You will need:
Wool fibres, silk hanky (mawata Square), bubble wrap, rolling stick (pipe wrap or rolling pin), thin dowelling (a pencil will do), netting, soap flakes, brooch back (with holes), glass beads, needle, thread, old towel and a jug.

1.Spread the towel on your work area. Felt making can be a messy business, so it might be better to work on a kitchen work surface, so you can mop up any spills. Place your bubble wrap on the towel (bubble side up).
2.Peel a very thin layer off your silk hanky and place it in the centre of the bubble wrap. Pull the edges a little so it looks more like a circle rather than a square. The silk hanky forms the first layer of the flower.

3.The next layer is made of wool fibres. Choose a colour for the centre of the flower, tease out your wool fibres and lay them in a circle in the centre of the silk hanky. Tip for teasing: Fan the ends of the roving out, secure the ends in one hand, use the other hand to hold the roving (about 15 cms along). Then pull the fibres out from the end of the roving. If your hands are too close together, you won't be able to pull any fibres free.

Place the fibres from the centre out, so the end of the teased roving still in your hand is placed in the middle, with the softer edge of fibres pointing away from the centre. Make sure the centre of the flower is completely covered, but try not to lay the wool too thick.

4.Choose another colour for the outer edge of your flower. Lay the fibres from the centre out again, over lapping the first layer by about 3 cm's as shown in the photograph above. Make sure you have a solid ring of fibres. The outer edge of the flower can be thinner, as this helps create the delicate edges of the petals. The fibres should reach to the edge of the hanky, and in some areas overlap the edge of the hanky.

5.Mix the soap flakes in a jug of hot water. You will need enough soap to make a good lather. Approx one level tablespoon / 500ml.

6.Lay the netting over the wool.

7.Sprinkle the soapy water onto the wool. I like to use my hands to sprinkle the water, but you can use an empty plastic bottle with holes pierced in the lid to make a sprinkler.

8.Squish the wool with your hand, making sure the water soaks through all the layers. All the wool needs to be wet, but try not to over do it with the water as you'll drench yourself and your work area when you begin rolling.

9.Once the wool is wet, start gently rubbing your hands over the wool in a circular motion, the netting will hold the fibres in place. After a few minutes of rubbing, carefully remove the netting. Peel it back with one hand whilst holding the fibres down with the other.

10.Now take your rolling stick (pipe wrap) and place it across the bottom of your bubble wrap. Then tightly wrap the rolling stick in the bubble wrap so the wool is trapped inside. Use the bottom edge of your towel to wrap once around your roll. This keeps the bubble wrap in place whilst rolling.

11.Firmly roll the rolling stick back and forth in the towel. Try to apply even pressure across the whole of the felt. The harder you roll the quicker the wool felts, but it will take some time so you have to be patient.

12.After rolling 100 times, open up the bubble wrap, carefully pick up the flower and turn it about 45 degrees, then roll it back up and roll another 100. Repeat this step until the flower has come full circle, then turn the flower over, and roll 4 lots of 100 again, (we need to keep turning the flower so it felts evenly).

13.Unroll the bubble wrap and pick up the flower, pinch the centre and form a cone shape, with the silk hanky inside. You now need to felt the pointy end of the cone, either by rubbing between your hands or rolling the pointed end on the towel as shown in the photograph above. You may need to dip the flower in the the soapy water, (squeeze out excess). Continue rolling until the pointy end has felted together, making it impossible to open the flower out flat again. Please note: during this stage you need to keep opening the flower up to make sure you don't felt the full length of the flower (we are just working on the centre).

14.Once the centre is felted, re-wet the flower and begin throwing the flower on the table. This creates lovely kinks in the fibre, which helps give the petals texture (as well as felting the wool). Continue to throw the flower until the wool has felted (if you pinch the fibres on the petals and they come away easily you need to carry on throwing). Don't forget to open up your flower from time to time to prevent the petals felting together.

15.Shaping the petals: I like to create petals by looking for natural lines in the felt, and tearing down to the edge of the silk hanky. I think tearing creates a more natural edge, but you can use scissors if you wish. Create about 5 or 6 petals.

16.Re-wet your flower and place it upside down on the towel, using some thin dowelling or a pencil, roll the edges of the petal back and forth. This step felts the wool further and gives the petals shape. I like to felt the sides of the petals as well as the tips, so they roll back on themselves. This last step is all about sculpting the flower, you may wish to use the methods in steps 13 and 14 again to mould your flower into a shape you are happy with.

17.When you are happy with the shape of your flower, rinse it in hot then cold water and leave it upside down to dry. Sunny window sills, radiators or airing cupboards work well.

18.Whilst drying, you can work on the centre of your flower, this is made from a felt ball. Take a small handful of fibre in your chosen colour and tease the fibres apart. As shown in the photograph above. Then dip the clump of fibres into your jug of warm soapy water, squeeze out some of the excess water and roll it in the palms of your hands (as if you were making balls from modelling clay). Keep rolling until the ball is hard. Sometimes the ball will have a crack in it, the trick is to really fluff up the fibres before you begin. Once felted, rinse in hot then cold water and leave to dry.

19.Once the flower and felt ball are dry you need to form it into a brooch. Cut the pointy end of the flower off with some dress making scissors, sew some beads onto the felt ball, then sew the ball into the centre of the flower. Place the flower against you to decide which way up it should go. I prefer to sew the brooch pin onto the side of the cut off end (as shown in the photograph), as this helps the flower to lie better when worn. If you sew the pin on the very centre of the flower it tends stick out to far.

You will need: Netting, combed silk top (plain or dyed), cmc or silk paper medium, stencil brush, other silk fibres such as silk throwsters waste and silk noil.

