If you're looking for a really unique gift for someone very special this Christmas, then consider one of our stunning felted, vintage, sari scarves. Sourced from a little craft co-operative in Kathmandu, these beautiful and wearable pieces of 'art' are cleverly created by fusing wool fibres with tissue-silk saris - a process referred to as Nuno...
  |  "Each vintage sari is cut into 3 equal lengths, then hemmed, making it ready for the felting process. Placed flat on the table, wisps of wool are stretched in a very thin cobweb-like pattern over the sari fabric. Soapy warm water is then drizzled over the piece until the wool is uniformly damp (the water is solar heated since electricity is not consistently available in Kathmandu). |
Wool fibres have barbs that extend in the presence of heat (the hot water) and the alkaline environment created by the soap. The soap also helps the wool fibres slip together and entangle. Next, a piece of tulle netting is placed over the piece to hold the wool in place during the felting process. Friction is applied by rubbing the fabric repeatedly. The wool fibres migrate through the loose weave of the silk fabric and fuse closer and closer together. For the final felting step, the fabric, wool, and netting are rolled on the table at least 1000 times. The fabric is then unrolled, the netting removed, and the soap is rinsed out. The scarf is shaped and placed in the sun to dry. As the wool fibres dry, they shrink, puckering the fabric as they go. The result is a unique and highly textured fabric..." Extract taken from http://handeyemagazine.com
