Needle Felting with Viscose

Pumpkins, viscose, 5.75" x 9"

 

Blog 33

 

I am excited to work with all these vegan fibres. Some of them, I know from knitting and the clothes in my closet. Viscose is one of them. Many people think that it is like polyester. Polyester is a synthetic fibre usually made from petroleum.

Viscose is a type of Rayon fibre, considered semi-synthetic because of its production from natural materials. The raw material is from various trees chipped to wood pulp. At a factory, the wood pulp is first ground and dissolved with chemicals. Once it is washed and bleached, it is converted into filaments. The production of viscose requires many chemicals making the process ecologically unfriendly. However, the fibre is soft and shiny and is a cheap substitute for silk.

Viscose tops

The viscose fibres I purchased are combed topswith a staple length of about 5 to 6 inches. I was excited to work with the viscose fibres to see how they compared with the ramie fibres. Both are shiny and very soft.

Again, I had ordered the Fibre Garden Paint Box. This sample contained dark blue, a forest green, orange, white and rich burgundy colour. Perfect fall colours! Due to the orange, one of my pumpkin paintings came to my mind right away. 

 

Block-in of colours

Felting and blending the fibres was easy. The surface of the painting is shiny and soft. I enjoyed working with the viscose and would definitely recommend it for someone who wants to use a vegan fibre for felting. However, learning about the manufacturing process with lots of chemicals makes me less excited about using viscose for my own projects.

Almost finished: The transition from light to dark is too strong on the right pumpkin.