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Spiral Pattern Needlefelted Cushion Design

This spiral pattern just worked itself out serendipitously. My primary intention
was to clear the decks of various substandard stash items. The idea of stabbing
at a needlefelted cushion also suited a woman with a weary brain. Look how
lush it turned out. The pattern below is written as if there had been a
masterplan. Actually, one step led to another, more by luck than judgement. Id
better write down how it was done, before I forget.
Materials
!" # $%cm thick, stiff fabric
&cissors
Marker pen, ruler and two paper circles
'ins, sewing needle and strong thread
%""g stuffing material
(elting needle
)"m wool yarn
*%g wool roving + ,%g each of three colours
Method
The fabric I used was boiled wool, military grade, bought on e-ay. It feels like
those horrible scratchy blankets of my childhood. .lose e#amination showed
the tight weave has bits embedded in it which I am sure are fragmented grass
and seeds. /ot 0uite ,""1 wool. 2ough processing, not soft and no stretch.
To work. (irst, draw two circles $%cm diameter and cut out the fabric. (ind the
middle of each by folding in 0uarters and mark with a pen. Take a circle of
paper and make a straight cut to the centre. (old the circle into three and cut
one third out. This gives a template with ,)" degree angles. 3n each cut
edge, make a mark )cm from the middle and more marks at $, * and %cm. Line
the paper circle up with the centre dot on the fabric and put dots on it at these
points. 2otate the paper circle to line its marks up with one set of dots and
make the third set of dots on the fabric. To find the centres of the three outer
spirals, put a ruler along each line of dots in turn. Make a dot on the opposite
half of the fabric circle ,,cm from the central dot. Take the second paper circle
and make a template with marks ,.%cm from the middle and at ).)% and $cm.
4se this to make dots for the three outer spirals. 2epeat on the other piece of
fabric. Lay the two pieces together with the marked sides facing inward. 'ush
a pin through the centre of one and line it up to the centre of the other. .heck
that an outer spiral on each piece is facing an outer spiral on the other and pin
together. &ew a seam about ,cm from the edge of the circles, leaving a gap at
the end big enough for your hand. Turn the cushion cover inside out.
Last summer, I bought several ill judged fleeces very cheaply. (or stuffing, I
had a nice, soft, 5own type fleece with an uncardable, uncombable staple
length of only a couple of centimetres. I put it through the washing machine,
tightly packed nearly %""g into the cushion, then sewed up the gap. /ow I feel
happier to put that one down to e#perience.
The yarn I used was the ball leftover from spinning a much better purchase, my
glorious 6ebridean fleece. Take three lengths and needlefelt the ends into the
central dot on the cushion. (orm a semicircle of yarn to each of the inner three
dots and poke the needle through the yarn to felt it on. Trail each length of yarn
in a curve to the ne#t dot round and keep spiralling outward til you reach the
outermost dots.
Leave the loose ends dangling and repeat the process on the outer spirals,
making sure that all three curl in the opposite direction to the inner one. /ow
continue the inner spiral until the far end of each length of yarn is just above the
top of an outer spiral. 2epeat the process on the other side of the cushion,
making inner and outer spirals curl the same way as on the first side.
(iddling about with all the loose ends, I abandoned thoughts of e#tra curly
details. 7ach line of the inner spiral links to the furthest away line of the ne#t
outer spiral, brought round to the bottom. The remaining two ends of each
outer spiral were continued to the top and dropped in simple curves to link
up around the body of the cushion with the ends of the ones on the other side .
The roving is some left over from a year ago, when I was
learning to use a drop spindle. It dyed unevenly in the recent, disappointing
8oad 9at Mark II, becoming rather matted in the process. It would have to be
combed again to spin it, but I had no problem pulling out pinches of fibre for
needlefelting.
&tarting with an inner spiral, fill in each of the three curls with a different colour.
This will also felt in one curl of each outer spiral. To keep the correct colour
se0uence, choose the shade that matches the section where the inner and
outer spiral meet and felt back from there to the centre of an outer spiral. Then
carry on with the section, round to the other side of the cushion. (ill in the
remaining curl with the third colour, also continuing this segment round to the
other side.
8hen you have filled in all the outer spirals on one side, the colour pattern on
the other side will be half completed. 7asy enough to see how to finish. It
takes absolutely hours to felt the roving on. If your mind wanders, youll stab
yourself with the needle. At difficult times in the past, I have attempted
emptying my mind and thinking only of blue sky. 8e once did this in primary
school under the instruction of a supply teacher. Though my class had an evil
reputation, even our ringleader was tran0uilised.
The needle felted dyed roving has a fu::y softness. This is a firm, but huggable
cushion. -lue spirals are therapeutic. I realise where I have seen them
before. I couldnt meditate at the age of nine and I still cant now, but on a black
night, needle felting enforced focussed attention. (or a while, troubles
disappeared over the Mediterranean with Antoine de &aint+7#upery. &i les
insomnies dun musicien lui font creer de belles oeuvres, ce sont de belles
insomnies.

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