Felted Necklaces & Amulets
Using the Mountain Hare button instructions from Glamourie and scraps of yarn, it is possible to create a myriad of colourful buttons that will blend perfectly with any of our designs. You can also experiment further by making necklaces. Use the Eagle Wrap cord instructions and Hebridean 2 Ply to make a fine necklace chain which can be tied at the back – then fill the cord with all kinds of felted beads. The only difference between making a button and making a bead is that you will need to pull short lengths of thin rubber tubing through the centre of each bead before felting to create a hole for threading the bead. Here are some examples of my felted necklaces inspired by a Hebridean shingle beach and rock formations.
Quartz & Pebble Necklaces
I made the Quartz necklace by knitting beads of a varying scale from small at the extremities to the largest at the centre. I knitted them all in Solan Goose and then lightly embroidered the larger ones to give the impression of the colourful veins of the rocks. The felting process melds the embroidery seamlessly into the final beads. I made the Pebble necklace in the same way but knitted the beads roughly half-and-half in Spindrift and Pebble Beach and then embroidered them with Selkie and Sundew before felting.
Amulet Necklaces
Amulets are in keeping with Glamourie's magical theme. Once you have made a round button or bead you will see that you can alter the knitted shape quite easily. To make a teardrop amulet shape of any size, start with the rounded button shape and then work more rows for length. Then rather than decreasing sharply to complete the rounded shape, decrease gradually to produce the narrow end of the teardrop. Felting this shape is a little more complicated than for a round shape. I begin in the same way as for a round shape and then I gradually emphasise the teardrop by rolling it in sausage fashion, working the narrower part more. I also pulled lengths of thin rubber tubing through from centre top to bottom before felting in order to make a hole to string the amulet vertically. The beads and construction can then be put together in different ways. The gold necklace is made up of felted beads, smaller in Whin and larger in Golden Plover. I wanted the embroidery to stand out so I worked it afterwards and you can see that it stands proud of the beads themselves. The warm tones of the multi-coloured beads were based on the metamorphic rocks at the cove. Heat and friction melded different types of rock together to create these multicolored wonders and I wanted to see if I could emulate the effect since heat and friction are also the essentials of felting. To this end I made the larger, paler beads by knitting round shapes in Hebridean 2 Ply on 5.5mm needles so that the result was net-like. Then I stuffed them with multi-coloured scraps in harmonising shades which showed through the knitting. The felted results are uncannily like the rocks. I embroidered and then felted the darker Red Deer beads in the same manner as the Quartz and Pebble necklaces. Finally, I embroidered the amulet afterwards as a contrast to the beads. These are just a few ideas and I hope you can see that there really is no limit to the creative possibilities for making your own special felted pieces.
