Registration is now open for the 2025 International Felt Symposium, Gift of the Lambs, by the picturesque Orfű Lakes in Southern Hungary. Five instructors will lead workshops across two sessions, sharing the magical synergy of felt-making and creative collaboration.
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Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
The theme of this Gift of Lambs international feltmaking symposium is ‘Immersion in the World of Felt Sculpting’. Students choose a three-day and two-day course from the four instructors. In addition, there will be a variety of cultural activities to explore.
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.
Annika Berglund showing us the details of her felted necklace.
On Sunday, the 8th of October, Feltmakers Ireland member Annika Berglund shared her experiences with her recent in-person classes at the seven-day Hungarian Felt Camp, with five tutors AND her many experiences with studying felting via online courses.
Initially, Annika created her artwork out of totally different materials. She worked in ceramics, bronze, and glass. Seeking a more sustainable and less energy-hungry media, she tried textiles Dublin Knitting and Stitching Show in 2019. This was where she took her first feltmaking workshop. After discovering felt, she then proceeded to take many online classes. Her trip to Hungary was an opportunity to return to learning in person.
Scroll down to the bottom to see the links to the Hungarian tutors and the online felting classes.
Hungarian Felting Camp
The guild members enjoyed seeing each of the pieces that Annika created during the retreat. She would hold them up, and then we passed them around the room.
She cautioned that it was a full-on program, with most projects taking more time than allotted. Most of the projects could have been done over two days! Fortunately, Annika could complete her projects by continuing in the evenings. The one exception to this was the pillow project taught by Bea Németh.
There were three groups of students, with around ten students per group. Two of the groups were English speakers, and one of them had German speakers. Annika’s group was impacted by Covid-19, with more participants becoming ill daily. Interestingly, two students were only mildly affected by the virus. They managed to follow along, working outdoors and receiving their instructions via WhatsApp. The wonders of technology!
The cost of the seven-day workshop was around 1,375 euros, which included tuition, room, board, and transport from Budapest. The class was held in the village of Nagybörzsöny.
Necklace Project – Anikó Boros
Annika’s favourite class was creating a felted fuschia necklace with Anikó Boros (BaribonHU). She really appreciated the new feltmaking perspective and eye for detail that this teacher brought to the class.
{See above for a photo of Annika sharing this project.}
Pillow Project – Bea Németh
Annika sharing the pillow that she made in Bea Németh’s class.
Interestingly, the students worked together on a giant rug, each person decorating her own square, which they then felted and fulled collectively. After the wool became properly felted, the large piece was cut up, and each part returned to its’ designer. Then, they learned how to use an ingenious cord-making machine and, finally, how to assemble and sew their cushions.
Felted Bag with Prefelts – Gabriella Kovács
Annika sharing her felted bag.
Taught by Gabriella Kovács, this class was billed as being for ‘lazy felters’. In this class, the students use manufactured prefelts. There was no laying of wool roving. Interestingly, the students learned how to create a bag so that the lining was integral to the layout.
Doorway Guardian – Márti Csille
Annika sharing her Doorway Guardian
In this class, the students learned how to make a modern version of the traditional tumars, which is an amulet-like embroidered felt to keep evil away and is hung in the entrance area of the yurt. Annika explored new colour combinations in this piece.
Nunofelted Scarf – Nadia Szabó
Annika sharing her nunofelted scarf
With this class, Annika strove to create exceptionally clean lines to her geometric pattern with her wool layout. The silk was dyed afterwards.
Some of the teachers sell their finished products and online workshops via their websites. Other tutors may need to be contacted directly for further information. Some of the teachers who teach online have recorded classes that are available year-round, while others have ones with specific availability. Several of the tutors teach additional classes which are not included below. Visit the links to be inspired and learn!
Links are in the approximate order of when mentioned during Annika’s presentation.
If you have experienced other online felting-related courses that you have enjoyed, let us know. We will collect this information for a future post. – feltmakersIE@gmail.com
This Sunday, the 8th of October, from 10:30-12:30, Feltmakers Ireland member Annika Berglund will share her experiences at the Hungarian Felting retreat and other online felting classes that she has taken.
By Annika Berglund
The Joy of Learning
When I was asked to do a Sunday session about my recent Felting Retreat adventure, I was a little worried that it might not be enough for the two hours available. I had a little think and decided to do a talk about online felting courses in general and the Hungarian retreat in more detail.
I used to work in ceramics, glass, and bronze but was looking to change to some form of textiles in late 2019 and early 2020, mainly to find less energy-hungry means of expression. I started with a number of short workshops at the 2019 Dublin Knit and Stitch, of which the felting one was probably my favourite. Luckily, the 2020 Basic and Beyond happened soon after, which further whetted my appetite.
Online Education
Then came Covid, and I discovered a wealth of Felting courses available online. These courses give access to some of the best teachers in the world, and open the door to a wealth of new techniques and ideas, no matter your experience and level of felting. Having this window onto a bigger world of the craft and global community of felting has meant a lot to me, especially during the lockdown, but also since then, and I am hoping to share some of my best experiences and answer any questions in relation to online learning.
Felting in Hungary
The seven-day Felting Retreat I attended in September featured five excellent teachers, my absolute favourite being Anikó Boros (Baribon), teaching her fabulous finely felted fuschia necklace. {https://baribon.hu/ }
The other 4 courses were:
Making a large rug together and then cutting it up to make individual pillows with Bea Németh. { https://www.facebook.com/beanemez }
So, come along to the CIE Hall/Inchicore Sports and Social Club, for this Sunday Session of Feltmakers Ireland and learn about Annika’s experiences with feltmaking in Hungary and online.
There is an Early Bird Discount available for the Felting Camp in Hungary. This ends in approximately four hours – Noon Irish Standard Time. The price is 1125€ instead of 1375€.
The Felting Camp has five days of felting with five instructors and is organised by Corinna CorNit Nitschmann.
As part of our ongoing relationship with feltmakers in Hungary Gabi Mc Grath and Boro Jasko are organising a fantastic week of workshops with Judit Pocs and Gabriella Kovacs next June in Hungary. Places will be allocated between Irish and Hungarian participants. The cost is €220 for six days and includes accommodation and 2 x 2 days workshops. Ryanair run regular flights between Dublin and Budapest. For more information click on this link: Felt camp, English-Tihany 2015
Feltmakers Ireland 