Felting Types

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Felting Fiber

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Making felt has evolved into a fun, creative process—quick and easy, too. All you need is a bit of wool, warm water, wool-safe soap, and some towels, and you're ready to start making cloth in one of the fastest, free form ways you can imagine.

A free ebook from Interweave provides the instructions and some projects to get you started with creating felted fiber. 

Guild Library Display

Cinde P., Rachel B., and Cheryl O. prepare
 the Guild display in the Riverton Library
March 2017

Rachel B. adds name tags to the display items

The display preparation crew
Cheryl O., Rachel B., Nancy S. and Cinde P.

Forty-eight items were carefully arranged in the display case and labeled. Items include: weaving, knit, crochet, hand-spun, dyed fibers, sewing, quilting, basketry, needle-felting, wet felting. The variety of projects reflects the impressive talent of our members.

The Guild's display will remain in the Riverton Library 

for the next two months (April and May)

Tell your friends to go check it out.

Felted Soap Bar

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No need to purchase a gift when you have the materials in your home to make one.

Birkeland Wool shares directions on how to create a Felted Bar of Soap.

Wet-Felting Technique

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Stumbles and Stitches shares photos and some explanation of a wet-felting technique, using sealable plastic bags.  The felting process looks mess-free and a good one for little hands.

(The instructor did prepare the base for these "landscapes" for the students before the class.)

Sage Ridge Mill & Critters' Retreat

An amazing day of Natural Fibery fun Workshops & FREE Demos for You

June 24, 25 & 26th, 2016

This will be hosted on a Working Wyoming Fiber Ranch – 

SageRidge Mill & Critters

Located in Clearmont, Wyoming at 

239 Thompson Creek Rd

Bring your Tent or Camper!  

We will have some campers available on a first come- first serve basis. 

Clear Creek Stop in Clearmont has three cabins available for overnight rental

Other motel accomadations are available 30 miles away in Historic Buffalo, Wyoming.

Come and enjoy an experience of working with natural fibers, helping to make a connection with the animals that produce your fiber and learning from producers who raise the fibers you love!

(We will only be working with Natural/Local Fibers at this event) 

Class prices vary from $15 to $75 depending.  

Pre-Registration is preferred this year 

but 

Sign-up the day of the event at the check-in will be available for most classes.

There will be classes (and Demos) in Weaving, Needle Felting, Wet Felting, Spinning (wheel and drop spindle), Natural Plant Dyeing, Knitting, Crochet, and whatever else these clever natural fiber producers can bring with them to teach us!

Lunch will be provided (FREE): make your own sandwich from 12 – 1 pm.

Dinner will be at 5:30 pm over the campfire both evenings.  Dinner is $10.00 per person ($6.00 for children under 12) but is FREE if you register (at the gate) & enjoy 2 classes!

Marshmallows over the campfire are FREE

Classes are available for passerby observation FREE of charge, but to participate, you must register for the class.  Again our main focus is to use and enjoy naturally grown regional fibers down to the LAST bag! 

Community Work (Gossip) Area – FREE

Call us at 307-758-4616 to reserve your space to come and have fun with us in the Wyoming Prairie.  

Or email Linda at sageridge@rangeweb.net.  

If you want to see “the place” and get a feel for our “working ranch” and what you might expect to experience and appropriate gear to bring with you, go to www.sageridge.net. 

Back to the Ranch…. It’s time to experience where your Fiber comes from….

Back in Time - Wet Felting Program

Is there a better way to spend a Saturday morning than playing with wool? Perhaps, but in 2009 several Fiber Guild members gathered to make "wet felted" balls and prepared some dry balls to be felted in the washing machine for the tree the Guild was preparing for the community fund-raiser, called the Festival of Trees.

Katheryn E. and Lucy O. 

First, roving was carded into batts. Aligning the wool fibers all in the same direction makes felting easier.

Alice G. and Katheryn E.

The wool is carefully removed from the carding drum.

Colleen J.

Then a handful of odd bits of roving are then blanketed in the batt.

Alice G., Kathy M., Jean A., Lucy O., Nancy S. and Leane L.

For "wet felting" the balls were submerged in hot water and then dish soap was applied to the ball. The wool is then worked to allow the fibers to adhere to each other.

We rubbed, rolled, dipped, rubbed, rolled, and dipped for about 15 minutes. Gradually the balls became more compact.

Lucy O., Jean A., Kathy M. and Colleen J.

Once the balls were the size that we wanted, they were rinsed in cold water until the water ran clear.

Lucy O. and Kathy M.

The dry balls were prepared the same way, but they were placed in an old pair of nylons with knots between each ball. One of the ladies felted the wool balls, knotted in three pair of panty hose, in her washing machine.

The felted balls were embellished at the next Guild meeting.