The Dodo Blog

If you’ve been waiting for the registration to THE DODO HUB to open, I’ve got good news. You can now sign up here. 

WHO IS THE PROGRAM FOR?

You’ve been a felt maker for some years now, but …

• you feel like you’ve reached a plateau, and you don’t know how to develop your work further;
• you want to learn new techniques, and not necessarily take a class to make a particular piece;
• you'd love to have your own signature style, but you secretly think you’re not creative enough;
• you admire other felt makers, but you feel like they know some secret that you don’t, so you don’t believe you could ever achieve such amazing results;
• you don’t feel confident enough to show, gift or sell your work because you think some details could look more professional;
• your work doesn’t meet your expectations, but you don’t know where to find the information you need to make it better;
• you feel comfortable following the instructions for a piece during a course, but you can’t develop a project on you
...

We start wet felting because we’re fascinated by the material and the possibilities of creating all sorts of things, from wearables to sculpture ✨💫 

We see what others are doing, so we dream of what we’d like to create. But, let’s face it, wool can be stubborn, and the initial phases aren’t easy. 

We try to implement what’s on our mind and quickly realize there are details that escape us. We may recognize that we’re lacking some technical skills, our edges are always wavy, our squares aren’t square, and we never quite get the right shrinkage. Yet, we don’t really know why… 😟 

We’ve all been there. It’s that annoying phase of trial and error. While some of us persevere until we get to the other side, others give up and think “this is just not for me”. 

What I’d like to tell you is that it really doesn’t have to be that hard (and it’s not you!). There are techniques you can learn which will take you to success a lot more quickly.

In FROM FIBER TO FLAWLESS FINISH IN 7 DAYS, I’ll sh...

It’s finally here, the new format I’ve been mentioning for some time!

So, what is it exactly? If you’ve been following my blog or Instagram account, you’ve heard about THE DODO HUB for sure. Chances are you're curious about TDH and you’d like to know more about it.

Since it’s a one-year program, it may be kind of difficult to imagine how it works. So, this is where the new format comes in.

It’s called FROM FIBER TO FLAWLESS FINISH IN 7 DAYS and it’s an intensive one-week training, that is also part of the first module of THE DODO HUB.

You get an exclusive sneak peek into my one-year signature program, while, at the same time:

• building stronger felting foundations;
• learning to create well-finished, professional-looking felt;
• working closely with me, getting your questions answered and feedback on your work.

So, you may be asking yourself if this is just an intro to THE DODO HUB or if you’ll be making any pieces during this training. And the answer to your question is YE...

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been making big pre-felt sheets for a piece I’m working on. And every single one of them has given me problems felting.

This can happen for several reasons. It either has something to do with the amount of soap or water, or with the temperature. When this happens, something chemical is off. So, the process stops.

But, in the end, it’s not so important to know the exact reason for this to occur. The important thing is to know how to solve it, so that you can go on with the felting.

Along the years, I’ve learnt that the solution is to change something. Depending on what I’m making, and on which stage the piece is in, I can opt for a couple of different strategies.

I’m sure you can resonate with what I’m talking about. See if you can recognize this scenario (or a similar one).

I laid out my wool, added water and soap, and gave it a quick rub. And I started rolling straight away. After rolling for a long time (like over half an hour), nothing seemed...

Easter is just around the corner. Here's an idea to make your Easter gifts extra special! 

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THE BUNNIES?

That will depend on how many you want to make. So, I’ll just give you the list of materials for 4 bunnies like mine. You can adapt the colors and/or decoration to your own taste.

• 40 cm of green ribbon
• 40 cm of pink ribbon
• 2 small bells
• 2 sew-on strass pieces
• Green and pink thread
• A thin needle (that can pass through the holes of the strass)
• A thimble
• 2 thin felting needles
• Felting foam
• Some white fine merino wool
• 2 thick (about 7 mm thick) sheets of pre-felt (pink and dark brown); each of them should be big enough to cut 2 bunnies
• The pattern
• Some gold and silver thread

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by making the pre-felt with your wool of choice. I can’t say exactly how many layers you need, since that’ll depend on how thick you lay your wool. But 4 should do if you’re working with thick layers.

