How To Felting

Recently Jayme of Roadside fame has been sharing some behind-the-scenes images of her mind-blowingly gorgeous work, and I guess I'm just gonna go right ahead and copy her. Not the mind-blowing stuff, just the behind-the-scenes. So here are the first several steps I take to produce a custom house portrait--in this case a church portrait:I start, of course, with photos provided by the client--usually several, just to make sure I really understand the structure.
Then I make a sketch--this helps me decide on the composition of the piece--the final, front view I will try to create on the hoop, and it's how I break the house into its composite shapes. I put the fabric on the hoop, sometimes doing a little patchwork on the machine first if I want more than one color in the background. Here I've just used a nice, pale-blue cotton.
It's time to choose felt colors, and this can be a real challenge. Wool felt actually comes in lots of shades, but the world comes in infinitely more, so often there's no exact match--or even anything close enough for total comfort. I try to select colors that look good together and recreate the spirit of the subject. I've never had anyone say, "Hey, my house isn't ochre! It's Cinnamon!" I think I worry about it more than the clients do. If I'm really nervous, I send images of the color options, but mostly I just trust my instincts.
Now I'm ready to cut the basic foundation shapes. Looks a bit like a castle at this point, huh? Let's hope that comes out in the wash. (This "wash" is metaphoric, you understand. I'm not washing these babies.) See my scissors? Ginghers. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Oh, yes. I got mine for 40% off with a Joann's coupon, cuz that's how I roll.
I cut the tiny bits and pieces next, and sometimes they can be truly tiny. I use those little embroidery scissors for the really tortuous cutting. I construct the whole scene as I go, only to dismantle it in order to...
...sew the pieces on, layer by layer, bit by bit, mainly with a simple (hopefully even) running stitch.

Folks, I know you're on the edge of your seats, but that's as far as I got today. It's a rush job, though, so you won't have to wait long for Part 2 of this hairraising drama.

(Hey--prezzies in the mail tomorrow, girlies! Wait for it!)