Felting a ruffle scarf

I took some photos while felting the last few ruffle shawls. A few people have asked me, how to get the ruffles, so here is how I do this.
First, I lay out the center lengthwise, then the ruffle part around it with fibers going outwards. Thin, but many layers of fibers are best for a uniform result. No matter how you design the rest, the center part should be strong, so I usually press the fibers down with my hands carefully to feel for any weak spots (just looking at it might not be enough to judge, especially the black - the fibers are fluffy and can trick the eye).

Depending on how much fiber I have laid out for the ruffle part, the ruffle can be thick and firm or sheer and lacey, cobweb looking. I like both results, actually. This time I wanted a fairly firm, but not too thick ruffle. At this stage you should also decide how long do you want the ruffle to be. In this photo my ruffle only has one staple length, and it would have been rather short. I added a second layer later, but it was tricky to do since I did not want to mess up the rest of my design. So, if you want big ruffles, lay a second layer of wool going around the scarf again, overlapping fibers well.

The fun part :) I did not really like the green mix by itself too much, so I wanted to add other colors to bring a bit more contrast to it.I went with black and 2 shades of lilac

 The darker lilac is barely there, just shadowing a little.

 Then I added peaces of mawata silk hankies in some parts - I just cut them with scissors and stretched to fit the area that I wanted to cover.

I decided I wanted the ruffle to be wider, so added a second round of fiber around it - it was really tricky not to mess up the rest! Better to do that before laying out the design.

 Sprinkle with warm soapy water and roll. Unroll after each 100-125 rolls to check and change the direction. Once the scarf passes the 'pinch test', I usually unroll and felt the center of it by hand a little further. Work on the ruffles, shaping them gently the way that I want them to look. (Sorry, no photos from this part, but I got carried away and had soapy hands, too... :))
I fulled this scarf slightly, shocking the fibers with cold and hot water plus a few gentle throws - this wool felted very easy and I did not want to over-do it.

 

Rinse well. I usually put my scarves to rest in a light vinegar bath ( a couple spoons of white vinegar to a bowl of neutral t` water), then rinse well again and hang to dry. Once dry, the scarf should be ironed on wool settings, and sometimes I even use a little steam. Ironing makes a big difference.

Here is a photo of the finished scarf:

 I actually like to toss one end of it over the shoulder, but I can't seam to find a photo showing it... The colors are a bit more green and less blue in real life - this was a cloudy day and no matter what I tried, they don't look right on my screen.

And here is another one. I love how this came out - a really dramatic effect! I had used a very fine 18.5 micron merino wool as a base and it is really really soft! 

center fibers going lengthwise

two staple-lengths of ruffle

 I used a very interesting fiber mix to decorate this scarf - the white fibers are linen, combined with black and bright red, the effect is rather amazing!

ruffle felt scarf layout before felting

And here it is after felting:

Felt ruffle scarf black with red and white accents

The black one is one of my favorites. I had some doubts when I was shopping for linen, but it was definitely worth trying out the unusual!

Wet felting

pink ruffle scarf

I still haven't conquered silk. In fact, it appears not as easy to find in my nearby stores and I will have to order online from somewhere, so I have put it on hold.

In the meanwhile, I have been obsessed with wet felting. I mean, really obsessed. I absolutely love the fabric you can get with cobweb felt! It's amazingly soft and drapes well.

And, I have discovered ruffles! This is a really impressive scarf, and I am going to send this one for my cousin, hopefully she will love it :) The colors I used are fluro pink, rose and magenta. Different fiber layout and a slightly more aggressive felting in the middle part of the scarf result in beautiful ruffly edges.

fluro pink, rose and magenta wet felt ruffle scarf

I have tries a few fiber combinations over the past week or so with cobweb wet felting technique. Merino silk mix produces the most luxurious ones, with a fascinating drape. Here are a few pics:

cobweb felt scarf black white red merino silk

This is one of my favorites - very elegant look

cobweb felt scarf merino silk earth tones

cobweb felt scarf "rose garden" shades of red beige and white

Pure merino wool can produce very nice results, too, but I discovered I had to be extra careful when fulling them, so that they would preserve all the softness and drape nicely. Here are some of my favorites:

cobweb felt scarf silver grey storm blue and  just a shadow of lilac to bring in extra light

cobweb felt merino scarf shades of purples and blue

cobweb felt merino scarf hot pink magenta fuchsia plum and bamboo staple 

And, I also tried a mix of 95% merino wool and 5% mohair, which produced a very airy and lightweight scarf with a bit of an earthy feel to it due to mohair.

cobweb felt scarf merino mohair mix purple and green

I absolutely love wet felting, the possibilities of fibers and colors are endless and results are gorgeous!