Quilters who use felted wool... a few quick questions
 

I have recently been enamoured with all those beautiful felted wool quilts and wanted to do a small project. (Actually it all started when I saw Sue Spargo's "Bird Dance" but was smart enough not to start with that...LOL)

Anyway, I bought some small charm packs of felted wool and some of the pieces had faded area's through it. If it was cotton I would have thought that someone spilled bleach on it. Is this something normal in the felting process? My gut reaction was to return for replacement but wanted to check with you all first in case it was something normal with the material.

Also, a lot of the kits I saw out there were wool felt. This is different, correct?

And lastly, can anyone recommend something good for a beginner?

Thanks in advance!

Liz

I've just felted a couple of wool clothing and haven't experienced any "fading" anywhere, personally I would go for replacements. I can't help you with the kits of wool felt. A good site to go for great wool projects would be: wee folk art.com.

Sounds like those were cut from hand dyed pieces, as they do come out with a marbled look to them.

Wool felt is made of wool fibers that have been felted. Felted wool often is made from wool that had been made into a fabric then felted. They are interchangeable. Once felted the wool fibers form a mat that won't fray. You just have to be sure and get wool felt and not craft felt which is a totally different thing.

Many of the commercial wool cuts in the quilting market are called ( hand dyes) and are mottled on purpose, I doubt there is anything wrong with your squares. They give movement & texture to things like leaves, flowers, vines, etc. They are made that way on purpose. Many of us who recycle wools over dye them to get that effect