Whisper boots: meaning, production. Wet felting felt boots for beginners with a step-by-step description and photo Boots whisperers how to make a wish correctly

Since ancient times in Rus', people believed in the magical power of felt boots. The man believed that they would bring prosperity and wealth to the house, the main thing is to do everything right: put what you need in them, hang them in the right place. What are whisper boots? Why are they called that, what do they matter, read in the article.

What are whisper boots?

These are mini winter boots. Valenki can serve as a talisman, a gift for the soul or just a souvenir. They are often given to guests who live in warm climates as a symbol, a reminder of the Russian people with cold winters.

Valenki were called "whisperers", as people whispered their most cherished desires in them and firmly believed that they would come true. An unbeliever can buy them as a souvenir or a talisman, hang them on a Christmas tree like a toy, or on a bunch of keys like a keychain. In any case, this is an interesting thing. Coins, a grain of cereal were put into the whisperers. They were assigned a place at the door at the entrance to the house or in the corner between the stove and the wall.

What do you need to make felt boots?

In order for the whisperers to turn out to be "famous", you need to think through everything to the smallest detail. To work, you will need the following materials and tools:

Sufficient amount of wool of natural origin. The traditional color of felt boots is grey. But do not limit your imagination to this. Raw materials can always be dyed in the desired shade.
It is important to stock up on bubble wrap. This material with a smooth surface is not suitable for work.
To make templates, you need a piece of foam rubber.
Prepare a container of water, soap, or any liquid used when washing dishes.
Be sure to need a spray gun and a fine mesh.
A few cotton towels so you don't have to dry them while you work.
To decorate your product, you should prepare felt, many different cords and ribbons.

Manufacturing technology

Do-it-yourself felt boots-whisperers are easy to make, the main thing is a great desire and diligence. Step-by-step instruction:

First, a template is made.
Then, based on it - a blank. To do this, the template is applied to the rubber, circled around the edge and cut out with sharp scissors, otherwise there will be burrs on the canvas.
We put the template of the feet towards us and lay the wool in small bunches in a horizontal direction so that its edges go beyond the shape of the felt boot.
After laying the first layer, proceed to the second. Wool should be evenly distributed in the vertical direction.
Then we take a spray bottle filled with soapy water and spray it on the coat.
A mesh is placed on top of the wet layer and pressed well with your fingers to evenly distribute moisture.
Next, the wool with the template is turned over together to the other side, and the wool protruding beyond the edges is wrapped inside.
From above, the wool is again laid in two layers, as in the first case.
All this is again wetted with a solution from a spray bottle and pressed with hands.
The mesh is removed, and the template is turned over with the wool.
The edges are wrapped again, the pieces of wool are pressed against the template very tightly.

The workpiece is wrapped in a net, it is time to make wool. To do this, rub over the mesh for a long time, about 15 minutes. Pay attention to corners and edges.
Then the workpiece is cut in half, the template is removed.
The weaving process continues. To do this, the felt boots are put on the hand and its entire surface is rubbed with fingers from the inside and outside, but not much so that the edges of the product are not deformed. Felting miniature shoes finished. It remains to check the length of both whisperers. If it is different, equalize with scissors.
The penultimate stage is washing the felt boots under running water to wash off the soapy solution.
After that, the products are blotted with towels that absorb moisture well, straightened and dried away from the battery.

souvenir decoration

The last stage is the most responsible. You need to decorate the creation of your hands very carefully and beautifully. Here you can apply all your imagination. Put patches, hem the sole with thin felt, make appliqués, sew on lace in the form of a pattern or in a chaotic manner, use braid of different colors and textures. At the end of the work, both felt boots must be tied with a decorative thread. Whisper boots are ready. Such a gift will satisfy the most fastidious guest at the holiday.

Whisper boots: meaning

Any crafts that are created independently using manual labor, people love and carefully store them, especially children. And this is no coincidence. It's about whisperers. With them, an atmosphere of comfort and individuality of the owners is created in the house. And most importantly - a miniature craft, souvenir boots-whisperers, is of great importance in the upbringing of the younger generation.

When creating a souvenir, a certain technique of manufacturing, embroidery, appliqué, and pattern is used. This is all folk art, which the child will get acquainted with in the process of work. And if you consider that such a gift is being prepared for which falls on winter time, when you want a lot of warmth and comfort, it is doubly expensive. Felt boots-whisperers help to create a festive atmosphere in the house, which will be a joy to children and adults as a gift. Even in summer, such a souvenir creates a contrast in the interior, which looks very attractive.

Technique - wet felting.

