Thank you so much for watching (and taking the time to comment), I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!

Hi Linda, thank you for watching and for your lovely feedback, it’s great to hear that you enjoyed the tutorial as well as making your purse! Happy felting!

Thanks you for watching and commenting, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks so much Arlene, glad you enjoyed it!😁

@@NatashaSmartTextiles I did! I made one for the little girl down the street for her birthday. First time really using locks, though I use yarns often.

@@arlenetoth608 Oh that’s great to hear, thanks so much for your comments and getting in touch! There’s always so much to learn with felting isn’t there, I love the fact that there are always new materials to try and new techniques to explore! 😁

That’s lovely of you to say, thank you so much for watching and for your kind comments!😁

Thanks so much for watching and for your lovely comments Kathy, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the tutorial!😁

Thank you, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!😁

Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comments, I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos. I know it's been a while since I posted but I'm hoping to get back to making some more tutorials soon so watch this space!

Thank you so much for watching, hope you enjoy making one of these!🤞

Thanks so much for your comment, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! 😁

Thanks so much for your lovely comment!😁

Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed it!😁

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, really glad you enjoyed this one too!😁

Thanks so much for your lovely feedback Janice, I look forward to seeing your version of this!😁

Thank you for your lovely comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to watch the tutorial and let me know what you thought!😁

Thanks so much for your kind feedback Judy, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the tutorial!😁

Thanks so much Alena for your lovely comments! (And your bag is on its way!)😁

Thanks so much for watching and for your comment, I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the tutorials! 😁

Thanks so much Martha, I’m really pleased you enjoyed it and found it helpful!😁

Hi Margaret, thanks so much for your lovely comments, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the video and found it helpful! ps For more tips, you might like to know that my first book Wet Felting has just been published - you can check it out on Amazon etc!

Thanks Jacquie, glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully this has helped give you an idea about how flat felting with embellishments works which will help with working on the ball! 👏 You might also give the embellished flat felt video a watch too which was very much a beginner’s tutorial!

Hi Shirley, thank you so much for your lovely comments, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the tutorial! And if you fancy learning a bit more about what I’ve been up to lately, search my name on Living Felt’s channel and you’ll find a recent interview that you might enjoy too! Thanks again and Happy Felting!😁

Hi Jill, thanks so much for your lovely feedback! I’m about to release an online course in the next week or two showing you exactly how to wet felt a bag using the felting ball method, so you might like to keep an eye out on my Instagram or Facebook pages or sign up to my newsletter (all the links are below the video) as I’ll be sharing news about that soon! Thanks again for your comments!😁

Thank you Deb, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!😁

Hi Ginny, thanks so much for your comment, glad you enjoyed the tutorial! I never like to throw any felt offcuts away so it’s good to be able to reuse it wherever possible. Someone also suggested making a purse wrist strap with the extra felt, which I thought was a good idea (I’ll have to try that next time)! Happy felting to you!😁

Thank you so much for your lovely comments!😍

Thank you Maxine, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!😁

Thank you for watching and your lovely comment!😁

You’re welcome! Thanks so much for your comment!😁

So pleased you enjoyed this one, thanks Helen! And I really need to thank you for your persistence over the bag course (not hounding at all!🤣) or I might never have got it done! It’s gone really well so far with lots of beautiful bags being made, I’ve been so impressed, so you’ll be a very welcome addition whenever you’re ready to join!😁 Thanks again for all your encouragement!😘

Thanks so much for your lovely feedback and taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it! Happy Felting!😁

Thanks so much for your lovely comments Isabella! I love making these purses (they’re a yarn addict’s dream!!) and they’re relatively quick to make. So I hope you enjoy getting creative with yarns and fibres and giving one a try!Happy Felting!

Thanks so much for watching and commenting Shirley, it’s great to hear you enjoyed it!

Hi Mary, thanks so much for your lovely comments! For more inspiration you might like to look at my Instagram or Facebook pages as I post mini videos on there quite regularly. Wet felting is an amazing creative art (and works really well combined with needle felting too) so I hope you enjoy exploring it!😁

Thanks so much for your comment, I’m so glad you enjoyed the tutorial and it has given you some ideas for your own felting!

Thank you so much, that’s always lovely feedback to hear! Thanks also for watching!😁

Hi Jayne, thank you so much for your lovely comments, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the tutorial! (PS Have got a book coming out in April 2022 which includes this and similar projects and which might be of interest to you!🤞).

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the tutorial!😁

Thanks for watching Valerie! And if you can make a bag on a ball you can definitely make this!🤣💪

@@NatashaSmartTextiles just ordered some locks and wool to complete it.

