Textured blue felt vessel

Lyn

The fourth quarter challenge on the Felting and Fiber Forum is to make something in monochrome.

I dithered about which colour to choose then remembered that I liked the blues I made by carding the primary colour blue with varying amounts of white (photo above).

Ok, so blue is my colour ... but what to make? I rooted through my boxes waiting for inspiration to strike and it didn't take long. I came across this bubbly blue net fabric that Annie had found recently in a charity shop...

...and I instantly pictured in my mind a textured (bubbly) vessel. The solid colours in the blue netting range from mid blue down through to white.

I made an oval resist and planned to cut the top off in a wavy fashion. I used three different blues of merino wool (it was a struggle to stick to just blue - I desperately wanted to add yellow accents) then I placed the net fabric, cut into circles, on the top of both sides.

I started off the felting process slowly and gently so that the wool fibres had time to migrate up through the fabric, then when I removed the resist I fulled the vessel roughly so that the felt fulled with a bubbly texture. I rubbed, shaped and bashed the vessel until I and the surrounding area got completely splattered with soapy water and my arms ached.

Here is the finished vessel and I'm pleased with the watery, sea-sidey effect the fabric gives the felt (the vessel stands approx 28cm/11" tall).