felting in fibrespace

Red Wine Cozy

Here is the piece I have been working on for the whiplash challenge. It is a wet felted wine cozy, made from merino wool. I made it for my Dad, as it's his birthday on Tuesday. I always try to make gifts for family and friends, but to be honest, the men are a bit more difficult. Can't do bags or jewellery, then I had the idea of a wine cozy. I ran it past my Mum, who thought it was a good idea. Apparently, when he goes to play cards with my Uncle he warms his red wine up at home, then wraps it in newspaper to transport. My pure wool cozy should insulate better and will look good too. This is my third attempt, as I had a problem with size. The trick, I discovered, is to wrap an empty bottle in a few layers of bubble wrap (bubble side up - to aid felting), then add the layers of wool, this allows for shrinkage. As it starts to felt you can remove the bubble wrap and felt it to fit the bottle snuggly. Once felted and rinsed, leave it on the bottle to dry. The beauty of this wine cozy is that when not in use it makes a wonderful felt vessel / vase.