My name is Olga Ivakina. I’ve been doing crafts all my life. I have been sewing and knitting since childhood and I can’t imagine my life without a sewing machine. I am not a designer nor do I participate in exhibitions, I hardly do master classes. But suddenly I felt a need to share my personal experience of felting and dyeing. I started taking an interest in felting in 2015. I never knew what amazing material the wool is. It was fascinating for me to discover that a fabric can be simply made from wool and silk fibers with the help of soap, water and my own hands. The felted fabric is beautiful and durable, warm and soft, completely natural, very pleasant to the touch and not at all prickly.
My first teacher was YouTube. I watched the videos and decided to learn more about the craft of felting.
I made several woolen pictures at first just to try the materials. It turns out that wool is a good material for painting as the different colors of its fibers are mixed like ordinary paints. Next, I tried needle felting but quickly realized that was not my favorite. Finally, I tried wet felting and got hooked right away. I realized I can experiment with wool and other fibers endlessly creating unique designs and new fabrics. What I like the most is that felted fabric can be used to create many different things such as shoes, clothes, hats, interior felt, toys, souvenirs and even jewelry.
My love for nature and natural materials led me to an idea of using plants for dyeing my felted creations. It has quickly become another obsession of mine. There are many techniques to use and try. It is always intriguing because the result is quite unpredictable.
With my 2 new hobbies – felting and dyeing, my life doesn’t get boring anymore. The experiments continue and nothing can stop me now!
