Functional Fibres
I adore natural materials, often being attracted to them in all sorts of places. Whether I am shopping, walking, browsing the web, natural materials always have a habit of grabbing my attention. During some sketchbook work recently, I also noticed that colour and texture that replicates natural material, also seems to be something I am drawn to. That said, I also love a contrasting pop of colour, which almost gives me a sense of rebellion!
Wool is something I have always loved, it brings back fond memories, makes me feel closer to nature and the outdoors for example. I tend to avoid synthetic materials where possible, and you will notice my wardrobe is full of merino and other types of woollen pieces.
During a regular trip to Grasmere earlier this year, I picked up some beautiful Herwick tops, which had been stored away all summer waiting for a flash of inspiration. A warm feeling in the pit of my stomach emerged, as I came across them during a sort through some boxes. I decided to play around with the wool using a felting needle, and see what I could come up with.
I used a piece of pre-felt as a base and began fusing the fibres of the wool tops, using the felting needle. On my first attempt, I felt I had gone too far and the felt was too hard and overly worked. On the second piece, I deliberately under worked it, and loved the rawness too it. I kept rubbing my hand across it, until it ‘felt right’.
Soon, I decided to bring it together and create a functional case for my kindle, complete with a leather tie and button. I cut the corners asymmetrically and fastened it with a simple round stitch by hand using a contrasting embroidery thread. I smiled to myself on completion and I am very happy to report, that I returned to the Herdwick shop in Grasmere during a recent hike, and shared my work with the owner, who loved it! There has since been some incredibly positive feedback from other people, and I am interested in how my research into local natural materials, can be used to create beautiful hand made, functional items.
