Felted Friends

Felted Friends
By Sue Pearl
Published by Search Press
ISBN -10 1-84448-304-5
ISBN - 13 978-1-84448-304-4
Price £9.99
Reviewed by Annette Claxton

I have always thought feltmaking was a very joyous occupation, being accessible to both adults and children and just a little bit messy. Sue Pearl’s book with its collection of delightful ideas reinforces this as she takes us through a very thorough, but easy to read, introduction, from the origins of felt to her own involvement in the craft. Starting with the basics, we are guided as to the various types of wool and how each reacts differently to being felted, as well as the actual process of how wool shrinks. The materials and equipment used are easy to procure and are well described and illustrated with a helpful list of suppliers. There are good accounts of the types of felting - needled, hot felting, wet or dry, and their appropriate uses.

Next we move on to the exciting bit, learning the techniques that form the basis of her wonderfully eccentric creature ‘friends’. The 25 projects cleverly range from simple flat felted wallhangings, developing to more and more fantastic animals. The easy to make spiders would be a good starting point for the young. We are shown step-by-step how to form the armature skeletons, wrap them with pre-formed felt, gradually building to the finished piece, including their clothing! The colours available in the dyed tops used are quite mouth watering and help to stimulate the creation of these critters, but it is the final touch of the facial expressions that give them their individual characters. I particularly like the groovy cats.

The necessary information is well written to stimulate the reader’s interest, I think this would be an ideal book for those with a lively imagination, who might also like to involve children in a new craft and invent new outrageous beasties.

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