Cut 2 bunnies in pink and 2 in brown. You’ll need...

So you had a look at the program, and now you’re thinking “Yes, one technique a month. But what do we really felt inside THE DODO HUB?”

I get that it may not be totally clear to you, so let me help you with that.

First, above there's a short video of some of the beautiful pieces made by the participants in the first months of THE DODO HUB to show you what you’ll be working on.

I want you to feel supported and that you’re in the right place, no matter where you are on your felting journey. So, THE DODO HUB adapts to the students and not the other way around.

Let me show you how, based on the example of module #1, Geometric Patterns. It’s planned like this:

• Week 1: Making samples (experiment with different techniques)
• Week 2: Making a bag (applying the techniques in 3D)
• Week 3: Making a rug (in Nomad technique)
• Week 4: Main takeaways + develop your own project

You can approach this module (or any other module) any way you want:

• Follow the suggested sequence in one month o
...

If you’ve been waiting to enroll in THE DODO HUB, I’ve got good news! The registration is open as of now.

Are you new to the DODO world, and not sure what THE DODO HUB is?

• It’s a comprehensive year-long program designed to take you from the intermediate level to an advanced and independent felt maker.
• Every month you get a module that gives you a deep understanding of a complex wet felting technique.
• You have the chance to felt multiple projects for each technique, share and discuss them in the community, as well as get feedback and support from me.

But there’s much more to THE DODO HUB. Have a look at this page to get all the details. And, as always, I’m here to answer any questions you may have. Just send me an email and let me know how I can help.

THE STORY BEHIND THIS PROJECT

I belong to a small felt club that gets together once a month via Zoom to felt in a group setting.

In our December meeting, the suggestion was that we create seasonal pieces. We usually felt 3D/sculptural items, and that was planned for December as well. But even though we work on a certain topic each month, we do have much creative freedom in the group. So, this time I thought of doing something slightly different.

I have tons of felt leftovers from many projects along the years, and I wanted to do something seasonal by recycling what I already had, instead of producing something entirely new. These bits accumulate with time, and it bothers me to see so much material not be used.

So, I gathered the thicker white felt leftovers (some of which was Nuno felt, which made it even more interesting), as well as some fun “Christmassy” templates I also already had from past projects. And, without having a clear initial idea, I started cutting the flat felt i...

I’m working on a new class that is meant to help felt makers go all the way (smoothly) from total beginner to intermediate. If you’ve recently started wet felting or you’ve been felting for a while, but still feel like there are many gaps in your knowledge, this may be for you.

But I’ll need some time until I can offer it, since I haven’t created it yet. I’m working on the class outline for now. And I’d like to invite you to participate in the creation of the class materials. Just click here or on the image below to access the list of topics. Please let me know which ones are important to you and what you think may still be missing.

Just a last note: I’m considering an intermediate felter, someone who knows all the fundamentals, and is able to confidently felt on a resist, knows how to add fiber, fabric and other materials for embellishment and texture. All this while achieving high quality felt.

Thank you for taking a moment to answer the questions! To show you my appreciation for ...

Have you noticed the BABY classes are back?

Many of you have been asking to have the baby booties class separately. You’ve also showed interest in having it available “on demand”, which is understandable, since babies grow fast 😊

So, I’ve listened to your requests and created two separate classes: “Comfy Baby Booties & Tiny Baby Mittens” and “Sweet Baby Jacket & Daisy baby Hat”. They’re already available and can be purchased at any time.

They’re now in a DIY version, and the videos and PDFs are downloadable. Just click on the images below to be taken to the course information.

Whether you’re planning to enroll in the class or not, here’s some information that may be useful for you.

As I reopened the baby courses to enrolment, it was brought to my attention that some of the designs are not compliant with the safety standards of many countries. I was very grateful for these contacts, since this is something I was previously unaware of.

I decided to do some internet research to un...