Creating Bespoke Wet Felted Bags Using Advanced Techniques
A course by Natasha Smart, Wet felting artist
Joined July 2024
Master advanced wet felting techniques using a ball to create bespoke, seamless felt bags with unique designs
Joined July 2024
Explore the art of advanced wet felting by mastering the technique of felting on a ball to create bespoke, seamless bags. Delve into the world of wool fibers and discover how to prepare them for three-dimensional designs. Learn to incorporate decorative elements like wool yarns and felt cords into your creations, enhancing both aesthetics and functionality. With step-by-step guidance, craft a unique grab bag with integral cord handles, exploring the endless possibilities that wet felting offers.
Enhance your skills by introducing complex elements to your projects. Create a sophisticated shoulder or cross-body bag, complete with a flap closure, felted-in rings for straps, and an inside pocket using flat resist. Experiment with various surface design materials and learn the secrets to adding professional finishes, such as installing clasps. By the end, not only will you have crafted distinct styles of handbags, but you'll also gain the confidence and expertise to embark on future projects using the innovative technique of felting on a ball.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 24 downloads
What's included in this course?
Discover the art of advanced wet felting on a ball. Begin with exploring various wool fibers and preparing them for your projects. Learn how to use a felting ball as a resist to design decorative, seamless felt bags. Master the creation of felt cords and the incorporation of unique decorative materials like wool yarns, enhancing your bag design with personal flair. As you progress, gain insights into the full felting process, ensuring your creations are both beautiful and structurally sound.
Advance your skills by integrating three-dimensional elements into your designs. Experiment with creating larger handbags featuring flap closures, felted-in rings for attachable straps, and pockets using flat resists. Develop techniques for crafting colorful patterns with wool yarns and other materials to produce stunning, embellished bags. By the end of your journey, achieve the confidence to create two distinct handbag styles and acquire the expertise to continue exploring this innovative wet felting technique for future projects.
- 100% positive reviews (13)
- 870 students
- 20 lessons (5h 28m)
- 24 additional resources (9 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, German, Spanish (Latam), French, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish
- English · Portuguese · French · Italian · Polish · German · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a beautifully embellished wet felted bag using your favorite colors and features like a flap closure and inside pocket. This seamless design requires no sewing and can be customized to meet your unique specifications and style preferences.
Who is this online course for?
Designed for wet felters looking to advance their skills, this course enhances three-dimensional techniques and resist methods. Beginners can also follow along with detailed, step-by-step instructions. Ideal for those interested in crafting bespoke felt bags with unique designs.
Requirements and materials
Wool fiber, embellishments like yarns and locks, basic household items, and a felting ball are essential. Prior wet felting experience is helpful but not mandatory. The course offers step-by-step guidance to develop skills in creating seamless felt bags using innovative techniques.
Reviews
Natasha Smart
A course by Natasha Smart
Natasha Smart is a wet felting artist, teacher, and author based on the south coast of the UK. With a lifelong passion for textiles and creative crafts, Natasha transitioned from a career in training to full-time feltmaking in 2021. Her work is inspired by the textures, colors, and forms of the natural world—especially the sea and landscapes surrounding her coastal home—and is known for its vibrant color palettes and use of wool yarns as decorative elements. She has authored two books, Wet Felting and Three-dimensional Wet Felting, and continues to share her expertise through in-person workshops and online platforms.
In her creative practice, Natasha specializes in turning raw wool fibre into structured, decorative objects for the home. She is particularly drawn to practical, functional design and enjoys the problem-solving involved in felt construction. Her courses are grounded in clear instruction, thoughtful design choices, and a strong belief in making wet felting accessible and enjoyable for all skill levels.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Materials
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Materials and Tools
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Exploring Fibers
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U3
Complex Felting Techniques
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Felting on a 3D Resist: A Ball
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Making felt cords
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Creating the Bag 1
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Creating the Bag 2
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Creating the Bag 3
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Felting the Grab 1
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Felting the Grab 2
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U4
Wet-Felted Bag
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Designing and Planning the Bag 1
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Designing and Planning the Bag 2
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Creating the Flap Bag 1
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Creating the Flap Bag 2
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Creating the Flap Bag 3
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Creating the Flap Bag 4
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Felting the Flap Bag 1
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Felting the Flap Bag 2
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Finishing Techniques
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FP
Final project
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Advanced Wet Felting Methods
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Wet felting is a technique where wool fibers are layered, wetted with soapy water, and agitated to interlock and form a dense fabric. It's used to create both flat and three-dimensional textile art.
This course is designed for intermediate-level students, so some basic felting experience or knowledge is recommended before enrolling.
You'll need wool fibers (like carded batts or slivers), soap, water, bubble wrap, resist materials, embellishments (like silk or wool locks), and common tools like rolling mats, scales, and marking pens.
You'll learn to create hollow felt forms, use resist shapes, make felt bags, and master techniques for constructing and finishing 3D felted objects.
Felting on a ball involves wrapping wool around a spherical form and felting it to create structural, three-dimensional objects, unlike flat felting which produces sheets or flat pieces.
Yes, the course covers making decorative fabrics as well as functional felted bags, including adding straps, hardware, and finishing touches for durability.
Resist shapes are barriers (like plastic or rubber) placed between wool layers to prevent fibers from felting together, allowing you to create hollow or multi-compartment forms.
Un curso muy completo, bien explicado, y hecho para disfrutar de principio a fin. Excelente profesora.
Excellent teacher! Instructions were clear and very easy to follow. The step by step demonstrations took any guess work out of the process. You just have to try this!
Muy didáctico
Natasha is wonderful…excellent teacher….
Me encanta, buen curso. Lo estoy disfrutando muchísimo. Mil gracias!!!!