How it's Made—French Knot Felt Pillow Covers

Next week we are releasing our latest textile: the French Knot Felt Pillow Covers in four colors: Rhubarb, Cream, Iron and Camel. These pillow covers are our first felt textile. Nothing says warm and cozy like felted wool! And we gotta say, it’s a fun and versatile fiber to work with. Check out our Felt 101 journal post so you can enjoy the first part of the process too. Once the wool is in thick felted sheets, we can begin our pillow making process! 

So, how were these French Knot Felt Pillows made? Great question. I would love to tell you! 

First the felt is cut to size from large rolls of undyed felt. It is then scoured in hot water with a mild laundry detergent. After simmering for a few hours it’s pulled out to dry. The big thing to keep in mind with felt is that it is created by agitation and lots of massaging the fibers together, so keeping a light touch is important not to spoil the form or cause shrinkage.

For three of our colors (Rhubarb, Flax and Camel) the dying process was almost identical (changing out the dyes of course). The dye is heated in water and left to soak overnight. In the morning, it’s simmered for 1-2 hours to extract all the color. The dye stuff (tree bark, roots, flowers) is strained out and the dye is ready to go!

Soaking the felt in clean water, each wet piece is dipped in to the dye vat for about 30 minutes, stirring often. 

The dye used for each color: 

Rhubarb: the root of the Chinese Rhubarb plant

Cream: bark from the Arjun tree

Camel: harad a.k.a. the fruit of the Myrobalan plant

And if you're wondering if it's a powder, the answer is no! We're talking real bits of tree bark, roots and dried flowers. Nature has a lot to offer when it comes to color. 

Our fourth color, Iron, was actually a two step process. The first step being the same as above, using tannin (astringent) rich flowers. Once the first step is complete it is then dipped in to an iron vat to get that deep charcoal grey. 

With the squares of dyed felt in hand, the ladies began to embroider. Using naturally dyed eri silk embroidery thread, Analise chose the simple row of french knot embroidery as the perfect final touch for the face of the pillow cover. 

What is eri silk? It's a sustainably made type of silk where instead of boiling the silkworm to harvest the silk, the silkworm crawls out of its cocoon on its own. Then the cocoon is boiled and processed into silk. We are proud to use this type of silk because it aligns with our values of sustainability. 

The undyed, slub weave, cotton backing and zipper closure was sewn together with the felt by our friend Jyoti, just down the road from our studio. Once finished, the pillow covers came back to the studio for one very special final touch. My personal favorite, the inside seams are finished in a hand embroidered blanket stitch. Isn’t it beautiful? 

The smallest touches really do make a big difference. When you add your pillow insert, take a moment to check out this blanket stitch and you just might hear the faintest sound of laughter as ladies chat over their work…right from the DABU studio.

Bye for now!

Sarah