Background

About Tessa

scarf

A Lifetime Working with Materials

I cannot remember a time in my life when I was not involved in crafts and design; my interests began in childhood with hand knitting, and has evolved over the years to include a variety of different disciplines, from Machine Knitting, Spinning, Dyeing, Hand and Machine Embroidery and Felt-making.

Getting Started with Felt

I have been making felt since 1989, it has been an enduring passion since my first very `soggy’ encounters changing woollen fibres into felted fabric. The felt-making process indulges my love of working with wool as a medium and the finished result enables me to employ some decorative techniques in dyeing the fibres and embellishing this by either hand or machine embroidery.

An Individual Style

My felt will usually include other fibres and fabrics such as silk, muslin, and occasionally man made materials, (often unrepeatable as I source many fabrics from Car Boot Sales and Charity Shops). I particularly enjoy making fine felted items such as garments and scarves using silk, mixing coloured fibres to create pictures, as well as three-dimensional items such as bags, hats etc.

Pennine Perspective

Teaching Experience

After studying for City and Guilds Certificate I qualified as a teacher and for a while taught design and machine knitting to adults at Joseph Priestley College and centres around North Yorkshire, however circumstances dictated that I return to full time employment and my craft activities have been part time since.

Bag in 'red horse felt'

Status as a Felt Maker

I am a member of the International Feltmakers Association and exhibited a picture in their travelling exhibition two years ago selling a piece from Stockport Art Gallery. More recently as a member of the Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers I designed felted work under the title of The Red Horses, I dyed all the fibres used in this work and it was exhibited in York.

Passing on Techniques

I enjoy sharing the knowledge I have gained over the years and am happy to consider running workshops. I am also happy to discuss individual commissions should you like what you have seen in my gallery.