Monday 7 July 2014

Suffolk, Banana, Masham and Bamboo

I've used banana fibre tops with suffolk wool tops before, so I know they look really interesting together. I fluffed up some of the banana fibre, and added it to the top of the Suffolk. Though I used less of the banana fibre than I have previously, I wasn't disappointed by the results.


This angled picture shows the texture more:


This is a close up of the centre part:


And this is a supermacro of the wool and fibre texture:


In the middle along the right edge is an area where the fibres are a little thicker. In the top photos it looks quite dense, but a supermacro close up shows the tangle of wool and banana fibres.


And from this angle you can see the pattern even better:


 Another combination of wool and fibres I found really interesting is Grey Masham and Bamboo top. I'm not sure if Masham is classed as a coarse breed, I think its Micron count is between 29 and 34. It's certainly more 'wiry' than fine wools, but is still quite soft to the touch. The contrast of the wool and sheen of the bamboo was quite striking, yet at the same time, the wool seemed to 'absorb' the fibre. This is the whole piece from an angle:


This is slightly closer and from above, there's an area in the centre with barely any fibre on it:


This is a close up of the dense patch just to the right, it's interesting to see how the fibres are still affected by the characteristics of the wool even when they are thicker.


This is a close up of the area just left of centre at the top of the piece, showing dense and sparse patches:


I hope you're not getting bored of these because I have about 30 other breeds of wool and about 15 natural fibres, I'm not going to do the maths, but that's quite a variety of combinations I can come up with!

6 comments:

  1. Hello Zed, I am your new follower, I love seeing your experiments with fibers. Nice work indeed, I am also new to wet felting and really like it a lot. I started doing needle felting some time ago. Lovely blog. Hugs Judy

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    1. Hi Judy :)
      Thanks a lot, I really like your new seascape and showing the process is great!

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  2. Makes for lovely embellishment doesn't it?

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    1. Every one I try is my new favourite :)

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  3. Wow! Love all your natural panels...and the wiggly whispy top fibres! They must feel fabulous!! Looking forward to seeing more combinations and the final patchwork combination of all the panels!
    Ali x

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    1. Thanks, Ali :)
      It is interesting how different they all feel, especially when some look coarse but feel smooth. I'm not sure they'll make it to a final patchwork piece, I've already used a couple of pieces in frames and on cards!

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