Making a Large Nuno Felted Wrap

I have been a little reluctant about diving into large, patchwork nuno projects.  I am not sure why. Maybe I thought I wasn't ready for it yet. My husband pointed out to me the other day that one of my faults (he meant this in a very nice way) is that I never think I am as good as I am.   Like applying for shows.  Sometimes I hold back because I think my work isn't good enough and then I go to the shows and say what the heck!$%#? when I see some of the work that was accepted.

So, out of the blue, late in the afternoon the other day when I should have been thinking about making dinner, I decided to make a large patchwork nuno scarf.  I still don't have a heater in my studio, so I have been taking up a large part of the kitchen and dining room.  Again. 

 

Nuno felting is a process of laminating silk (or some other delicate fabric) to wool through the felting process.  The wool fibers migrate through the silk and hold everything together.  If there is anything I learned on this project, it was the louder and bigger, the better since the design shrinks so much.  Like the snake print silk.  I used too small of swatches and it isn't as obvious in the final product. I also used open weave ribbon and some golden thread that is hard to see.  More is more when it comes to nuno!

Half of nuno felting is laying out your design.  The other half is wetting and rolling and rolling and rolling the piece.  It is very physical.  And at the end I like to throw the piece to felt it further. 

 The attached flower is a pin and is not part of the scarf.  I wet felted the flowers separately and then needle felted and embroidered them together.   I also needle felted at the end of the ties too to add some color and definition.

I am very excited to start trying some even larger shawls and triangle wraps.  Tis the season of the scarf after all!