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...

Like everybody else, when I first started wet felting, I didn’t have a style or a voice. I wasn’t even thinking about having one. I was just trying to figure out how I could make the pieces I saw others do and, above all, understand how wool behaves.

If that’s where you are right now, know that everyone goes through that phase. And, if you’re a bit further, starting to feel the desire to have your own style, to create work that other people recognize as being yours, know that it’s a phase as well. So, no matter which phase you’re in, it’s all ok.

We don’t start with a style. We develop one. And developing your own felting voice is a journey. Like any creative path, it evolves through different phases. Some of them are exciting and others are confusing. But all of them are necessary.

Phase #1: Imitation AKA learning by following

Aside from artists who were already working with other media and then decide to bring a new medium, wet felt, into their already existing style, this is ...

Is there anything more discussed in wet felting than how to get the shrinkage you want? I don’t think so. And it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? I mean, if wool felts by shrinking, we need to know how much it’ll shrink. Right?

The problem is so many factors influence shrinkage. So, it can all feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t have much experience in wet felting yet.

But you won’t feel overwhelmed if you stick to a couple of principles (that are the same every time) and you do something you may be resisting: you make a sample 😉

You may think there’s no need to make one, because you’re trusting some myths that are common on the internet. Let’s have a look at a few of them.

Myth #1: If you use the same wool (breed), your shrinkage rate will always be the same.
Does an 18-micron Merino wool top shrink the same as a 21-micron Merino wool top? Does an 18-micron Merino wool top shrink the same as an 18-micron Merino wool batt, do you think? The answer to both questions is NO.

The s...

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...

I frequently get emails from felt makers asking me if they can purchase only the patterns for my baby booties. When I taught how to make slippers, I was often asked if I’d sell only the patterns for the slippers.

I opted for never offering the resist patterns, the reason being that I’m for teaching people to make their own stuff and not keeping them coming back for everything they need.

So, I’ve always wanted to show felt makers how they could make their own resist patterns. For everything they want to felt!

Why should you learn to make your own patterns?

You probably have the experience of looking in vain for a specific pattern and having to make do with what you find.

You may also have noticed that, even if you managed to get a template from someone online, the size may not be the one you need. So, if you don't know what to do about it, the template will be useless.

If you've always wanted to make your own slippers, shoes or boots, but were never sure how you could make them...

Today’s video is the second one from a short series about my system to design resists for wet felting.

Last week, we looked at how we can transfer the measurements from a 3D object to a flat resist. If you didn’t have the chance to watch that video, please go back and watch it now because it’s important to be able to understand this week’s topic.

So, after designing the basic pattern, deciding on which wool type to use, how thick to lay it out, on the layout and fulling methods, it’s now time to:

6. Make a sample

7. Determine the shrinkage rate

8. Increase the pattern

9. And calculate the amount of wool for the project

Watch the video for more on how to make the sample and determine the shrinkage rate.

When we have our shrinkage rate, we can increase our base pattern to make a resist in the right size to account for shrinkage.

And, finally, we calculate the amount of wool we will need to felt our vase cover.

When all of this is planned, it’s time to finally felt the piece,...

What do you do when you need a resist for a new wet felting project? Do you find yourself desperately going through Facebook felting groups, YouTube channels and all over the Internet to find the right template for the piece you want to felt?

Or are you able to draw your patterns by yourself?

If you’re going around the internet looking for the template for the exact piece you want to make, you may be feeling pretty frustrated. First of all, you don’t always find it, and, many times – if you do find it – it’s not in the size you need.

So, I’d like to suggest that you consider that you can start making your own templates for the pieces you have in mind. After all, the felt makers, who sell the patterns or offer them for free, they make them as well. So, there is a way to develop your own resists for your projects.

The question is HOW!

There is, in fact, a system. If you understand how it works, I’m sure you can start making your own templates. So, I want to give you an idea of my pr...

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...