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Fleece to Felt Courses Surrey

Caterham, Surrey

What's Included

  • Choose from a two day course (vouchers are valid for either part one or two) or four day courses include both parts
  • All equipment is provided
  • You will form part of a small group of 8 participants
  • Courses are not catered, please bring a packed lunch and refreshments

Two Day Course (Part One)

  • Process and naturally dyeing raw sheep fleece with and an introduction to carding techniques
  • Start with the raw fleece straight from the sheep's back, you will process it
  • The worked fleece has lots of possibilities for you to take it further in your own time it  can then be made into felt (you are taken through this on part 2), or spun into yarn or used directly on a peg loom
  • Learn how to sort, store and clean the fleece
  • Make five dye baths from natural materials many of which you'll forage for
  • Create at least 20 different shades of naturally dyed wool
  • Dyed wools can be used to further decorate your felt if you continue to part 2

Two Day Course (Part Two)

  • Creating the felt, from carding, to furling and finally felting itself
  • Turn soft wispy fleece into durable tough felt
  • Create flat sheets of wet felt, seamless pouches and have a go at needle felting three dimensional shapes

Four Day Course

  • Complete the entire course (parts one and two)

What Can I Expect

Fleece to Felt courses in Surrey! Learn the ancient art of turning sheep fleeces into felt on these two and four-day courses near Caterham in the heart of Surrey.

We all know what sheepskin looks like. But did you know you can make a strong, durable, non-fraying fabric from the shorn wool? That means the sheep donates its wool, but not their life, which is what we like to hear!

Using methods that have been around for thousands of years, you will learn how to take raw wool to then clean it, process it, dye it and work it, to create highly durable and heat proof felt items. It's an amazing process that is quite lengthy, but so incredibly worthwhile when you see the end results.

The skilled craftspeople who teach these fleece felting courses in Surrey are passionate about their work. In an age when fast fashion and industrially-produced synthetic textiles seems to reign, it is very important that such ancient crafts remain.

You will be taken through all the stages from washing the raw wool and scouring, to mordanting, dying, carding, felting and furling. And whilst these terms may be unknown to you at the moment, by the end of these courses in Surrey you will know and understand a whole lot more about the process!

The full course is four days long. As well as offering vouchers for the full thing, we have broken the course down into two parts, which you can buy as separate two-day course vouchers.

Taking place in the private woodlands just beyond Caterham, we think these 'Fleece to Felt' courses will appeal to anyone who loves rural crafts and using their hands to make something simple, yet brilliant. 

When Is It Available

  • Timings: 09:30-17:00 daily

Scheduled Dates

  • 13-14th June 2024 - Part 1 Processing and Dyeing Wool
  • 15th-16th June 2024 - Part 2 Carding and Felting Wool
  • 13th-16th June 2024 - Full Course - Fleece to Felt

Location

  • Caterham, Surrey

Suitable For

  • Minimum age 16

Spectators

  • Not suitable for spectators

Anything Else

  • Opportunity to camp in the woods each evening or there are a number of local accommodation options that can be recommended when booking
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