Felted Mini-bags

I was browsing through some older posts on Facebook, and I ran across these pictures of some of my students' amazing wet-felted works of art! The class was the Wet-felted Mini-bag, and students learned how to felt using a resist as well as how to apply different embellishments such as silk fibers, bamboo, Angelina fibers, wool nepps, curly mohair, and metallic mesh. They created beautiful small shoulder bags, just the right size for a quick trip to the store or walking around the quilt show! We had a great time felting too; here are just a few of the gorgeous bags they made that day.

 This first bag was actually created by a student at Carolina Fiber Festival this year, she felted a fireweed design on her purse front to represent her company, Fireweed Designs. In this image the wool fibers are still wet, but the design was just breathtaking even then.

 This was an abstract representation of a branch with blossoms 'n berries, just beautiful.

 I love how these pink posies pop on this citrus-y shade of chartreuse, lovely!

 This was a gorgeous painterly design this artist created from a photograph, I love the added dimension of the lines she added to the edges of the flower!

 Beautiful pansies created by this artist, and the wool nepps added just the right touch!

These were my inspiration pieces for the students with 2 handle options; a felted ropey strap with felted leaves, or a purchased silky cording.