One of the great fabrics that new sewers could use in making interesting and fascinating sewing projects is felt. This type of fabric is extremely versatile and has a long and fascinating history that makes it popular in sewing.
There are quite a number of types of felt that novice sewers can use for their projects. There is the commercially produced felt which consists of acrylic fibers. This type of felt is readily available in textile stores. You can find a variety of felt with different colors at a reasonable price. Usually, these commercially produced felts come in sheets of various sizes. However, you can also find this fabric cut into shapes such as flowers, sun and hearts.
There is another type of felt that is also commercially produced: the wool felt. This type of felt is slightly higher than the other commercially available felt since it is made from tightly pressed and agitated fibers.
If you need more than what is available in most textile stores, then you can opt to use a handmade felt. This is made by fiber artists who use a variety of techniques, one of which is wet felting. Wet felting is a traditional way of producing felt wherein the fibers are placed on the board, dampened with hot water and agitated. Heat and movement result to the matting and shrinking of the fibers that form a firm fabric. Another way of making felt is by shrinking fabrics that were previously knitted and woven. So, when you accidentally wash your new sweater in a washing machine, you will get only a fraction of the item that you popped into the machine.
If you want something halfway between a handmade and commercially produced felt, then a needle felt would be the perfect fabric to use in your project. This type of felt is composed of pure wool, a loose fabric that is made from fabrics which is lightly felted. This type of wool can be used in projects like any of the two felts previously mentioned. However, you should always bear in mind that this type of felt will still shrink and felt further once the project is completed. So, only use this type of felt in making creative surface designs or 3D projects.
There are various types of felt that novice sewers can use in making their projects. There are commercially produced felt that you can find in textile stores, handmade felt and needle felt. All of these are great in different types of sewing projects. But, you should always bear in mind that each type has different uses and is only great for specific types of sewing projects.
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