Flower Brooch

How to make a wet felt flower brooch.




You will need

Enough old towels to cover the table
a bowl or bucket of cold water
fibres - the proper name for these is tops
sandwich bags
a bottle filled with warm soapy water with showering attachment or similar way of evenly spreading the water
bubble wrap
foam roller or rolling pin
nylon ties (old tights cut up)
bubble bath (mild children's)

Method


1. Tease the fibres, lay out the fibres in a star shape crossing over the centre, repeat in a smaller circle in a different colour, on part of the bubble wrap. Bubble side up.







2.  Squirt the warm soapy water all over the fibres then fold the bubble wrap over and squirt more of the water on it.







3. Take one of the plastic bags and use it to gently massage the water into the fibres gradually get firmer, after roughly five minutes check the fibres by gently going over them with your finger if the fibres still move or blend together then keep going, if not then stop.






4. Next take the foam roller and roll it up in the bubble wrap and tie at each end with the nylon ties. Roll 50 times then undo the ties and repeat going the other way.






5.  Rinse in the cold water and wring out the excess, notice how it doesn't stick anymore, well now its felted! But you're not finished yet!

 
6.  Find a draining board type surface and gently rub against the ridges a few times then turn 90 degrees and repeat until it shrinks, and when you think its ready mould into a flower shape and leave to dry.
Moulding the flower shape











The middle

7.  Take some more fibres roll them into a small ball.





8.  Add more warm soapy water and some bubble bath.






9.  Mould and roll between your hands until fairly dry and firm.



10.  Sew up when dry and add a safety pin or brooch pin!

All felted!