The Dodo Blog

If you’ve been in my felting world for some time, you’ve heard me talking about this book for sure. It’s one of my absolute favorites in my collection.

If you’ve just recently discovered my blog, and you’re as obsessed about felting books as I am, there’s still time to add it to your Christmas presents wish list :)

I’m talking about “How I Felt”, a book about the work of the late Christine Birkle.

There are many felt makers I admire. But after over 20 years of looking at other artists’ work, Christine Birkle is still number one for me.

She founded the label HUT UP in Berlin in the 90s and was an absolute pioneer of modern wet felting. She has created many of the designs that inspired much of what is currently around in our field.

I was extremely lucky to have come across her work in Berlin in the early 2000s and have spent many hours admiring her pieces live in her shop in Berlin.

I’ve always been fascinated by...

Welcome to the first episode of my new Q&A series.

If you still have trouble finding the right way to make a resist for a 3D wet felted object, this episode is for you.

Today’s question is from Kathryn, from Walla Walla, in Washington state.

And Kathryn writes:

“I am trying to make a wet felted case for my son’s new MacBook Pro computer. I viewed your template making video for the clutch bag – thinking I could use that for my effort.

I made the template and started to lay out the wool and realized that I didn’t know why I needed the top resist.

You have a resist that has a top and bottom, when I thought I only needed the bottom to cover with wool, so that I could make the pocket.

If I don’t intend the top to have a pocket, why do I need the top part of the template?

I ended up cutting the template in half and placing the top part under the bubble wrap to serve as a guide, as I wanted the top to cover the bottom of the bag as I see...

Hi!

I’ve just published a new video workshop to complete the series on small bags for gadgets. In this tutorial, you will learn how to felt sleeves for small gadgets, like compact cameras and smart phones. But the idea can also be applied to bags for eyeglasses, makeup, or even artist’s pencils or brushes.

It shows you how to
• felt with a resist
• get completely straight edges without using scissors to cut them
• make a reversible piece (two colors)
• make a precise piece with a box shape

The workshop includes one PDF with a template for a camera bag, one PDF with a template for a smart phone, and 9 downloadable high-definition videos with very detailed step-by-step instructions. It also shows you how to make resists for exactly the gadget you want, because they vary so much in size.

I’m also very excited to share with you the fact that I’ve just opened a new online shop. Whereas on Etsy, you can find video and PDF tutorials, in my new...

Hi!

Today I’ve got something really special for you.

I’ve been talking about it for a while, but, for some strange reason, it’s a project that took me a long time to finish. Anyway, now it’s ready and available on etsy, and it’s a new video workshop.

But it has a particular meaning to me, because I’ve come up with a NEW TECHNIQUE that solved a problem I had, so it can solve a problem you probably have too.

I’ve combined a couple of techniques that make it possible to attach a difficult fabric onto the wool, when you can’t get it to attach with the normal nuno felting technique. If you’ve ever felted with difficult fabrics, you know what I’m talking about.

So, as you can see, it’s not ‘just another workshop’. Check out the video below and tell me what you think!

If you’re living or travelling to Lisbon in the next couple of months (I hope so, because Lisbon is a very cool city, and you’d...

Hi! I’m back today with a new episode of the How To Series. And this time I’m talking about resists.

If you’re planning to wet felt a 3D object with no seams (like a hat, a bag or slippers), you’ll have to work with a resist.

And if you want to work on a project that’s felted around a resist, you might be wondering how to get the right size, since wool shrinks up to 40% when felted. And you might be asking yourself what material you should make it with? Does this even matter? Well, it does. And I’ll show you why in this video.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Hi!

This is what I’ve been up to in the last weeks. I was working on a new workshop where I include something I absolutely love – sheep locks.

You can get them in their natural colors or dyed in all sorts of different tonalities. They also vary a lot depending on the sheep race and other factors. So, it’s really fun to play with them.

I wanted to include them in a project for a long time. And now the Fall is back to the Northern hemisphere, I felt it was the right moment to suggest a piece using this wonderful product.

The two pieces I show you in this workshop can be used either as a tablet sleeve or a winter clutch. Of course you can also take the idea and make it bigger and thicker for a laptop bag. Another possibility is to give it another shape, add any type of handles, and make a messenger bag, for example.

The workshop Bah Bah Tablet Sleeve is now available and you can download it from my etsy shop.

Check out the introduction video to get a taste of what you...