Oak Leaf Wool Hairbands

I've finished another two felted wool hairband adornments. The spring leaf one is made from wool felt traced from a set of oak leaf cookie cutters, then stitched together and beaded.

The fall leaf one is merino wool roving needle felted onto wool felt, and decorated with a needle felted acorn. Both are edged with a simple whip stitch of cotton embroidery floss. They're adult sized, but this pic of Fergie is just too cute.

Lotsa Felted Wool Hairbands

I've been diligently working on hairbands decorated with wool felt designs.

The wings and triple moons are made from wet felted sheets, with the pieces cut out and needle felted together. The stitches from the beading secures the pieces in place, along with the blanket stitching around the edges in embroidery floss. The beads are glass seed beads, gemstones and Austrian crystal.

The roses are three dimensionally sculpted from merino wool roving using a felting needle and a heart shaped cookie cutter form. 

 The hair bands are just ordinary plastic hairbands from the corner drug store.

The wings are just so cute... They'd look better on a blond with big hair though.

Felt Goddess Pendant

I'm trying a new technique; cutting shapes from flat wool felt and joining and sculpting them with a felting needle. It's turning out pretty well. Feeling a little wary about the durability of the pieces with only wisps of wool holding them together, I added stitching to secure the pieces. The beading also adds more stability along with the decoration.

It is made with plant-dyed, 100% wool felt, about three layers, with a little bit of eco wool batting to fill the belly and a touch of merino wool roving for the hair. The sparkles are basic glass seed beads. The blanket stitch in cotton embroidery floss around the edge is decorative and holds the two base layers together.

I'm thinking of stringing it on three twined strands of rose quartz and flourite beads.

Needle Felted Wool Harvest Mother & Daughter

This happens to me all the time.... I get inspired to make a new design and then when I'm done it's too precious to me to sell it. Sigh. So then I have to make another one like it to actually sell. The top picture is the first one I made. The picture below is the second, the one that will be for sale. Of course, they do each come about a bit different. I'll run out of a certain color and have to use another. And since I don't look at the old one while I make the new one the details of shaping will be different. When I copy my own works I tend to copy the idea, not the exact piece. Same as when I'm inspired by other peoples' works I guess.

These figures are made with my ubiquitous supply of American grown, undyed eco wool and Germany grown, plant-dyed wool.

How is it made? Well, first, using the eco wool, I needle felt a ball for the head by taking a small strip of wool, tying a knot in it then rolling it up in the loose ends and needle felting it firm. Adding more strips of wool to make the ball to the size desired. Then I roll a flat piece of wool into a cone shape, needle felt it firm, adding more wool on the bottom to weight it. I take a strip of wool, wrap it over the head and use the "tails" to secure the head to the top of the cone. I roll another flat piece of wool into a long narrow sausage which becomes the arms, which are attached to the back of the body. A few more layers of wool needle felted in place to form the desired body shape, be she slim, busty or round.

Switching to the colored wool, I create the clothing and decorations by laying small tufts and strips of wool across the figure and needling them down. Details like the cornucopia and the apple are made much like the figure, with a balled or rolled eco wool core, covered in tufts of colored wool.

Needle Felted Wool Celestial Goddess in Purple

Pantheacon 2010 inspired me to make a big purple goddess figure. Here she is.

Her core is needle felted eco wool (wool from sheep which are raised humanely and without the use of chemicals). Her clothes are plant-dyed wool roving. The curling decorations are kettle dyed merino wool yarn.

This is the first sculpture I've done with separately felted pieces which are sewn together. The sun and crescent moons are felted to each other and then sewn to the figure's hands. I sometimes use pipecleaners to brace the arms of figures, but this one is solid wool.

Here's a close-up of her hair.

Here's a close-up of the back of her skirt.

And her rear view.

She'll be available for sale exclusively at Pantheacon 2011. (If I can bear to part with her that is.)