MINT IN WET FELTING
HOW I USE MINT FIBRES IN WET FELTING
WHERE THE STORY BEGINS
My childhood summer days in my home country of Ukraine were filled with lazy daydreaming at our summer cottage on the river. I observed my family throwing a big bunch of freshly rinsed mint leaves into our tea pot and savouring the refreshing taste and lovely aroma. Mint grew wildly in the shade among the flower beds there and was not demanding or needing any special attention from any of us.
As an adult living now in the UK, I’ve come to equally enjoy the taste of mint in a chilled mojito, or as an accompaniment to all sorts of savoury and sweet dishes.
My utter surprise, far from the kitchen, was when I found mint fibres extracted from peppermint leaves in the wet felting materials and supplies. The fibres looked like nothing I expected - very natural, sheen, soft to touch and almost light golden in the sun.
MINT AS WE ALL KNOW IT
Mint herb is a plant that has been widely used for centuries for its medicinal, culinary, and aromatic properties.
Mint has a distinctive physical appearance, with bright green leaves that are slightly fuzzy to the touch. The leaves are oval-shaped with uneven edges, and they often grow in pairs opposite each other on the stem. Mint plants can grow quite tall, with some varieties reaching up to three feet in height.
Yet it’s the scent which is the most amazing, memorable feature. Mint herb has a refreshing and invigorating aroma that is instantly recognisable. The scent is cool and crisp, with a slight sweetness and a hint of spice. Simply crushing a few mint leaves in your hand can release a burst of fragrance that can instantly uplift your mood and refresh your senses.
AMAZING WET FELTING RESULTS
When adding mint fibres to your wet felting project, it's important to keep in mind that natural fibres do not bond well with the other fibres in the felted material. They can be blended and even mixed up with small amounts of other fibres if you prefer beforehand.
However, wool always acts like a glue and your layout should have the wool of your choice as a base layer. The choice how it is laid is yours- in finer strands or in a thicker layout depending on the goal in mind but fibres always bond to wool due to its amazing unique properties of wool itself.
The following photo shows strands of tactile mint fibres spread on the fine merino wool layer covering it completely.
Here in the next photo you can see the wool and fibres are sprayed with look warm water and soap, the basic elements of wet felting. The wet felting process begins.
To continue mint fibres and wool are rubbed gently and starting to shrink a bit leaving very beautiful streams on the surface of my project.
UNEXPECTED OUTCOME
The project is fulling further and we see the result of mint fibres incorporated into merino wool and the base layer of fabric I used. It is my sample for the future clothes item coming up soon. I want to hold it in my hands before I proceed any further planning it all out which is a great idea for knowing your shrinkage as well.
I love its delicate texture, very versatile feel and flexibility in my materials used.
Thank you for staying with me and reading this till the end. I hope you find it useful for the projects you do.
Stay tuned to see how it turns out and what part of my wardrobe this item becomes. Please, sign up to my updates not to miss out anything that is coming up. :)
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If you want to explore luxurious natural fibres through the tactile art of wet felting, feel free to get in touch and contact me via email for your online experience session. I am more than happy to help.
As always, stay safe and enjoy, Tanya x
SUMMER CRAFT IDEAS TO EXPLORE
Summer craft ideas to explore
Summer is a fabulous time to shake off our gloom and gently try something new.
Whether it’s dyeing a well-loved top or making time to prep some discovered wool or yarn that had been hiding in a cupboard, it’s light, intentional steps we seek that don’t require a big commitment.
Playing and seeing what you like can be an unexpected turn that is good for mental well-being to being as well.
I thought I would share a few links to my resources and inspiration behind them with you.
SAVOUR YOUR LOCAL WALKS
One positive side of being restricted in freedom of movement this past year has been to rekindle a fresh appreciation for the beauty here on my doorstep. Start walking in your area and see if you too can notice some leaves you can gather to do some eco print or dyeing a summer bandana.
I have been experimenting with some summer dyes. Natural shades vary from light to brighter summer colours like yellow ochre.
20 dye baths collection: To get some ideas floating go to my highlights icons and check out the 20 dye baths folder here
MAKE A SET OF LINEN NAPKINS FOR YOUR SUMMER DINING
Natural dyes are so forgiving. To enjoy the outdoors or a picnic time with your family, sharing with them the joy of something you've created. This helps us celebrate the quiet moments and can make each gathering special.
Linen is so versatile and always speaks to me of summer. Wrinkled natural tableware is always my go to when I style the summer table.
To see how I pre-treat my linen napkins with soy milk watch this small DIY video of mordanting naturally.
A short video pre-treating linen fabric with soy milk here
CREATE YOUR SUMMER SCARF OR A SILK BANDANA
Treat yourself and make more space by being creative!
Gentle start on a path to learn how to create a light nuno felt summer scarf to enjoy the evenings this coming season. First discover how to dye silk with fresh nettles and all naturally: watch a short demo here
I hope you give some of these ideas a try. Feel free to get in touch to discover more by tuning in what is happening already.
As always, take good care, best wishes, Tanya x
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