Saturday, January 15, 2011

100% Tencel Fiber for Felting and Spinning

Many of us like to add a little sparkle or shine to our projects. Several of my felted pieces have unspun silk added for that extra zing. Silk products have more than doubled in costs so I was looking for something similar but less costly. Tencel is a fiber that is less in cost; still high in the shine, adding the desired radiance.




These samples are felted with Merino top, they played well with the wool and gave me the same fun pattern effects of silk, as well as shine.

TENCEL® is the brand name owned by Lenzing Fibers of Austria from a fiber generically called lyocell. Lyocell is made from cellulose found in wood pulp which has been harvested from tree farms. The fiber is produced via an advanced 'closed loop' solvent spinning process, with minimal impact on the environment and economical use of energy and water. Lyocell uses an amine oxide as a non-toxic solvent which is continually recycled during the production process, about 99% is recovered and recycled during the manufacturing process.

I used the same felting techniques that I use with silk and am very pleased with the results. Hope you will try it. too.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks good Barbara, I too love tencel!

Barbara Marr said...

Thanks, it is easy and fun to felt with; makes such interesting surface design.

deedo said...

I was wondering if wool and tencel would felt, googled, and found your blog! Thank you!