the #bigfeltgiveaway and review

Would you like to win this amazingly awesome wool felt bundle from Two Blue Birdies? Trust me. When I tell you about the merino felt in Sonya's shop, you are going to want to win this 86 color treat! The giveaway is after my review - if you already know you love this felt, then scroll to the bottom.

My obsession with wool felt started a couple of months ago when on a whim, I picked up some small pieces of wool felt and made a few cushions. I had no idea what a difference proper wool felt made. I immediately caught the textural sewing bug and knew I needed a reliable source of felt for a few projects that I had in mind. I queried some friends and that led me to Two Blue Birdies, an Australian-based online felt, fabric, pattern and haby store.

I placed a small order, loved the quality and colors, then queried the shop about a color card for upcoming magazine projects that I'm working on. The customer service from Sonya and her team at Two Blue Birdies was excellent. They were quick to respond and answer all of my questions. They rapidly became my goto source for wool felt.

I needed a fair bit of felt for a variety of projects - pennants, pincushions, pillows and ornaments. I was so pleased with the quality that I shelled out to create a reasonable felt stash at home to work with. To build that stash, I popped in order after order in at Two Blue Birdies. I'll warn you it can be an addictive medium to work with.

Fox Felt Christmas Oranament in progress, pattern from Cutesy Craft

About the Merino Wool Felt
I've considered working with wool felt off-and-on for a number of years. Unfortunately I can be sensitive to the chemicals used to treat wool and have in the past broke out a bit when I touched it at shops. I have the same problem with some wool yarns. After seeing some great projects in Japanese craft magazines, I decided to take the plunge. Finding felt that I didn't react to was critical, so I started with a small test order (if you consider a $50 order small... I wanted to take advantage of the local free shipping offer!) Thankfully I had no problems at all.  If you're like me and sometimes react to chemicals, here's the scoop on the felt at Two Blue Birdies:

Our 100% wool felt is made from Merino wool, which is sourced predominately from Australia and then felted in Europe using natural soap, hot water and friction. The felt that results is of exquisite quality and is soft yet strong. Our wool felt is non-toxic and complies with OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, UNE-EN 71-2 and UNE-EN 71-3 which means there are no nasties in the dyes used to create our amazing rainbow of colours. We stock a large range of colours in both 1mm and 3mm thicknesses.

Merino Wool Felt Color Card, image from Two Blue Birdies

The Color Range
Once I was sure that I wouldn't be itching, color was my next priority. As you can see from the 86 color bundle, the shop carries a huge range of useful color choices. New color cards are available in the shop which are a great way to see exactly what shades you are buying.

Color is always important to me. One of the main reasons that I went with Two Blue Birdies is that they stock several flecked felts. I enjoy the extra pop that flecking adds to a project and was happy to buy the coconut, light grey, dark grey, light beige and dark brown fleck. In fact, I've ordered these particular flecked colors multiple times.

Along with traditional rainbow colors suitable for kids projects, the shop stocks a great range of of the offbeat, tertiary colors that I like to work with. At the risk of quickly depleting my favorites, I'm smitten with paprika, cloudy sky, beige, blood orange and kiwi green. These all pair perfectly with the flecks. I also was able to get nice mix of atypical christmas reds and greens for the holiday swaps that I'm on.

One of the important things for me in choosing my felt source was making sure that I could consistently get the same colors and that they were evenly dyed across the sheet. While I can appreciate hand-dyed felt, I'm someone who much prefers the look of a commercially-dyed product. I like rich even color and even flecking. I also want to know that if I love a green, it will be there for me again when I need more. Although I haven't been buying from the shop long, I'm happy to see Two Blue Birdies is committed to their color range, just releasing their updated color cards. If this month is a good indicator, I've also noticed they quickly restock as colors run out. If you have an urgent need as I did, they are happy to field questions in email and provide help as they can.

