which she collected during her visit there six years ago. When she was there, she visited Aramatsu – the town that creates famous Shibori!

Some Photographs of Felted and Shibori Dyed Textiles

On Shibori

Clodagh explained that the term ‘Shibori ‘ means in Japanese “to wring out or compress so that the dye does not reach”. The technique dates back to the 8th century in Japan. Traditionally, it was done on silk or hemp fabrics and was worn by the samurai and aristocracy. 

Clodagh generously shared six Shibori-dyeing resist techniques with the guild. She explained that what we do now is not traditional.

  • Kamoko – a pattern with all-over circles or bullseyes on it.
  • Arashi, which means ‘Driving Rain’ in Japanese, is an accordion fold (like a fan) tied around a pole or pipe. It looks sophisticated, but not difficult to produce.
  • Itajame – an accordion fold with resists.
  • Nui Shibori – stitched with pleats.
  • Kumo – repeat in the fabric with a series of ties concentrically arranged.
  • Muira—The example she showed was a long robe made of panels. It was created using a special stand with a hook that catches fabric and stitched with a continuous thread.

Example of Arashi

Video from Sunday

A huge thank you to Clodagh for sharing your Textile Journey with us! We appreciate all the work she put in to share with us.

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.

Sunday Session

Reminder: Clodagh Mac Donagh’s Textile Journey -This Sunday Session

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Sunday Session - the 13th - Clodagh Mac Donagh - Adventures in Indigo

This Sunday, the 13th of April, longtime Feltmakers Ireland member, artist and educator, Clodagh Mac Donagh will share her travel and textile experiences with feltmaking and indigo dyeing for our Sunday Session. She has traveled to Japan to study dyeing and will bring her fantastic collection of textiles. Additionally, she will demonstrate various techniques of achieving patterns through Shibori methods.

Due to health and safety, our Sunday Session will ~not~ be a hands-on Indigo Dyeing demonstration or workshop, but Clodagh will demonstrate shibori techniques.

Please bring the following items:

  • 10 baby wipes
  • 10 A4 sheets of paper, preferably white/plain (These will be used for demonstration purposes)
  • some small rubber bands
  • a few short lengths of strings (different thicknesses)
  • a few beads or glass pebbles
  • a ruler
  • pen or pencil, and a small bag to bring items home.

Note: These items are for demonstrating purposes only, not for dyeing.


Additional Details

Complimentary tea and coffee will be served at this Sunday’s Session. Home-baked goods to share are always welcome! If you can, please bring a travel mug to replace disposable paper cups.

As a member perk for 2025, we no longer charge 5 euros per session. (If you still need to renew your Annual Membership for 2025, you can now pay online here – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/ )

This Sunday’s Session will ~not~ have a Zoom link. We apologise for this, but we will use a projector to share some of Clodagh’s photographs of her projects and travels. There is only so much technology we can juggle during a single session.

As this is the season of coughs and sneezes, we prefer you not to share these. Please do not attend if you may be unwell. We will have a photo-filled recap on the blog in the coming week!

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.

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Sunday Session

Sunday Session: Clodagh Mac Donagh’s Textile Journey – Adventures in Indigo – 13th of April

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

On April 13th, longtime Feltmakers Ireland member, artist and educator, Clodagh Mac Donagh, will share her travel and textile experiences with Indigo Dyeing for our Sunday Session. She has traveled to Japan to study this subject and will bring her fantastic collection of textiles. She will also demonstrate various techniques of achieving patterns through Shibori methods.

Due to health and safety, our Sunday Session will ~not~ be a hands-on Indigo Dyeing demonstration or workshop, but Clodagh will demonstrate shibori techniques.

Please bring the following items:

  • 10 baby wipes
  • 10 A4 sheets of paper, preferably white/plain (These will be used for demonstration purposes)
  • some small rubber bands
  • a few short lengths of strings (different thicknesses)
  • a few beads or glass pebbles
  • a ruler
  • pen or pencil, and a small bag to bring them home again.

Note: these items are for demonstrating purposes only, not for dyeing.

From an Indigo / Shibori Dyeing Workshop in 2024

The photos above are from a workshop taught by Clodagh and Mel Bradley, which was held at Mel Bradley Silks, in the Millmount Craft Quarter, Drogheda, in the Spring of 2024.

