Boot Scootin Baby

I recently had Dot, a friend come over for a morning of felting. We had both been to a day class at Casula Powerhouse. I had been to a couple of felting workshops taught by Joan Fisher, founder of the Fairfield Spinners, Weavers & Dyers Guild and author of Exoploring Felting. Joan's methods differed somewhat from those employed at the Casula Powerhouse so I wanted to share my experiences with Dot.
Since Dot's grandson will be turning one in May, it was decided that a pair of slippers would be just the project to undertake.

Dot already had a good idea of what was required as far as laying down the fibres was concerned. It was just a matter of how thick each one had to be and the correct order in which to put them down. We used bubblewrap as the resist and made both slippers at once.A slippery soap solution was used to get the felting process underway. This is where the kitchen sink comes into its own. There was no need for bamboo blinds, or metres of bubblewrap to felt.Just rubbing the slippers in the draining board allows the fibre to begin felting while you can insect the progress at any time. It also means that if somehow you have added too much soapy water it will just drain away without any mess on the floor. Within a very short time Dot had something which almost resembled two slippers joined together at the top. Cutting them apart. one slipper was worked on a t a time. The hardest part was getting them both the same size and shape. However the end result was a pair of slippers Dot is proud to show off and that hopefully Matthew will enjoy wearing. The slippers now have a bell on the toes of each slipper.