I first thought I’d try making felted hoop art (literally, framing a small piece of decorative felt using an embroidery hoop) in early 2018. My big plan was to turn them into Christmas hanging decorations and give them out as Christmas cards. So this time last year I bought everything I needed, thinking I‘d be well-prepared…but of course I left most of the making til the last minute and didn’t end up with as many as I’d hoped. Still, I was pleased with how they turned out, with lots of sparkly yarns and fibres in the felt. It’s a felting technique you can go pretty crazy with in terms of colours and glitz, because when you then cut out just a small portion of the felt and frame it in a hoop, It looks really effective and not overdone.
With Christmas over, the idea of creating some bigger one-off versions has been going around in my head, at the same time as wondering what to do with something that has been sitting in my stash for nearly a year (all creatives know that feeling I think!). Last April I’d been browsing Etsy and Instagram looking for seashell-themed textile art (one of my obsessions) and come across a lovely lady called Lisa aka Funky Bunny Designs. Lisa lives in Australia and makes beautiful crochet necklaces (and other things), and at the time was incorporating lots of tiny crocheted sea urchin-like shapes. So after a night at the pub (as you do) I got in contact and custom-ordered some urchins in sea green and coral pink shades (have a look at my new logo and you’ll see I’m also a bit obsessed with these colours!). Lisa sent me lots of great photos as she was making them, to check I was happy, and then whizzed them over to me. And there they’ve sat in their little bag (as well as at the back of my mind) for the last 10 months.
So, the whole Christmas card hoop art idea got me thinking that I could make a hoop art piece incorporating Lisa’s crocheted urchins. I found a large embroidery hoop which had belonged to my nan, and with my new studio recently finished it was all pointing towards making a piece of sea-themed art for my studio.
Here’s how I did it. First (although it was actually the second attempt as the colours weren’t right the first time) I wet-felted a background piece, in a wave-inspired pattern incorporating Finnwool fleece, various fibres (eg Wenslydale curly locks, silk), some dyed Margilan silk fabric and various wool yarns. Then I arranged the sea urchins and stitched them on, along with further fibres and beads. I could have arranged the urchins a million ways – it’s always hard to know when to stop and decide something’s finished, but here’s where I’ve got.
It’s now hanging in my studio. Thanks to Lisa for starting this piece off (and to my nan for getting me inspired to be creative in the first place). And if you would like to come and make your own Christmas felted hoop art, I’m hoping to be running a workshop at Make at Monteray in Topsham, Devon in the autumn (keep an eye out for the workshop as places fill up fast).
