Enchanted Felt Cottage

Charlotte Lyons

Whether we work at home or away, our creative lives often center on House and Home. In this class we will build a cottage from felted wool pieces. These fabrics can be recycled from old clothing or purchased anew, but should be a mix and match of colors in your style/favorite palette. (Could be some sharing with other students too.) After constructing the dwelling with simple hand stitches and shapes, we will begin an artistic adventure embellishing the walls with scrap materials and decorative pieces. This is the place to use all the small treasures you have kept for yourself- the broken jewelry, bits of trim and cherished buttons. Here they become part of your collaged house, suddenly rich with personal meaning and sentiment. You may be inspired to add to it long after the class packs up. The finished piece is sturdy enough to function as an art piece, bookend or jewelry holder.

Supply List:

• Paper for patterns, standard copy, 4 sheets
• Pencil, straightedge, pins, scissors, needles, threads, floss or pearl cottons ….i.e. your own sewing/tool kit plus white glue
• 6 felted woven wool fabric rectangles, each roughly 10 x 13” (these can be purchased wool felt or home-felted wools from skirts, shirts, light blankets. Not sweaters.)
• 1 fabric piece for roof, roughly 12 x 15”. Look for vintage remnants. Velvets, silks, tapestry, wool felts, heavy weight cotton, toiles, etc.
• Bag of polyester stuffing
• Chipboard square 8 x 8
• Bag of pebbles, rice, lentils or beans
• Scraps of other fabrics and wools
• Trims, laces, crochet edging, doilies
• A few photos (or photo transfers) of family or groups, copied and ready to cut up
• Your stash of precious bits- suggestions: smaller trinkets, millinery flowers and leaves, twigs, buttons, jewelry bits, odd earrings, pins, charms, paper ephemera and book phrases, beads, pearls, shoe buckles and pendants. (I will have some to share too.)
  
  
• Optional: real or faux branch