As you know, one of my favourite raw materials to work with is wool, and usually I knit it or crochet it, but I sometimes do a bit of felting too, which can be very useful for making substantial objects. So, when I got a new phone last year, I got out my felting supplies and made a case, to protect it when I’m out and about. I used lots of layers of wool and wet felted them to achieve the desired thickness. Looking back through my posts, I realise that I didn’t write about it at the time, and looking back through my photographs I don’t even seem to have taken any pictures of either the process or the finished object.
Anyway, this post isn’t about making the case, it’s about repairing it. Because it turns out that Sammy is rather fond of woolly things… balls of wool, sheepskin rugs, Woolcool insulation and – you guessed it – felted mobile phone cases. Now we know, we are teaching him to leave them alone and trying to avoid temptation, but for a couple of weeks after he arrived we weren’t so careful and one day he pinched my pone case (sans phone) and was happily nibbling it when Mr Snail discovered the naughtiness in progress. The result was a piece removed (which I photographed) from the top and a little nibbled hole on one side (which I failed to photograph).
One of the joyous things about felt, however, is that it’s relatively easy to repair. Admittedly, it does require the use of a barbed felting needle and I do always managed to stab myself at least once, but as long as you have some wool tops in an appropriate colour or colours, holes can be filled, pieces reattached and mends achieved without any sewing or sticking. Simply needle felt the hole full of wool or reattach the separated piece using a little extra wool for reinforcement.
I’m pleased to say, that I did only stab myself once and that the resulting mends are pretty sturdy, so now I just need to keep it away from the hound and all should be well. In fact, If I hadn’t told you about the hole in the side (its location indicated by the arrow) I bet you wouldn’t have guessed it had been there.
The Snail of Happiness 
Wild Daffodil
/ January 24, 2022As always an inspiration Mrs Snail! There was a bit of mending, recycling/re-purposing going on at Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show 2021: https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/2022/01/24/mend-it-monday/
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katechiconi
/ January 24, 2022That’s a very effective mend. I’ve always regarded sharp-object-associated injuries as a chance to embed my DNA into a made object to assert ownership! There isn’t a quilt I’ve made that doesn’t carry my code somewhere, and I feel it’s an important future legacy to tell our descendants who we were and what we did!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 24, 2022Good point (pun intended)!
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katechiconi
/ January 25, 2022Hehehe!
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Going Batty in Wales
/ January 24, 2022I have never tried either wet felting or needle felting but a barbed needle sounds like something I should stay away from!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 24, 2022They are a bit nasty, but are absolutely brilliant for repairing wooly things.
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arlingwoman
/ January 24, 2022This is a beautiful case. It’s given me ideas, as I did not buy one for my phone or make one yet…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 24, 2022I made it nice and thick to protect my phone and, so far, it seems to have done the trick. One good thing about felt is that, as well as being padded, it’s quite water-repellent.
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Helen
/ January 30, 2022Great mend!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 30, 2022thank you – it’s fun to do and so effective
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Helen
/ January 30, 2022It looks it!
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Lynda
/ May 12, 2022Puppies; they can be so naughty! But, we love them anyway. I never knew this about felt, and yet it makes perfect sense. Lovely mending.
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