Creative Design: Graduate

Ombré Alpaca Nuno Felting

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Abstract

Felted wool techniques implementing sheep fibers have been used to create interesting and luxurious fashion collections; yet, felted fabric with alpaca fibers have not recently been explored to create apparel. Since alpaca does not carry lanolin, a common allergy found in sheep's wool, it could be an excellent substitute for creating felted textiles. Thus, the objective of this sweater design was to explore alpaca fiber's ability to create a functional, aesthetic, and organic felted garment. The overall design was inspired by the stark contrast of the pollutant side of the textile industry verse the emergence and interest of sustainable and ethical textiles. The results concluded that alpaca roving is a workable fiber effective with needle felting, machine-wash felting, and nuno felting techniques. This indicates potential for alpaca roving to be used as a successful fiber for textile felting.

How to Cite:

Johnston, M. C., (2016) “Ombré Alpaca Nuno Felting”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 73(1).