@@valerieevans2935 Ooh well done, don’t forget to share a photo!👏

Thanks Lisa, that’s really lovely of you to say! If you’ve got any thoughts for what you’d like to see next, let me know!😁

Thanks so much for your kind feedback Claire! Sorry for taking so long to reply, you’ve probably worked it out by now, but yes you could definitely felt in a tab to each side of the purse for a strap. If you didn’t want a detachable strap then you could create a felt strap - create a cord at the start, keeping each end dry and fluffy, and insert the ends in between layers of fibre during the layout process wherever you’d like the strap to be, then just felt everything together. Actually that gives me a good idea for another tutorial, I’ll add it to my ‘to do’ list!🤣. Hope that helps Claire, thanks again!😁

Thanks for watching and commenting, so glad you enjoyed it! You should be able to find wool fibre easily online, and most suppliers deliver worldwide (what country are you in?). You might also be interested in my book Wet Felting (it’s on Amazon) which has loads of advice about fibre and projects you might also enjoy!

Hi Marie, thanks so much for your lovely feedback, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the video! I always use bubble wrap with the smooth side up and facing my project (bubbles down facing the work surface), because I always think that the smooth surface will disrupt my project less. But some felters like to use it the other way round, I believe because if the bubbles are upwards then any water can be trapped between them so it’s a way of retaining more water within the project as you’re working. But honestly, I think the difference is probably very marginal, so don’t worry about it too much (maybe try it both ways and see which you prefer!). Happy Felting!😁

@@NatashaSmartTextiles Thank you for a really informative reply. I really enjoy making felt - only started a few months ago - and the group use the bubbles (on the wrap) next to the felt. Next time I will try your way, I feel that too much water gets trapped as well, and there is more disturbance. Thanks so much.

@@marieeaton-smith5168 You’re welcome Marie! The thing with felting is that there are a few hard and fast rules, but apart from that there are lots of different ways or achieving the same thing! And some felters like to stick to certain methods as it’s always worked for them. So as you’re new to felting it’s a good opportunity to try different things and see what you like best. There are really no right and wrong ways, apart from the fact you need wool fibre, soapy water and lots of agitation! Hope you enjoy your felting (and don’t feel too constricted by ‘rules’, as there aren’t that many really!); experiment and have fun with it!😁

Thank you!😁

Hi Helene, thank you so much for watching and for your lovely comments! That’s a great question - and as always with felting there are loads of ways you could approach it to create a bit more depth. I’ve got 2 main ideas of ways you could do it: firstly, to use a thicker template to create depth. An easy way would be to just cut out a much thicker piece of foam, or multiple pieces layered on top of each other and taped around the edges. It might make rolling a bit difficult but you could just do more rubbing instead, and throwing the felt around with the template inside. So that would be an easy way to do it. Another way would be to use the same thin template I used but to make it bigger. Then when you take the template out you would get your hands inside the felt form and deliberately manipulate it to create depth and literally change where all the edges are, you could even put a fold in the bottom. Then once you’re happy, cut out the flap shape (but not before as the side edges will have changed). So the purse might measure the same height and width as my version in the end but you’ve used the extra felt created by the larger template to increase the depth. I hope that makes sense! It might make a good experiment for a future video if you think that’s a good idea?!!😁

Thanks so much for your comment! Well it’s funny you should mention it, but I’ve got a cross body mini bag version of this fringed purse on its way soon, so watch this space!🤣

@@NatashaSmartTextiles I shall keep an eye out!!!! Your videos are excellent.

@@PeaSoupDesigns Aww thanks so much, that’s really kind! 🥰 Ps I don’t know if you’ll be interested but my book Wet Felting has just been published, if you look up my name on Amazon you’ll be able to see a preview!🤞

Hi Johanna, thanks so much for watching, I really appreciate it, and for your lovely feedback! That’s an interesting question about yarns, you’re right that most commercial yarns don’t specify the breed (other than things like alpaca or mohair). I must admit I’ve never worried about the sheep breed in respect of yarn (although with wool fibre for felting it’s obviously very important what the breed is). What I think is more important is the wool content: the higher that is, the more likely the yarn is to felt in well. So I’d be inclined to look more at that aspect as a guide for what will felt well, so a high wool content and less man- made content (eg acrylic) or superwash. Also, the hairier and looser spun/stranded the yarn, the better it will felt in too, that’s why mohair is such a good felter. So aim for natural, high content and hairy wool and you shouldn’t go far wrong! (That said, it’s not impossible to felt in man-made yarns, you just need to add wisps of the wool fibre on top to help lock them in, have a look at my Christmas wreath tutorial for more about working with man-made yarns!). Hope that helps, happy felting to you!😁

@@NatashaSmartTextiles Natasha, Thank you so much for your reply, especially in such detail, and so quickly. This is very helpful, and I appreciated it. Off to weekly knitting group shortly, where they've been mildly curious about my new/renewed felting obsession, and I'll pass along your website so they can take a peek at what it's all about. Thanks again, Johanna

@@johannahowardpurdy1340 You’re welcome, thanks again for your interest and enjoy your felting and knitting (and you know you can also felt your yarns to your fibre as a piece of knitting too, not just as individual yarns…the opportunities are endless once you get started!🤣).

Hi Jamie, thanks so much for your lovely feedback! Let me know what country you’re in and I can recommend some links for you!

