what ever could this be...

As I mentioned the other week, I am in the midst of teaching a course on felt-making. To make the class interesting and varied, I’m including a range of options for forming loose wool into felt objects. This last week my students and I formed little “sushi rolls” out of wool.

wool, not rice nor seaweed

The beads that one makes in this technique end up looking like little spirals or, like I did in the sample, can look sort of like sushi. It is a technique that is fun and takes almost no skill, once you know what to do.

roll the "sushi" on and in the bubble-wrap

Lay out some wool roving on bubble-wrap. Lay a second layer on top, going at roughly a right angle. Maybe lay a third layer… then spray with warm water, put on a light drizzle of dish-soap, pour hot water over it, and roll up. Roll it inside the bubble wrap, back and forth. After a while roll it in between your hands, pressing as hard as you can. The wool will felt into a tube, which you can cut with scissors or a blade to get “sushi roll” styled beads. These could be used as decorations, as “mini sushi” or as earrings, beads in a necklace, as buttons…

little rolled bead (in progress) and a pinch of a "sushi"

While you’re at it, you can roll some little bits of wool up into little balls. Just keep your hands soapy, roll it around until it becomes a ball… about ten minutes is usually more than enough! You then have a round bead. Personally, I find that I am a little impatient with making round beads, however, they are cute and decorative. Every one that I’ve made, I’ve used for something!

Natasha Henderson, Montreal