Is rolling necessary for nuno felting?

Hi!

Today I’m here with the Q&A Sessions, something I haven’t done for quite some time.

This is where I go through all sorts of questions you have about wet felting.

So, if you have something on your mind that you haven’t been able to solve yet, drop me a line and tell me all about it.

For that, just scroll down to the end of any page on this site. Then click on “Contact” and let me know what’s troubling you. Your question might be selected for the next Q&A video!

Ok, so today I have a question from Audrey, who writes:

“I’ve a question for you and it’s about rolling and nuno felting. Is it really necessary to roll while fulling?

I really like the contact with my piece and am quite happy to spend more time massaging away, particularly when I do not have wool covering all the fabric.

I can understand rolling being preferable for a more layered piece, or larger piece to give a more even result.  

Would love to hear your thoughts whenever you have a moment. 

Many thanks again!

Audrey”

Thank you, Audrey! That’s a great question!

Let me start by saying that there are no recipes in wet felting. You can work with all kinds of soaps and you can use many fulling methods. So, in my opinion, the answer to your question is “no”, it isn’t necessary to roll to full your nuno felted project.

Believe me, I can really understand your question. You know, it took me some time to start using the rolling method, precisely because I love the direct contact with the wool fibers. In fact, in the first years as a felter, I only fulled with my hands. I also had this feeling that I could only know how advanced my felt was if I was touching the fibers.

But, of course, when you make bigger pieces, fulling with your hands becomes a long, tiring process, and it can also be hard on your back. So, I finally ended up trying the rolling method. And I found out that it’s a great way to expend less energy.

As you say, it’s preferable for a more layered piece or for a larger project. It definitely gives you a more even result in those cases. But if you don’t have wool covering all the fabric in your project, go ahead and just massage. That’s absolutely enough.

In fact, I think that might even be more efficient, because you’ll be exerting pressure only on the spots where you have wool. Let me show you what I mean.

This is one of the first nuno felted scarves I made.

As you can see, the dotted pattern isn’t densely laid, so it would have made no sense to roll. In this case, using pressure only the dots, ends up being more efficient.

It’s also easier to hold such small pieces of wool in place if you don’t move your scarf and just press where the fibers are laid. And the same is true for the stripe on the edge of the fabric.

This is the answer to your question Audrey. I hope this helps!

And that’s all for today. If you have any questions about wet felting, drop me a line!

Talk soon!