Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads: 25 Artful Designs

Great book. Granddaughter was at the library at the university she is attending in South Korea and asked me about felted jewelry. I found this book and told her about it and gave her the link to look at it. She then said this was the one she was looking at. We are going to work on some jewelry when she returns. Fantastic to learn about books from people in other countries. Lots of instructions, pictures and ideas. Check it out.

I felt and have for years so I found this book wonderful. Beautiful ideas, covering everthing from brooches, earrings, belts, scarves, necklaces, beads and lariats, this last one in particular had several designs using a focal glass bead and creating a felt version of the glass bead, looked stunning! Gorgeous "botanical" pieces - loved the flowers and variations, accompanied by great photographs. Huber Cypher uses lots of techniques to showcase the beads, such as beading and wiring and it is clear she loves to "borrow" from other traditional techniques such as mokume gane and lampwork to add beauty and diversity to the pieces. Natural beauty also features heavily with felted representations of natural gemstones. So, if you already know how to felt grab this book and you will be very happy. If on the otherhand you are a complete beginner then there is a problem. The instructions are certainly minimalistic and the step by step process could be a lot clearer. The photos or drawings of steps are not nearly detailed enough, they are "still" showing you the objects used but not necessarily how to do it. (Try Candice Cooper's Felted Jewelry for a better technical explanation). Overall though I would still buy this book and I recommend it to my mixed media students, even if you are just starting out the projects are delicious and certainly what you can aspire to in your journey with felt.

I got my book last night and had to force myself not to stay up all night reading!! Today, I had the fun of carefully reading thru the whole book. Tonight, I'll get a felting needle! I can't wait to start my projects. The pictures are wonderful, artistic and informative. The introduction is not a history of felting per se but just enough to let you know you are trying an art form that is both ancient and modern. Her color sense for the projects is great and the items look so tactile and sensuous. Having done some felting in the past, it was delightful to see Carol combine lampwork beads and seed beads into the projects to give the items a sense of modern elegance. Not a huge reference section but enough to satisfy the beginner. A book I know I will refer to again and again.