Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about war and conflict in art and paying particular interest to textiles.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to use needle felting to add to your arpillera.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The first two key words we'll be using today are felting and wisp.

I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Felting.

Wisp.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

Felting is the process of bonding wool fibres together using agitation.

A wisp is a small amount of wool fibres.

Pause the video here to make a note of these first two keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

Now, our next two key words we'll be using today are layering and blending.

I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Layering.

Blending.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

Layering means placing multiple wisps of wool on top of each other to build thickness, strength, and design.

Blending is the process of mixing different colours of wool fibres to create new colours, textures, or effects.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles we'll be working through together in today's lesson, creating samples of needle felting and applying needle felting to your arpillera.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to have a go at creating samples of needle felting.

Now, how do you think this tool is used in textiles? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Did you have any ideas around how this tool could be used in textiles? It's quite long and thin.

Hmm.

Well, this is a felting needle.

The special barbs on the needles are used to agitate wool fibres, which binds them together.

Now, felting is a textile process.

Unlike weaving or knitting, felting does not require spinning the fibres into yarn.

Instead, it relies on the natural structure of wool fibres, which have tiny scales on their surface.

When agitated, these scales open up and interlock with one another, forming a dense, sturdy fabric.

One way an artist can agitate wool fibres is to use a felting needle.

Felting needles are extremely sharp.

To make them safe to use, an artist should consider using finger guards to protect their fingers, to always use a felting mat, to use the needle vertically when binding fibres, and to use a safety tool to hold the needle, and finally, to keep needles away from eyes and fingers.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Needle felting tools are easy to use without considering safety.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's false, you're absolutely right.

But why is that statement false? Can you explain? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you discuss? Well, maybe you said something like, "Felting needles are extremely sharp.

They should be used with a high consideration of safety, particularly ensuring fingers and eyes are protected." So well done for remembering that you need to be safe when using needle felting tools.

To begin felting, an artist needs a felting needle.

They also need finger guards, a safety tool, some wool tops in your chosen colours, a felting mat, and squares of synthetic felt.

So there are a few things that an artist needs before they start felting.

Now, this is a wisp of wool.

When felting, small amounts of fibres called wisps are used to build up thickness and texture.

If too much wool is used in one go, it can break the felting needle, so you need to make sure that you've got the right amount.

Begin by getting a wisp of wool.

This is a small amount of fibre that can be felted using a needle.

So you grasp the wool top loosely in your non-dominant hand.

Then, use your finger and thumb to pull a small number of fibres away.

That will be a wisp of wool.

Now, remember to pull in the same direction as the fibres, not from the side of the wool top.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which image shows the incorrect way of getting a wisp of wool? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Which image shows the incorrect way of getting a wisp of wool? If you said it's A, you're absolutely right.

You should pull the wisp of wool in the same direction as the fibres so they do not become agitated.

So, lay your square of synthetic felt on your felting mat and then place your wisp of wool on top.

Then you begin binding the fibres by carefully sliding your needle into the wool using a vertical action.

Then continue this action, and the wool is then felted when it holds its shape.

So, can you see here? We've gone from the first image to the second image.

You use your needle and you make sure that you're sliding it into the wall using a vertical action.

Now, you can layer over more wisps of wool to build up your felted areas.

You might choose to blend colours like here, with the orange and the light blue.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which step is missing from this part of the felting process? So we've got lay your square of synthetic felt on your felting mat, place your wisp of wool on top, but then which step is missing here? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, "Begin binding the fibres by carefully sliding your needle into the wool using a vertical action," you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, this brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to create samples of needle felting.

So first of all, lay your square of synthetic felt on your felting mat.

Then place your wisp of wool on top, and begin binding the fibres by carefully sliding your needle into the wool using a vertical action.

And then remember, you can layer over more wisps of wool to build up your felted areas.

And you might choose to blend those colours together.

Now, remember to get those wisps of wool to pull from the fibres in the same direction and only get a small amount.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at creating some samples of needle felting, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to add your different wisps of wool? Did you blend the colours or did you keep it the same? Well, let's have a look at some examples here.

Hopefully you used wisps of wool with a needle felting tool.

And how was that? Did you find that okay? Did you keep all of those safety elements in place? Maybe you layered wisps of wool to build up your felted areas, and maybe you experimented by blending colours.

Maybe you did some orange and blue, or kept the colours a bit more similar, like red and orange.

Well, well done for having a go at creating your samples of needle felting.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to apply needle felting to your arpillera.

Now, you might remember sewing your arpillera.

Here's an example of one here.

And you used all of those different stitches in order to sew that.

Now, after adding stitch, you can add felting to your arpillera, and you might refer to your design, thinking about where you planned to add that felting.

Like on this design here.

Can you see it? We said that we would add some needle felting to the flames there.

Now, you might start by thinking about the colour of wool you should add.

So Izzy says, "I will use an orange wool on my flames first to give the fire variety." Now, you can build up layers of wool by gradually adding more wisps.

So can you see here there's a plain bit of red felt and then we are adding those orange wisps on top.

Like Izzy says, "If I use too much wool in one go, my needle will break trying to go through it." So you need to make sure that you're using really small amounts of wisps each time to build it up.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Using too much wool in one go can speed up the felting process, improve the detail of your project, break your felting needle? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about how you would finish this sentence, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that using too much wool in one go can break your felting needle, you're absolutely right.

Artists can use wisps of wool to help prevent needle breakage.

Now, you can blend colours by layering wisps over one another.

So here, the flames are made more realistic by blending orange, yellow, and red.

So that's another good reason why to have those wisps nice and small.

You can add all of these different colours and layer them on top of each other.

You might also choose to adapt or change your design.

Izzy says, "In my original design, I wasn't going to add felting to the area of water, but it will help to create the look of waves." So on your design, is there anywhere that you would like to maybe include a bit more felting? Something that will allow a bit more movement, like in Izzy's, the flames and the waves.

And Izzy says, "Adding different blues here might make the water seem less flat." So a bit more movement in that area.

Where in your design might there be some movement you want to include? Let's take a moment to pause and check your understanding.

What could you add at this stage of felting? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What do you think? Well, you could think about adding further layers of wool and blending different colours.

You might also adapt or change your design.

So even if you've started having a go at the felting, there are lots of things that you can do to make some changes or to add to as you go along.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to apply needle felting to your arpillera.

You might think about layering your wool, blending different colours, or even adapting your design.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at applying that needle felting to your arpillera, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to layer some wool? Did you choose any different colours? And did you adapt your design in any way? Maybe to add some movement to some areas of your design? Well, let's have a look at an example.

So here, you can see that some wool has been layered by adding small wisps at a time.

Also, blending some different colours of wool.

So can you see some light and darker blues in here? And also, some yellows and oranges on that red felt there.

And maybe you adapted or changed your design as you began felting.

So you can see here, the water now doesn't look so flat 'cause we've added those wisps of light blue to really show the movement there.

And can you see some of those wisps have also been added in the clouds? That was some addition there that was added to this arpillera.

So well done for having a go at needle felting your arpillera.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about needle felting.

Felting is a process where wool fibres are bonded by agitating them.

To use a felting tool safely, you've got to ensure fingers and eyes are well protected.

And artists can layer and blend wisps of wool to create different felted effects.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.