I finished up with lots of brown felt left over from my earlier One Year One Outfit (OYOO) attempts, so I decided to make a couple of things.
First up, a bag. I took my smaller piece of brown felt and put it through the washing machine to make it, er, more felty. Then Sarah from Workspace FADS helped me draft a pattern based loosely on this bag.
This bag is made from industrial waste felt and has a zip right round it. Under the OYOO rules, I have to have felt made from local wool and can’t use a zip as they are not made in Western Australia. I decided I could work within these constraints.
My pattern was made and it just fitted on the felt (with a bit of stretching with Archie’s help)
I sewed the bag together with some i-cord round the edges to emulate the zip and then did some running stitches and blanket stitched round the handles to give it some strength. I was pretty darned pleased with the result.
It stands up on its own and is strong enough to carry all my paraphernalia. This won’t be my final bag and I think it’s a little bit rustic, so I’m going to make another one.
I was so pleased to put this piece of felt to practical use that I then turned my attention to what was, originally, intended to be my skirt, blogged here.
I decided that I had just enough to make a bolero based loosely on the Tessuti Sydney Jacket, and whilst I am happy with it, I think something is missing, so this might be a first pass on this one.
What I do like is the way I seem to have some chevrons down the back 
Here are some closeup shots of the bolero. I really like the way the shoulders sit. I was able to use dry felting for the dart in the shoulder, as practiced here. I also flat felled the shoulder dart for extra strength.
The collar sits beautifully, and the sleeves have been flat felled and then dry felted, as has the back centre seam.
It’s not very clear in the photo, but I was able to place the sleeves on the dark edges of the felt. I might dry felt more dark brown wool all the way round to give the bolero a bit of finish.
In a nutshell: Both bag and bolero are made from my earlier felting attempts. They are both made from wool from Corriedale sheep here in Western Australia and bought from Bilby Yarns. All stitching has been done by hand.
I am wearing the suede skirt which I pieced together from scraps, and a merino top from a self-drafted pattern. The boots are Progetto from Zomp
‘Pretty darned pleased’ – great pun! Love the bag and the bolero. I agree that the jacket needs something. It’s a bit big across the back. The front is adorable. I can see a lower piece, attached to the bolero, made from something swishy and falling to hip length. I’m not sure what, maybe some lovely light wool fabric. You win the prize for the most prolific OYOOer!
Yes I agree about it needing something across the back. On to it! Thanks for lovely comment 😊
Definitely coming at this challenge all guns blazing!! I had the same problem at the back of my cropped top but fixed it with a bit of a dart like adjustment. I do like the chevrons.
I can also see your bolero as the top part of a short coat with white felt as the lower part. Maybe you could add pleats felted flat to the back? The collar is great and as is the form of the shoulders.
Thanks Kathryn. The pleats are a lovely idea. I have made a white coat using the bolero pattern as the top part which will be blogged soon.
What a result! Just beautiful.
Thank you 😀
This one outfit project is amazing, so much creativity has flowed from it. I really like the bag, what a great shape and size, the bloero looks ‘darn’ good too.
Thanks Barbara. This has been an amazing journey and I have just about finished my outfit which is very exciting.
that bag is fantastic! and the bolero is not bad either. Glad to see all your hard work with sanding tools is paying off 🙂
Thank you. I am about to make my final bag but the shoes are still puzzling me!
You must be quite proud knowing you made these lovely things yourself! Great job!
Thank you Linda, I do feel a bit chuffed!