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FELT:
Each felted ornament is created from scratch in the felt workshop using
traditional felting techniques. First, natural carded wool is dyed to
color specifications, then dried, re-carded and wound into large balls
to create a working stock of soft wool. The prepared wool is roughly
shaped into sheets, patterns, balls or molds, depending on the
materials that the final product requires. Warm soapy water is then
poured over the wool which is rubbed and rolled by hand beneath a thin
layer of meshed nylon. The heat and agitation gradually interlocks the
woolen fibers, thus creating the soft but solid fabric known as felt.
Once the initial shaping process is complete, the material or finished
product is dried in the sun. Sheeted felt is cut into shapes, stuffed
and sewn into ornaments. Expressive details are usually added to
surfaces using both embroidery and a distinctive technique called
‘needling.’ A specially engineered ‘felting needle’ is vigorously and
repeatedly punched through overlaying colors of felt to bind them
together to create a unique handmade item.
KNITS:
Fair Trade Holiday knitted hats and stockings are created with
traditional techniques, using two wooden knitting needles made from
local resources. Because of the two needle tradition
(circular knitting is not traditional), stockings are finished with a
seam on the inside of the
stocking. All the yarns are handspun. Our popular 'Homespun' hats and
stockings use a
traditional 'thick and thin' style yarn.
Women visit the production center and sit in groups to learn new
product patterns. Once a pattern has been memorized women may choose to
finish knitted items at home. This allows them to integrate knitting
into their daily lives, leaving more time to be with family.
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