The best home pair souvenir is "Valenki-charms". Souvenir felt boots have a long history, they are also called "Whisperers". It has long been believed that felt boots bring good luck to family life, help the birth of healthy children, it is desirable for them to hang next to the stove. Healers said that if there are no boots, then there is illness.
In addition, felt boots are considered a symbol of real Russian winter, moreover, it is an excellent talisman of prosperity, wealth and a strong amulet.
Once upon a time, there was a belief among the people that it was necessary early in the morning, before sunrise, to hang whisperer boots over the door to an apartment or house. Put a coin in one boot and a grain in the other. After that, each of the household members can whisper their innermost desires to them, and they will surely come true. This is the most reliable amulet from need!

Materials and tools:

felting yarn,
stencil from the substrate under the laminate,
bubble wrap,
soap solution
water tank,
scissors,
decorations.

Description of felting boots

1. I cut out a stencil with one middle from the substrate, prepared yarn, covered the table with a pimply film, and prepared a soap solution.

2. Laid the strands on the stencil in different directions (3 layers), sprayed with soapy water, pressed through the film.

3. Turned over, bent the tips. I make 2 pairs at once.

4. The process of felting (if you do it through the net, then you need to constantly watch so that the net does not stick, if this begins to happen, then remove the net. (Masseurs help)

5. When the stencil inside began to interfere, it is necessary to bend the structure in half and cut it. Pull out the stencil, continue to roll, adding (rinsing) hot water. Do not forget to check the inside of the boots with your finger so that it does not stick inside.

6. After rinsing, you can insert a film inside to create a shape. Let's dry. After drying, decorate, or you can leave it like that.
felt olga61

Needlework master class: "Production of felt boots-whisperers by wet felting"

Fakhurtdinova Larisa Anatolyevna, technology teacher of the MAOU "Obdorsk Gymnasium", Salekhard.
The master class will be of interest to technology teachers, teachers of additional education, children of middle school age.
In Rus', there was a belief that if you hang whisperer boots on the front door and whisper your wish, it will come true.
Purpose: felt boots can be presented for the New Year or hung on a Christmas tree, on a bag or in a car.
Target: production of a product by the method of wet felting from wool with one's own hands.
Tasks:
Learning how to work with wool.
Formation and development of cognitive interest in the subject, needlework, development of independence.
Development of creative abilities and aesthetic taste of students.

Materials and tools for work:
1) wool for wet felting natural (any color);
2) bubble wrap;
3) foam rubber for template;
4) dishwashing liquid or liquid soap, a spray bottle;
5) towel;
6) ribbons, cords, felt, lace, beads, sequins, threads

Operating procedure:

1) We print a template for felt boots on the printer.

2) Cut out the felt boots template from paper.

3) We apply the cut out template of felt boots from paper to a piece of foam rubber, circle and cut out the template for felting felt boots.

4) Pour warm water into a spray bottle, drip a few drops of dishwashing liquid into it.
5) Cover the table with bubble wrap. The work will be done on film.
6) We take a ribbon of wool in our left hand, with our right hand we pinch the very ends of the wool and pull out the wool. We spread the wool on the template for felting boots.

7) We lay out the wool on the template for felting felt boots, first across, and then along the template.

The ends of the wool should extend beyond the edges of the template.

8) Next, spray the wool laid out on the template with soapy water from a spray bottle.
You don't need to wet it very much. If you wet the wool too much, it will not fall off badly. Excess water must be removed with a towel.

9) We put our fingers on the lined wool and lightly press. We begin to rub the wool with our fingers.
Three lightly, the wool has not fallen off yet.

10) Then turn the template over with the wool.

11) We bend the wool that goes beyond the edge of the template. We try to avoid wrinkles.

12) From above, we again begin to lay two layers of wool, one layer across and the other along.

13) Spray the wool laid out on the template with soapy water from a spray bottle.
Three fingers wool.

14) Turn over the pattern with wool.

15) Again we bend the wool that goes beyond the edge of the template. We try to avoid wrinkles.
16) We rub the template with wool on the pimply film for about 20 minutes. Where it is impossible to walk with the film, with three fingers: at first gently, and when the wool has fallen off harder.

17) Cut the template with wool with scissors into two equal parts.

18) We take out the template. We won't need it anymore.

Until the boots hold their shape. After wilting, they will decrease in size.

19) We put our fingers inside the boots, moisten them with soapy water and continue to rub the boots on the film with bubbles, helping in hard-to-reach places with our fingers. At this stage, you can already rub hard.
In order to make it easier to felt the tops, you can use markers or caps from thick felt-tip pens.

20) Periodically check that the boots are the same. If some felt boots turn out to be larger in size, it is necessary to roll it separately.
21) Whether the boots are ready or not, it’s very easy to check: you need to try to pinch off the wool with your fingers, if only a few woolen hairs are separated, then the boots fell off, but if more is hooked, you need to roll on.
22) Rinse our felt boots from dishwashing liquid. You can blot with a towel, remove excess water.
23) We straighten the boots and put them to dry, but not on the battery.
24) You can decorate whisper boots in different ways. You can make patches, thin felt soles, felt appliqués, decorate with satin ribbons, rhinestones. Sew on braid or lace. Then tie the boots with a thread. Do-it-yourself souvenir boots-whisperers are ready!

