Tuesday 9 August 2011

Finished!




I've been craving the chance to finish this piece. I was waiting for two clear days, the first one solitary so I could lay out surface detail. I usually strive to do this part without distraction. Well, I gave up on that idea and just got on with it. Bit of chaos in my living room but no-one got hurt ; ) I've felted much bigger pieces than this in the past so I don't know why this was a bit overwhelming...something to do with felting in the round and the delicateness of that early stage.
 I cannot tell you what a stretch this was for me in terms of confidence. I wouldn't ordinarily dream of attempting to make a garment. I gleefully worked without a pattern and wondered how on earth I would get it to fit me. You can see in my last post how much it needed to shrink. But watch out, it happens fast in the end! At one stage when I unrolled it and shrinkage was 'live and happening', my watching boy said matter-of-factly 'It's definitely not going to fit you...That would fit me Mommy.' And I did wonder, it looked mighty small indeed compared to the giant dress of the day before. But alas all was well, I laid an old dress of mine on top and the sizing seemed close.

 The felting happened effortlessly, the patches of pre-felt literally seemed to melt into each other. I'm quite smitten with this method of building a nuno-felted piece. I worked the piece inside out for quite a while in the beginning, so there were some magical surprises when I turned it right side out and saw all that happened and changed. The best part : ) despite parched hands and sore muscles.




                                                                      

The final rinse...and that orange-peel texture that tells me I'm done.








My longtime friend Catherine, a feltmaker herself, happened to come through for the night when I was just finishing this off, so I asked her to give it a whirl. It was fantastic to see it on someone else, and boy doesn't she wear it well..?






I haven't decided yet whether this one's a keeper or whether I'll list it for sale in my upcoming Etsy shop. It shall be known hereafter as the dingle dress : )
There are two things I'm most excited about in the end. I can make clothes now, without the need for sewing machines or patterns. If I could make one garment this way for each of us in the house over this next year, I'd be thrilled. Both lads have ordered waistcoats ; ) And, if Jenny and I could begin to teach others how to make wearable felt, imagine the possibilities and the joy of seeing what people come up with! Thanks to sunny Catherine and thank you for reading.





7 comments:

  1. Wow, it looks wonderful. Well done you. I'd like to see it on you too! Gosh you're going to be so busy.

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  2. Really cool Mia......you must get such satisfaction creating such a big, time consuming piece...especially when the finished product is so beautiful. It would be a pity to sell it, even though I'm sure you'll get thousands for it....would be nice to see you wearing it since I feel part of the creation process from reading your blog! Well done. Franci

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  3. Girl, that is fantastic!!!! Don't know what to say, but it makes me very aware of my unfinished piece right next to me on the floor... It turned out so differently and yet so amazing! Looks great on Catherine! I've never seen you wearing such a short dress, but we might be lucky to see you in it :D!!! Beautiful and well done, it is a huge amount of work! xxx

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  4. wow.. that dress is made out of clouds. lovely lovely and making me so inspired to create a fantastic dream dress of my own. great job !

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  5. Ah thanks for your lovely words ladies, great to have ye stopping by. I love the 'dress made out of clouds'notion! Can't wait to make another x M

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  6. Oh How could ya part with it? but then, the right price now after all that work, might feel rewarding. I Hope you make many more Mia, You most certainly have a way with this. It is indeed the Dingle dress and a magical one at that.
    xx E

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  7. I knew this one would be special. It looks really lovely from all angles.

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