Felt to Stitch, by: Sheila Smith

Looking over all the felting books on the market I came across this book Felt to Stitch, by: Sheila Smith (available at Amazon) and began to read all the reviews by people that had purchased it. I was so impressed by this review by fiber farmer and thought it would be interesting for all of us.

 I bought this book to use with developmentally disabled adults. These adults live on a ranch, helping care for several fiber producing animals. This book is part of a cottage industry proposal that the staff and I are working on and I couldn’t be more pleased. The pictures are vivid (appealing to my imagination) and the presentation is logical and orderly (appealing to the teacher/student part of me). The directions are simple and straight forward. The projects are adaptable for all levels of cognitive functioning and motor skills, and provide absolutely beautiful results. From making flat felt as a raw material to three dimensional objects, from surface designs to combining felt and fabric, as well as jewelry, this book covers the basics and gives lots of creative ideas for projects. The results that my “students” came up with were lovely, and as always with felt, nearly impossible to duplicate.The experiences we used from this book were satisfying for those who love texture (wet/dry, bubble wrap, different types of fibers, raw fleece/fulled fabric). They were also satisfying for those who are visually stimulated, as color is well used throughout each project. The surface design ideas were usable by all, regardless of functioning level, because many different options are presented (paint sticks, stitching, stenciling, block printing, beadwork, cobweb, needle felting). The skills required are repetitive and not technical, the materials are easily found and readily available, and the actual individual tasks of going from raw fleece to finished product are varied, interesting and appeal to short-moderate attention spans. The working process provided a wonderful atmosphere for cooperation and conversation, as each adult helped or received help from their peers and shared the excitement as their project began to take shape. We now have finished items that my students can use, sell, or wear and they know which animal gave its fleece to them to make it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated by fiber and feels intimidated by the current “fiber artist” trend. Nearly anybody can make felt and be delighted with the results. This book is an excellent guide to finding the different ways to make and use felt, and is suited for the beginner and the seasoned alike. Excellent!