workshops - 2018
Introduction to felting
Tuesday 21 August, 10am-4pm
Felt is one of the oldest known fabrics in the world. It’s made by wetting layers of wool roving and rubbing and rolling with soap until the fibres interlock to form a robust fabric.
In the morning you will start by making a flat piece of felt to learn the basic technique. You can decorate it with yarn, silk and other embellishments.
In the afternoon you will make a 3D object (a small bowl) by felting around a resist. Again, you can decorate this in various ways.
What you learn:
The properties of different types of wool
The importance of allowing for shrinkage
How to use resists to make 3D felt objects
What you make: A flat sample and a 3D sample
We provide: All materials, but please bring an old towel and a plastic bag to take your work home with you
Numbers: Max 10 in class
Cost: £60 to be paid up front + £6 for materials to be paid in cash to the tutor on the day
When: Tuesday 21 August, 10am-4pm. There will be an hour’s break for lunch. There is a small shop that sells food about 5 minutes’ drive from the venue or you can bring your own.
Where: The Old School, School Lane, West Kingsdown, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 6JN
Booking: Judith Yarnold, Barngatefarm@outlook.com 01474 852669
Information about the tutor
Kim Winter of Flextiles is a textile artist specialising in wet felting, indigo shibori and ecoprinting. Her work is inspired by the natural world, and she often incorporates found objects in her pieces. Her hatred of waste and interest in sustainability led her to start upcycling, creating one-off pieces by buying items from charity shops and overdyeing or overprinting them or using them in her felt making.
Kim has studied with specialist felters and dyers who are leaders in the field, including Lisa Klakulak, Andrea Graham, Liz Clay, Maria Friese and Irit Dulman.
Kim is a member of South London Women Artists and the International Feltmakers Association. She is also a director of Makerhood, a co-operative of artists and designer-makers based in Lambeth, south London.
Introduction to ecoprinting
Wednesday 22 August, 10am-4pm
Ecoprinting is also known as botanical contact printing or bundling. It involves making a bundle of leaves in fabric and steaming or simmering in water or dye. In these conditions, certain plants leave their imprint on the fabric. Different effects can be produced by using different plants, dyes and mordants (substances that help the dye attach to the fabric).
The marks left by leaves and flowers depends on many things, including the time of year, the conditions the plant was grown in, and the pH and hardness of the local water. This can make the results rather unpredictable - so enjoy the uniqueness of your ecoprinted items!
We will be working with silk in this workshop, as it works well with this technique. In the morning we will go on a foraging walk to look for leaves and other foliage to use for ecoprinting. Then we will come back and make a couple of small samples using iron as a mordant. They will steam or simmer during our lunch break.
In the afternoon we will unbundle the samples to see the results and then lay out a larger piece (a silk scarf). While this is steaming we will experiment with hapazome (flower pounding), another method of using plants to make marks on fabric.
What you learn:
Basic ecoprinting technique
The properties of iron as a mordant and its application
The properties of different fabrics
The hapazome technique
What you make: Two small silk samples and a silk scarf
We provide: All materials, but please wear old clothes and bring an apron ( pls note extra charge)
Numbers: Max 10 in class
Cost: £60 to be paid up front + £15 for materials to be paid in cash to the tutor on the day
When: Wednesday 22 August, 10am-4pm. There will be an hour’s break for lunch. There is a small shop that sells food about 5 minutes’ drive from the venue or you can bring your own.
Where: The Old School, School Lane, West Kingsdown, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 6JN
Booking: Judith Yarnold, Barngatefarm@outlook.com, 01474 852669
Information about the tutor
Kim Winter of Flextiles is a textile artist specialising in wet felting, indigo shibori and ecoprinting. Her work is inspired by the natural world, and she often incorporates found objects in her pieces. Her hatred of waste and interest in sustainability led her to start upcycling, creating one-off pieces by buying items from charity shops and overdyeing or overprinting them or using them in her felt making.
Kim has studied with specialist felters and dyers who are leaders in the field, including Lisa Klakulak, Andrea Graham, Liz Clay, Maria Friese and Irit Dulman.
Kim is a member of South London Women Artists and the International Feltmakers Association. She is also a director of Makerhood, a co-operative of artists and designer-makers based in Lambeth, south London.
These courses are offered at an introductory price for you - everything included - including a light lunch. Funds will also be raised for Breast Cancer charities from your course fee
