Nuno Felting in Sweden's Jämtland
Textile artist Åsa Ganell leads workshops in Nuno felting in Sweden's Jämtland . We asked her to tell us more about this fascinating technique.
ECT Travel: What is Nuno felting?
ÅG: The name 'nuno’ is derived from Japanese and means cloth. It is a very new development in which various types of fibers, including wool, are joined with sheer fabric but, interestingly, it uses the oldest known method for felting - roller felting. The fabric is used as lamination and/or embellishment for the wool which means that you can create light, flexible textiles that are also very durable.
ECT: When and how did this technique arrive in Jämtland?
ÅG: That story begins with the arrival of felting itself, which is assumed to have been developed in Asia. Written sources mention warriors in ancient China (2300 BC) equipped with felted bucklers, clothes and shoes.
Findings of felt are scarce because textiles dissolve relatively quickly, unless they are protected by permafrost. Fragments have been found in Turkey dated to 6000 BC, while in Siberia findings found in permafrost show excellent felted artworks dated to 600-200 BC. In the Nordic countries, felt fragments have been found from at least 500 AD.
More recently – in the last 200 years or so - felting has been used in the Nordic countries to make 'simple’ products such as hats, socks and gloves, using a technique called rub felting.
In Sweden, felting is only known in the northern part, with a particular stronghold in Jämtland. Even here it almost disappeared in the 1960s, but fortunately it was saved by a few enthusiasts and had a real boom in the 1970s.
Nuno felting was developed by Polly Stirling, a fibre artist from Australia, in the early 1990s, while also being explored on the other side of the globe by Maria Livesey at Gary's School of Art in Aberdeen. I came across Nuno felting in around 2005 and was hooked immediately. Three years later, I started teaching classes all over the country (I’m a teacher by profession), then in 2010 I moved back to Jämtland, where I am from, and continued teaching from there. I believe I was one of the first to do Nuno felting in the area. There are still only a few professional practitioners in Sweden.
ECT: What was the appeal?
ÅG: I have always been interested in wearable textiles and Nuno felting allows me to combine my favourite skills - pattern drawing, combining colours and patterns and sewing, both by machine and by hand. This technique gives me the opportunity to create a felted 'fabric’ that can be turned into anything I can possibly think of! I felt so blessed the day I saw my first Nuno felted scarf and immediately understood that THIS was the craft that would enable me to develop to my own expression.
ECT: What can people expect to make during the workshop?
ÅG: The Nuno technique is simple and fast and suits both beginners and more experienced makers so most people make one or two pieces of Nuno felted ’fabric’ which they can then transform into wrist warmers, purses, wall pieces – the possibilities are endless. My promise to the people who come to my workshops is that everybody, even those with no experience of any handicrafts, will take something beautiful home.
I start by showing the rolling Nuno felting method so that everybody understands something about what is going to happen. I then give a short introduction to felting, the materials we are going to use and also show some of my own works for inspiration. I also show pictures of typical designs from the area in case anyone wants to make something connected to the traditions of Jämtland.
Everyone is given a handout on how to Nuno felt (and where to buy materials in the UK) to use at home and I encourage people to take photos during the workshop to help them remember too.
