Remember to STRETCH & SHAPE your finished nuno felt!

Finishing up your nuno felting projects to make them the best they can be takes a few minutes using tips & tricks from several sources. If you don't have access to workshops, check out the felting supply sites that have how-to sections because they often have information to help you improve your techniques & skills.

One of my latest sources for great finishing techniques is Treetops Colors Harmonies (Australia)(http://treetopscolors.com.au) and their Felting Tips section including this gem:

STRETCH AND SHAPE YOUR NUNO FELTED FABRIC

"Always stretch your work in the fulling stage. Inbetween tossing pull the piece in all directions trying to stretch it back to size. This will give the felt better drape and encourages the fulling process."

I probably learned how to do this a long time ago and not only forgot about it, I never really knew how important and significant stretching is!

If you're making a wearable like a scarf, wrap or garment the final "drape" of the nuno felted fabric is important because it looks better, wears better and shows off the special and unique qualities of this fascinating fiber art.

HOW AND WHEN TO STRETCH

All of this is done after you throw your nuno felted fabric:

1. Throw your fabric at least 25 times on a textured surface on one side, open it up, fold it up again with the other side exposed, throw another 25 times

2. Straighten out and flatten your fabric and pull out all the edges and ends

3. Dunk in soapy water so it's completely soaked through

(a) use cold water if you are using the All Cold Water Method***

(b) use warm to very hot water if you are using the heat-it-up method (which I rarely use anymore)

4. Toss your very wet fabric back on the textured surface, press down and rub it in all 4 directions (top, bottom, left, right) - this is known as Agitation

5. Pick up the fabric and pull it gently in one direction all along the length, then gently pull all along the width (this is STRETCHING)

It makes a huge difference! It even makes your ruffles "more ruffle-y."

There are times when you don't want to stretch your fabric and I learned the hard way that if you add embellishments under and/or over your fibers when you create your designs, you might "dislodge" these elements if you stretch it during the final stages.

For example, if you have added commercial or handmade yarn under or over your dry fiber layout that yarn is never as flexible as your loose fibers ----- if you stretch it, you may pull the yarn right off the fibers and fabric you worked so hard to felt into your fabric base. (I've made this mistake a lot more than once, yikes!)

Another way to think about it - if your embellishment(s) doesn't have a lot of textural "give" and flexibility it's not going to be flexible during stretching.

***Throwing, Agitation and the All Cold Water Method are covered in detail in Nuno Felting Tips & Tricks - Second Edition. These are all basic techniques you can adapt to fit your own skill level; you may not use them for every project but the more you nuno felt, the better you learn what works best for your creative process.