1.Lay the netting on a protected surface that can be wiped clean.

2.Tease the 'silk top' fibres out and lay a thin layer horizontally on one half of the netting. ( You need to fold the other half of the netting over the top of the silk later on).

3.Put a 2nd layer of 'silk top' fibres on top of the first in a vertical direction ( at right angles to the 1st). This will give the finished paper more strength.

4.Add a third layer of 'silk top' fibres (at right angles to the 2nd).

5.The next stage is the creative part. Add colour, texture and pattern with different fibres and threads, small pieces of light fabric and dried leaves. Experiment with different materials. ( Use non-silk fibres sparingly).

6.If some of the decorative parts are NOT silk fibres you will need to keep the decoration in place by adding a final layer of silk (I often use silk throwsters waste as my final layer), keep this layer very thin so the pattern shows through.

7.Fold the top half of the netting over, sandwiching the fibres.

8.If you are using methyl cellulose as your adhesive, mix as instructed on the package or as described below. The paste will keep for a while, if stored in an airtight container. There are other adhesives available such as silk paper medium, these are used in the same way.

9.Using a stiff bristled brush (stencil brushes work well) start pasting the fibres. Coat the entire surface, and then turn over. If the silk is still white, you need to paste the back. Brush the paste on until the paper is translucent. Then leave somewhere flat to dry. You can hang them on the washing line by the netting, but keep an eye on the weather. If you are using hand dyed fibres, be careful where you leave the paper to dry, as some bleeding can occur. The paste can drip so protect surfaces. The paper will take a long time to dry, I usually leave my paper overnight.

10.Once dry, carefully peel off the netting. If any fibres are lifted off at this stage, lay the netting over the paper, paste, then remove the netting straight away.

11.The paper can be left as it is or embellished with hand or machine embroidery. It can be ironed on a silk setting.

Advanced Techniques

Once you get the hang of silk paper making you can start to experiment, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Try increasing or decreasing the amount of fibres used, to create different weights of paper. You can use flax/linen on it's own to create a coarse paper. You can experiment with the way you lay your fibres, for example, instead of laying three layers of 'silk top' at right angles, try random layers of different fibres for a more delicate paper.

Try taking the netting off straight after applying the paste and draping it over a mould like a vase, balloon or jar. Cover the mould with cling film and drape the wet paper on top. You can lay the netting on top of the paper and use your brush to shape the paper. Or you could use elastic bands to hold the paper in place as it dries. This creates an interesting texture. If you visit our gallery you will see a silk bowl which was moulded over a balloon. I covered the balloon with cling film then placed the fibres directly onto the cling film, covered the fibres with netting, pasted and then removed the netting. This needs to be done in small sections at a time, building up layers until you are happy with the thickness.

You can cut shapes from pre-made silk paper to use in new pieces. This is a great way of making petals or leaves; it's also a good way of recycling pieces you're not happy with.

Methyl Cellulose

Whilst stirring, sprinkle 1 heaped teaspoon into 300ml of cold water. Continue to stir for approx. 1 minute. Allow a few more minutes for the methyl cellulose to dissolve, stir again if needed. There may be a few lumps but these will dissolve in time. You can add more methyl cellulose if you feel the adhesive needs to be thicker. The mixture can be kept in an airtight container.

Carrier Rods

Carrier rods are interesting things to experiment with. The best way to use them are to wet them thoroughly and peel thin layers off. These can be placed on your silk paper at the decorative stage either as one long piece or cut into smaller shapes. The carrier rods can be ironed to remove the curl.

I hope these instructions are useful, if you have any queries please contact me. We have all the things you need to get started with silk paper making in our shop so come and have a browse.

You will need: Netting, a selection of silk fibres, P.V.A. glue or silk paper medium, embroidery needle and a stencil brush.

Embroidery thread, beads or wire to embellish - optional.

Jump ring, memory wire choker, beads and pliers.

1.If you are using silk paper medium, mix as instructed. If not mix one part P.V.A. glue with one part water and set aside.

2.Lay your netting on a wipe clean surface.

3.Working on just one half of the netting lay some silk fibres out in a random manner. Place several layers of fibre down to give the paper more strength. This can create an interesting pattern if you use different colours for different layers.

4.When you have built up about three or four layers fold the netting over trapping the fibres.

5.Using a stiff brush (stencil brushes work well) apply the watered down glue to the fibres, turn the netting over and apply glue to the back of the paper. Make sure you work the glue in well so it soaks through all the layers. The netting will hold the fibres in place.

6.Leave the paper in the netting and place somewhere flat to dry.

7.Once the paper is dry you can peel the netting off. If the paper is a little creased you can sandwich it in-between a layer of baking paper and iron it on a silk setting.

8.Cut the silk paper to the required size for your pendant. If you create a couple of papers you can use collage to create a pattern on your pendant. Use P.V.A. to glue the papers together. Alternatively, you can sew on sections of wire or beads, or embroider to create your finished design. If you wish to you can paste a layer of pva mixture or silk paper medium over the top to help protect the pendant.

9.When you are happy with your design use a needle to pierce a hole at the top of the pendant, embroidery needles are best.

10.Thread a split ring through the hole and gently squeeze the ring with some pliers or fingers to close the ring.

11.Take a wire memory choker and using pliers make a loop at one end (to stop the beads coming off).

12.Thread the beads and the pendant on to the choker wire.

13.When you are happy with the design, make a loop at the other end to finish the choker off.

If you prefer you can use a chain or ribbon rather than a choker wire. I have made a few pendants using carrier rods, these look great as they have a subtle curl.