Additional Details

Complimentary tea and coffee will be served at this Sunday’s Session. Home-baked goods to share are always welcome! If you can, please bring a travel mug to replace disposable paper cups.

As a member perk for 2025, we will no longer charge 5 euros per session. (If you still need to renew your Annual Membership for 2025, you can now pay online here – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/ )

This Sunday’s Session will ~not~ have a Zoom link. We apologise for this, but we will use a projector to share some of Clodagh’s photographs of her travels. There is only so much technology we can juggle during a single session.

As this is the season of coughs and sneezes, we prefer you not to share these. Please do not attend if you may be unwell.

Here is a fun video from the workshop in Drogheda!

Students are airing the indigo-dyed fabric and having a little dance, too!

The recap of this Sunday Session is HERE – https://feltmakersireland.com/2025/04/15/recap-clodagh-mac-donagh-april-sunday-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 content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.

Education: Fine Felt Technical Workshop with Annika Berglund – Saturday, the 26th April

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
FIne Felt - Wet Felting Workshop - shows black to white gradiations of flat and 3 D felting.

Fine Felting Technical Workshop

We are excited to announce our upcoming technical feltmaking workshop, ‘Fine Felt’, which will be held on SATURDAY, the 26th of April, from 10:00 AM to 4 PM. 

This ‘Fine Felt’ Technical Workshop is recommended before taking our more advanced ‘Basic and Beyond: Felted Bag with Handle’ workshop on the 8th of  June.

This year, we are offering a Technique Improvement Workshop aimed at beginner and intermediate wet felters. The course aims to examine “Fine Felting,” which is traditionally desired in the craft of felting. 

The class is a repeat of last year’s Fine Felt Technical Workshop, but students are welcome to retake it if they wish.

The Schedule

The class is made up of two parts: A Square 2D sample and a Small 3D Vessel. 

In the morning, beginner wet feltmakers will learn how to lay out wool using a flat 10-inch template and how to felt, full, and shrink. We will look at the graduation of colour and shrinkage rates.

A team of helpers will be available to anybody needing support.

During the morning session, more experienced feltmakers can focus on creating a very light, even layout using 10 grams of wool for a 10-inch square. We will look at how to get the densest, finest felt possible while working on creating a perfect square sample with a shrinkage of 30%, 40%, 50% or possibly 60%, depending on our speed of felting.

This may not be how we would do felting on an everyday basis. But, this session spent truly concentrating on careful felting should improve our overall felting work.

We will break for lunch. Please bring something to eat as we will only have 30 minutes. Tea and coffee will be provided. Bring a ‘travel mug’ to cut down on paper cup waste.

In the afternoon, we will apply our learnings from the morning to make the finest little vessel possible. We will use a different layout (spokes and wheel), laying out 10 grams of black and white wool around a 20 cm circular resist. The goal will be to create a very thin, fine vessel, that is well-felted and sturdy.

SUPPLIES

We will supply ALL wool and materials needed for the workshop.

Please bring TWO towels.

We will have spares, but if you have the following items, please bring them with you:

  • A bowl
  • A water sprinkling brauser or similar (optional as we will have spares)
  • Small sharp scissors
  • Ruler with inches AND centimetres

When

We will start at 10:00 on the dot as we have much to cover. Please try to be there a few minutes early to get settled in.

Where

CIE SPORTS HALL is in Inchicore, Dublin 08, where we usually meet.

Cost

Feltmakers Ireland is keen to promote Fine Felting, and for this reason, we are offering this all-day workshop at the low price of 30 euros for members. 

If you have friends who have been wanting to join the Guild or will want to take the Basic and Beyond Workshop in June (The Felted Bag with a Handle), this Fine Felt Technical Workshop is the perfect opportunity to learn how to make Fine Felt.

Become a member of Feltmakers Ireland – https://feltmakersireland.com/membership-application/

The Members Only price will be in effect until Monday, the 14th of April. 

There are only 27 spots available. 

Registration

Please register BEFORE the 14th of April to reserve your spot at the lower price. After the 14th, the workshop will cost 40 euros per person (for non-members and members).

Note: Members have ALREADY received an email announcement with a Payment Link on Friday, the 21st of March, 2025.

If you have not received the email or have ~just~ joined Feltmakers Ireland and want to register, please email feltmakersie@gmail.com.

We will send you a link to pay online via credit or debit card.

This will be an in-person class, and, unfortunately, Zoom attendance will not be available.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the above email.

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.