YOU MAY WONDER HOW DO I CUSTOM BLEND WOOL TO GET JUST THE RIGHT COLOR THAT YOU WISH.??? ..WELL SEARCH NO MORE….YOU’VE STOPPED AT THE RIGHT SPOT!
HOW TO CUSTOM BLEND YOUR OWN WOOL COLORS!!!
First gather together what you need. I have my 2 file cards from the hardware store, some black alpaca and some fawn alpaca. I need to make some fur the color of a shepherd with the tan and black mix. Before you start, make sure that your carders are clean. I used a felting needle to carefully pick out the wool, as I had just mixed some white and pink for my chinese crested and I didn’t want either of those colors in the black and tan mix.
STEP ONE:
Lay the black alpaca on the file catching the tips on the teeth of the file. Watch out for the wires! I got poked on one of them! OUCH!!
STEP TWO:
Next I laid a THIN layer of the fawn alpaca on top of the black alpaca. A little goes a long way to blend color in. I always start with a small amount as more can be added if needed.
STEP THREE:
Next you just brush them together. I like to brush away from my body and then towards it to mix it up well. Keep brushing until the colors are blended in the way that you want them to be. brush…. brush…..brush…..
This is pretty much the color that I needed for my dog. There are some lighter areas on the dog, so I can use the lighter areas out of the mix. That’s all there is to it. Total time is about a minute or so. You can now make your own custom colors!!!
Exactly what I need….Thanks, Gerry….
If you are trying to blend for long hair, do you just go in the same direction to keep the fibers aligned?
Speaking of fibers….What is the silk that I sometimes see mentioned with the wool & alpaca?
Do you just mix it with your wool & what kind is it?
By: Lynne on November 13, 2008
at 3:48 am
It is too hard for me to blend well and keep all the fibers straight. I lay a little at a time in different colors and they are blended that way. You have to lay very THIN layers of colors and felt in the end to hide it. You have to be very patient to felt it in and then you can gently comb it with a needle to blend it. That’s how I did the pom on my opening page and the blue merle sheltie that I just did. Pictures are on Flickr. Just click on the right column pictures to see my pictures there.
By: gourmetfelted on November 13, 2008
at 4:55 am
Your little pom with the fur is darling….
By: Lynne on November 18, 2008
at 2:54 pm