Book Review: Felt - Handmade Style by India Flint and Toyoko Sugiwaka

I've loved felt for as long as i can remember. I love it because it's soft but also strong, dense but also flexible, so easy to sew... and it never frays!

I came across this book in my public library, and it's not only got lots of lovely pictures to look at, all the instructions are clear and easy to understand. This book is great if you've been inspired by seeing everyone else's beautiful wooly creations and want to make your own.

This book concentrates on basic wet-felting techniques and includes more than 20 interesting projects to make useful and stylish things to wear, to keep other things in, or to decorate your home. I've not tried any of the projects yet... but I think if I had all the materials, this book would tell me what I need to know.

Yes, you need a special material: wool. Not something easily purchased from high-street shops, however you'll find plenty of suppliers on Etsy. The tools you need though, are mainly household things - bubble-wrap, soap, beach-mats...











Among the 20+ projects are felt beads, bowls, a delicate scarf, a curly-fleece rug, slippers, hats, purses and bags... really plenty to get you started. Then once you feel you have a grasp of the basic process, you can have fun making things of your own design.

What i'm most attracted to is the ability to make multi-coloured and patterned felts... watch this space!

Anyway, this is a book i'm definitely going to borrow from our public library again... when I get around to buying some wool roving!

In case you want to get hold of this book, here are the details:
Felt: Handmade Style by India Flint and Toyoko Sugiwaka

Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Murdoch Books (1 Feb 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1740458826
ISBN-13: 978-1740458825
Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 22.2 x 2 cm