Texture and Thickness
When I started shopping at Two Blue Birdies, they carried one thickness of felt. They've since expanded their stock. The range that I've been working with is their 1mm Merino wool felt.  I haven't pulled out a ruler to measure, but I'd say this is quite a generous 1mm - possibly 1.5mm-2mm. The felt has a bit of loft to it making it thick enough and durable for projects like pincushions or felt softies. This month, they added 3mm Merino felt to their range. I ordered some, not quite sure what I'll do with it yet. It's got a terrific weight and stiffness to it. It could be used it something needing more structure like a felt basket or toy base. The colors in the 1mm and 3mm match as well, so you could easily mix and match the two sizes.

In close-ups, you can see that the felt has a light bearding to it which adds to the visual texture. It creates a soft faint haze around project edges which I feel improves their aesthetic. Although a few fibers have lifted, as to be expected with soft felt; I haven't experienced any balling or pilling, even when madly crumpling my gift for everyone projects to see if they could be used as stress balls.

What to Make
By now, you're probably keen to get some felt. I've practically talked myself into another order just writing this post. But what to make? The possibilities with felt are pretty limitless. I've made quite a few of the everyone gifts with my tutorial.  More wool felt round cushions are underway with a pattern coming soon to Patchwork & Stitching and I've also been making Christmas ornaments.

I'm more than a wee bit excited about my new obsession - once again letting my freak flag fly - wool felt pennants!  Inspired by vintage travel and sporting flags, I can't get enough of these - some appropriate and some a little less so. Again a pattern will be coming early next year in Patchwork & Stitching. As a reward for getting this far into the review, I'm also giving a custom-made pennant away on this post!

And, of course, Two Blue Birdies stocks quite a few felt patterns like the quirky critters from May Blossom and RicRac. Although I used to design toys, I'm pretty sure there's a softie pattern or two in my future. Squirrels, foxes and bandits, anyone?

So let's get on with!  Who wants to win?!

86 Piece Wool Felt Bundle, image from Two Blue Birdies.

Entering the Giveaway and Prizes
There are two prizes in this giveaway and two ways that you can enter to win.

• First prize is a 86 Color Bundle of 1mm 100% Wool Felt, provided by Two Blue Birdies. Pieces are 25cm x 22.5cm. Open to AU/NZ  residents. Prize valued at $199 AUD.
• Second prize is a custom-made wool felt pennant using your choice of colors in the Two Blue Birdies range provided by Badskirt. Fly your own freak flag! Amy will work with you to come up with a custom designed layout with the name or words or your choice, limit 9 characters. Open internationally. Prize valued at $85 AUD

You may enter once using each method. Please include your shipping country in your entries.

• To enter on the Badskirt blog,  leave a comment on this post linking to your favorite product in the Two Blue Birdies shop and tell us how you might use it - making a toy? sewing a quilt? a gift for friend?
• To enter via Instagram, post a photo of a recent felt or fabric project or take a photo/screenshot of something in the Two Blue Birdies shop you might want to make. Include the hashtag #bigfeltgiveaway and tag @badskirt and @twobluebirdies so we can find you!  An Instagram entry won my last giveaway, so that extra effort may be worth it. =)

Entries for the giveaway will be accepted until November 11, 2014. 1pm, Melbourne Australia time. The random draw will be held at 4pm on the same day. First prize is available to residents of Australia and New Zealand only. Second prize is available internationally. In the event that the first draw is not an AU/NZ resident for shipping purposes, they will be awarded second place pennant prize. The draw will continue until an AU/NZ resident is selected for the first place prize. Only one bundle and one pennant will be awarded. Please include your shipping country in your entries. A maximum of two entries per person is allowed, once per method.

Disclosure: Every project you see here has been made with felt that I personally purchased in multiple orders with Two Blue Birdies. My review is based on those purchases and the customer service service received at that time. Although this post and the felt bundle giveaway is sponsored by Two Blue Birdies, the review accurately reflects my experience as a customer.

Happy crafting and good luck!