Autumn scarf with falling leaves

This nuno-felted scarf is relatively difficult to make, but the result makes it well worth the effort.

1 Materials: 45 x 180 cm length of silk chiffon; merino wool; felting silk; bubble wrap; olive-oil soap; brush for applying soap-water solution.

2 Place the scarf on the bubble wrap (bubbles facing up). Tear off (do not cut) sections of wool in the direction of the fibres. Place individual pieces (the smaller the better) onto the silk on the place where the pattern should be. Lay individual layers crosswise, the second layer perpendicular to the first, to make strong felt. Also alternate colours for an interesting effect.

3 Border the wool with darker bands and create leaf patterns.

4 Use various cool colours along the edges.

5 Tear the silk fibres.

6 Decorate the leaves with silk fibres.

7 As soon as the entire pattern has been laid out, make a soap-water solution from 1 litre hot water and 1 tablespoon shredded soap. Using a brush, shake the hot solution onto the wool without allowing the brush to touch the wool. Also sprinkle the surrounding areas of silk.

8 When the entire scarf is wet, cover with another layer of bubble wrap (this time bubbles facing down).

9 Wet and soap the bubble wrap so that your hands can slide over it easily.

10 Using circular motions, work the wool into the silk. At first work gently and do not press. As soon as the wool starts to felt, you can use a bit more muscle.

11 Continuously check and adjust the pattern during the felting process. Felting happens when individual fibres firmly grab onto each other and onto the silk. Test to see how far along you are in the felting process by using your fingers to try and lift the wool. If you can, you are still at the beginning.

12 If the wool fibres stay firmly attached to each other and fibres that have penetrated through the silk can seen on the opposite side of the scarf, the end is nearing.

13 Once the wool stays firmly attached to the silk, the entire scarf can be rinsed in a soap-water solution that has been reheated to the highest temperature (do not boil). Gently and lightly squeeze out the scarf and once again place the scarf between the bubble wrap and continue felting. Do not forget to soap your hands and the bubble wrap to slide more easily. You can repeat this process several times, depending on how successful the result seems to be.

Note: Felting takes a long time. It depends on the layers of wool (the more the longer), the direction of the fibres (fibres placed crosswise felts earlier than fibres placed in just one direction – such as spirals where felting is done with a band of wool). It also depends on the temperature of the soap-water solution – the warmer the better. And last but not least, it depends on how your hands work. Beginners should first try the whole process on a small piece of silk to “get a feel” for what is involved. In any case, you will need several hours to create a scarf from start to finish.

The finished felt must be strong and stay on the silk, it should not shed, but it should be supple so as not to interfere with the structure of the silk. If you over-felt and the wool shrinks, the pattern will be on hard spots protruding from the silk and will be scratchy to the touch (like a sweater that has shrunk). Well-made felt is a question of experience. Do not be disappointed in case of failure; it is another experience to under your belt.

A felting needle can be used to save felt that does not adhere well enough to the base. Lay the finished (dry) scarf on a piece of foam (you can also use a smaller surface, such as a sponge) and punch the needle through to join the wool to the silk and finish felting the scarf.

After finishing the scarf, rinse well in warm water (at least three times) to make sure no soap remains in the wool. Rinse and squeeze out gently, as if you were washing an angora sweater. After rinsing thoroughly, finish the felting process by placing the scarf in a washbasin filled with lukewarm water to which about 2 dl (a little under a cup) of vinegar has been added. Spread the scarf out over a towel to dry. Iron (wool setting) once the scarf is completely dry.