US

@@jamiewatson7502 Hi Jamie, have you tried Living Felt (feltingsupplies.livingfelt.com), their MC-1 batt fibre would work for this project (but any batt fibre would work). For curly locks I’d probably look for sellers on Etsy (look for long locks like Teeswater or Wensleydale). The locks I use in the tutorial are Masham locks from Barn2YarnShop on Etsy, they ship worldwide!

@@jamiewatson7502 Also in the US, Honeybunch Workshop offers a Fiberjoy kit with a few ounces of color coordinated, hand dyed roving, some locks, and some exotic fibers like Suri Alpaca and Cashmere/silk blend. One of those could be perfect for this project!

Batts are more expensive, but you can shred roving to approximate batts. I've used this method for a while, and it does save lots of time from the kind of layout people do with Merino, tiny bit by tiny bit.

Hi Linda, I generally use warm/lukewarm water to start and keep the same water throughout the main felting stage, til prefelt stage at least once I know all the fibres and embellishments are bonded together. There’s a risk if you introduce hot water too early that the main fibre will just felt to itself before the curly locks and yarns have had a chance to bond with it. So stick to lukewarm water. Once you’re at prefelt stage and have cut out the purse flap and given it a rub, and all the fibres and locks are staying in place, then you’re into the fulling/shrinking stage. If your project is being slow to thicken/shrink, then is the time to maybe refresh the project with hand hot soapy water as the heat will help the shrinkage. You can also do alternate hot and cold rinses at the end to help shrink the felt. I hope that helps! And if you’d like more info and tips you might like my book Wet Felting, it’s available on Amazon!

@@NatashaSmartTextiles Thanks so much! Your tips are a giant help. 💜

Hi Jenny, so sorry not to have replied sooner but it sounds like you answered your own question! Yes needlefelting is a really good way of securing fibre/felt/embellishments that are perhaps being a bit stubborn and not felting in. If you get any piece of wet felting to prefelt stage (ie you’ve rubbed and rolled the fibre and most of it is well bonded) and you find a tricky bit that isn’t playing ball, then needle felt the tricky bit in place to secure it. Carry on the rest of the wet felting (ie moving on to the fulling/shrinking stage) and by the end you’ll never know there was a tricky bit that wouldn’t adhere. So do your needlefelting early in the process and it’ll be invisible in the finished piece! Good luck, hope this works for you and thank you for your comments!😁

@@NatashaSmartTextiles thanks so much for the advice. Happy crafting!

@@JennySimon206 You’re welcome! Happy Felting to you too!😁

Hello, you are looking to find wool fibre or wool batting (US). If you look at the description below the video you will find all the details about the supplies you need. If you are in or near the US you can purchase the supplies from Living Felt in Texas! Thanks for watching!😁

Hi there, no a bit of buckling is good because, as you say, it shows there’s some shrinkage already so everything is working! There are so many variables with wet felting (eg your own felting technique, the different fibre), so there will always be slight differences in the exact status of the felt at any one time. So you’re definitely not doing anything wrong, it sounds like you’re doing everything right! But it may just mean that once you take the template out and move to the fulling/throwing stage, that you don’t need to throw the felt quite so much as it sounds like it might be a bit more advanced in the process. So once you’ve done the cutting and rubbing the edges, just bear in mind you might not need so many throws before the felt is finished. Things like the amount of throws you do are just a guideline, so feel free to stop when you think the felt is finished. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!😁

@@NatashaSmartTextiles great . Thank you for your reassuring reply and your tip about not throwing too much

@@jacquiosley9083 Hi Jacqui, you’re welcome! I think that as you develop your experience in felting you’ll start to understand the changes in the felt during the process and be able to naturally respond to them. So you could see that the felt was shrinking more, so that would tell you that you could perhaps move on to the next stage a bit sooner, or reduce the amount you do in the next stage. As you develop confidence you’ll be able to adapt your techniques as you go along in response to what the felt is doing. So there are no hard and fast rules, it’s more of a response to how the felt is going. That’s why it’s good to have a range of different felting techniques (rubbing, rolling, throwing etc) you can deploy as needed. Sounds like you’re doing a great job though so keep going and enjoy it!😁

Apologies for not spotting your question sooner! I'm using a palm washboard rubbing tool from HeartFelt Silks in the US, I hope that helps!

@@NatashaSmartTextiles what size?

I think I used the jumbo size, 7” in diameter!

Hi, I will look into this for future videos!🤞

Thank you for your comment!😁

Yes keep it, you could definitely add a bit in as decoration! (I’d stick to sheep’s wool for the main fibre though!)😹

Thanks for your comment! This is just one way of making a purse with a flap, another way would definitely be to just use the resist template for the pocket part and then extend the fibre out to create a flap. But I prefer this way of creating a flap to make it thicker and more substantial around all the edges (the flap itself and the pocket edge), and also to ensure the flap shrinks less and stays the same width as the main purse. Of course there are lots of ways of making anything in wet felting, but I like this way as it gives consistent results!