Today we will take care of you felting boots in engineering wet felting.

We will have souvenir boots, small - only about 5 cm in size.

Materials:

Wool for felting
bubble wrap film
A small piece of foam rubber for the template (can be replaced with any flexible waterproof material approximately 1.5 cm thick)
Soap solution (a few drops of dishwashing detergent diluted in water)
Scissors

To get started, print the template below on an A4 sheet.

We cut out the template from paper, apply it to a piece of foam rubber, circle and cut out the template for felting boots

I did not have foam rubber and I decided to use a foam backing from semi-finished products. At the initial stage, it is very good as a template. problems hit a little later - when pulling out the template from the boots. I just had to cut the styrofoam with scissors to get it out.

Instead of foam rubber, you can also use the same bubble wrap.

Pour warm water into a plate, drip a few drops of dishwashing liquid into it.

We spread some kind of film or oilcloth on the table. I, as you can see, put the garbage bag. Don't do that!! We need something tighter - the garbage bag is very thin and constantly moves out in different directions. I think a regular oilcloth would be a good option.

Well.. Everything is ready for work.

We take a ribbon of wool in our left hand, with our right hand we pinch the very ends of the wool and pull out the wool. We pull it out, not pull it out or tear it off. Usually such a translucent piece of wool is pulled out. With these shreds we lay out the template. In the photo, the amount of wool that I pulled out twice

First, we put the first layer - all the hairs in one direction - I laid them out across the template, and evenly.

The wool is longer than the template - do not be afraid - then all this will wrap up and lie around. Laid out the first layer.

I did three layers. My opinion - no longer needed - then very thick boots will be

We begin to lay out the second layer - across the previous one

The entire second layer is laid out

The third layer is again laid out across the previous one, i.e. in the same direction as the first

Wet wool with soapy water. If there is, you can use a pulvizator. I just poured from the palm of my hand

Wet not too much - no need for water to pour on the floor

Cover with bubble wrap. We put our palms on the film and just press lightly several times

You can immediately see the contour of the template

I decided to remove the film and check what's inside: in some places the wool is dry. Moistened a little more dry places

Again, the film is on top, we press it a little. We look .. It's a completely different matter!

Gently pick up the pattern with the wool with your fingertips

and turn over ... It was very inconvenient for me to do this because the garbage bag on which I did all these operations was very thin and did not want to come off the wool.

This is how our future boots look after turning over.

We begin to bend the wool that goes beyond the edges of the template. We bend it neatly, trying to straighten it better so that there are fewer wrinkles (but they will still be - so don't be afraid - everything falls off)

Wrapped up on a template. Unfortunately, this photo is wrong for me.

Now we start laying out our layers of wool on this side as well.

Lay out the same three layers. Each layer is perpendicular to the previous one

Wet with soapy water

Cover with bubble wrap

Press several times with palms

Filming

Turn the template over and fill the protruding tails of wool

We shift our future boots on a film with bubbles

Wet with soapy water. If you see that the wool seems to peel off, add soapy water. Immediately begins to wallow like clockwork. I directly dripped dishwashing detergent on my hands, rubbed it and then, as it were, smeared the template.

We begin to rub our template on the pimple. Three is not strong - yet the wool has not fallen off and can peel off.

I almost immediately decided to add decor to my felt boots. It seemed to me that at this stage it would be more convenient - it is difficult to try to lay out the desired drawing. I don't know - at this stage you need to add another color or not, but I got what I wanted.

Three template on the film with bubbles for 15-20 minutes. Where we cannot walk with a film - with three fingers: at first gently, as it falls down - harder. You will feel how much pressure you need to do yourself - if you pass it, then the wool seems to move under your fingers

After 20 minutes, the wool more or less fell off for the initial stage. We take scissors and cut our boots into two equal parts.

It was then that I ran into the fact that I can’t remove felt boots from the foam template .. I had to cut the foam itself

And just cut it out of boots. this is such a deplorable look my felt boots had after removing the template

But it's okay. We put our fingers inside the boots, moisten them with soapy water and continue to rub the boots on the film with bubbles, helping in hard-to-reach places with our fingers. At this stage, you can already rub hard.

Soap solution is best used hot. Periodically dip the felt boots in hot water - they fall off faster.

Well, it seems to be almost ready - I align the upper part

They cut off evenly and rubbed the felt boots so that the cuts were lying around

In order to make it easier to felt the tops, you can use markers or caps from thick felt-tip pens

Periodically check that the felt boots are even - if one turns out to be larger in size - roll it separately

After we pulled the template out of the boots, we roll for another forty minutes.

It is very easy to check if the boots are ready or not: you need to pinch the boots with your fingers, if only a few woolen hairs are separated, then the boots fell off, but if more is hooked, you need to roll on.

We rinse our felt boots from soap