I love creating these  popular summer shawls

These shawls are ideal for sitting outside on summer evenings whether at home or  Glyndebourne. An essential accessory  take on holiday with you. The delicate appearance is deceptive and stand up to normal wear. They can be scrunch up and are very light, weighing about 100 grammes.  The same fibres are used for the lacy shawls as well as the less lacy shawls. Fine merino wool, Suri Alpaca,  wool locks including Wensleydale, Blueface Leicester, Teeswater,  tussah and mulberry silks.   The felting  technique is cobweb.  

I make the natural colour lacy  shawls using Tussah silk, including  hankies, which I lay out over the full length and width of my table. Next the locks and other fibres including bamboo and viscose, plus wisps of merino wool. 

For the dyed scarves the process is different.  From my fine micron wool top.  I put the roving down first and very gently and slowly open the wool up  to a width of about 60 cm

Once I have done this I add the other fibres 

Tussah and mulberry silk is laid out on top of the merino wool, I dry felt this, before beginning the  wet felting.

I damped the fibres with an olive oil soap solution. ensuring that all the fibres are wet and then leave overnight. This allows the wool scales to open up, so that fibres beginning to bind together.  The felting process involves a lot of gentle rubbing working the wool to begin the felting process, rolling the fabric about 1000 times, tossing it, and finally rinsing and soaking in white vinegar. Checking the process at each step that all the fibres are bonding and felting together.  

Each shawl is unique,  made with love, lots of time ( 2 -3 days)  natural,  highest and finest quality fibres.