Felt couture for nuno felted jackets/coats. Charity van der Meer October 2022

What to expect. Master class for felt couture.

The workshop will be focused on designing and making one-piece fashionable and wearable nuno felted garments from the scratch.

Students will learn how to transform a felted garment into a form of self expression fashion using wool and silk. Students will explore the various ways of making reversible garments, they will explore how to incorporate textures pleats to create rough surfaces using different techniques and materials and still have a well balanced garment. The only limit during these four days will be you be your imagination. They will learn how to enlarge a normal pattern into a felting pattern using the simple basic and experimental techniques I use in my work. Play with shapes, adding volume to the silhouette while keeping the a specific body type in mind. This is a very effective methods that will help them develop their own pattern template that will suit and fit their body shape. Even more you will end up with a lot of new creative ideas to be able to create unique pieces. Most importantly they will learn how to work with the direction of the wool to achieve personalized style. The direction of the wool is very important in determining the shrinkage, styling and shaping of the felted finished garments.

The procedure:

Day 1: Morning: On the first day we will look at styling and colors. Trying out my samples and getting to know each other. Pattern cutting.. Afternoon: Sampling. In the afternoon students will start creating samples, making a miniature garment to help in understanding the whole process. This is very important because you get to try out the materials and colors and the style. Finish with samples and do the pattern drafting enlarging and prepare for the days to follow.

Day 2 /3 : The following days we will concentrate on laying out the wool finely, precisely with care. Wool laying is extremely important in garment felting. We continue with working on the felting process.

Day 4 On the last day we will be refining and shaping the final garment. Participants who work fast and have completed their garment will be invited to make an accessory to compliment the final piece. Lastly and most importantly we will do the final fitting and at the end a fashion show to show off the finished piece.

No sewing needed. Only for attaching elements to the design. Basic felting experience required.

Material list.

350 fine merino 18-19 white.

8m chiffon 3.5mm or pongee/habotai 5mm or silk Margaling uzubeks silk. (This silk you may need more because of the width.)

Silk fibers 150g 20g silk henkies.

For the decoration (this is optional for decorating) 4M pongè or silk margalan (fabrics to use for creating textures). Decorative knitting yarns Wool naps. And anything you have that can be used to create textures. Hard felt scraps.

Equipment:

bubble wrap about 4m /120m wide or double the amount

Sharpie Measuring tape.

3m bubble plastic for cutting out a template

1pkt of thin painters plastics

4m 3-4 towels

Felting soap (olive soap)

Pen/pencil/marker pen ruler for taking notes.

calculator

scissors - paper and fabric

Masking tape. 1roll.

Felting mat.

Grip mat big enough for the project.