Books

BOOK REVIEW

Felt Confident – a beginner’s guide to perfect felt

ISBN 9780992292829 $20 print format  $10 digital download

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‘Felt is a wonderful vehicle for pursuing the practical, wearable or decorative art expression.’

Those of us familiar with the work of felt and mixed media artist Elizabeth Armstrong (Australia), will know that her passion for felt and her zest for vibrant colours is simply infectious. Armstrong’s engaging article on undertaking art residencies, published in the June 2022 issue of Felt Magazine, is a prime example of her commitment to inspire the young and young at heart, about the art and joy of making felt.

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In 2013 Armstrong published Felt Happy, a book filled to the brim with visually appealing, rich and engaging content chapters (see the review in issue 27, p41) Felt Confident is a smaller publication but no less engaging publication, and the first of a series scheduled for release.

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The aim of Felt Confident, as mentioned in the introduction, is to provide those new to the magic of felt making ‘a road to success’. Chapters take a logical approach, starting with ‘Gathering supplies’, ‘Selecting Wool’, ‘Making your soap solution’, ‘Setting up your workspace’ and ‘Wool Batts’  (aka commercial prefelt), before moving on to the three stages of ‘Preparing the Fleece’,  ‘Net and Wet’ (felting the fibres), and the all important ‘Fulling ‘.

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‘Effective colour design’ (and various tips on colour effects) follows next, as does ‘Adding fleece patterns’ (think circles, crosshatch, diamonds, squares, leaves and more), ‘Using cut pieces of felt’. These are all aspects that Armstrong applies so well in her art.

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This small volume packs a nice punch; it has solid information presented in a concise yet encouraging manner and includes the all important data about micron count and the differences between felting and fulling; the kind of information experienced felters may take for granted – but many of us wished we knew about when we set out on our felting journey. Squarely aimed at those curious to learn about making felt, the plentiful and enticing images and easy–to-understand how-to steps are set to appeal, and at a very reasonable cost too.

 

-Martien van Zuilen