Never felt so good

MATERIAL GIRL: Yorkshire textile artist Yvonne Le Mare is creating astonishing new fashion looks using felt. Yvette Huddleston meets her.

F when you hear the word felt you think of hats, snooker tables and children’s creative play, then think again. It is actually a much more versatile fabric than it might first appear, as Nidderdale-based textile artist and designer Yvonne Le Mare is proving.

At her home in Summerbridge, near Pateley Bridge, Le Mare is creating an eyecatching collection of beautiful garments employing wet felting techniques using wool, silk and plant fibres. Her pieces include bridal capes, exquisitely delicate wraps, scarves, coats, jackets and dresses. Some of these pieces are incredibly fine and light, not qualities you would normally associate with felt but, through curiosity and experimentation, Le Mare is discovering that the possibilities are endless.

Having studied fashion and textile design at Manchester College of Art, Le Mare then did a higher diploma in art and design at Leicester Polytechnic and went on to have a career in design and design management roles before going freelance and completing commissions in the UK and internationally. She has also been a visiting lecturer at several colleges including the London College of Fashion and Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Art. Having tried out many different textilerelated crafts over the years, she eventually took part in a felt-making workshop in 2007 and it was a revelation.

“It was actually one of those ‘light bulb moments’,” she says. “I found that I had discovered the art form that I had been searching for. It’s almost magical – you start off with a pile of fluff and using only moisture, friction and heat you can end up with a garment, or a landscape piece. You can almost paint with the fibres or it can be really sculptural. It is the versatility of it that I like.”

When Le Mare first moved to North Yorkshire in 1990, she lived on a small farm and spent some time running a flock of Masham sheep. Now she is using local fleeces from Wensleydale, Masham, Bluefaced Leicester and Teeswater sheep to make her designs. “When I had my own flock, I got to know the local farming community,” she says. “I am in touch with a local breeder of Teeswater and Wensleydale sheep. He shows the sheep and judges at shows and has access to other breeders, so I give him a “shopping list” of essential and

You can almost paint with the fibres or it can be really sculptural.

FROM ITALY TO NIDDERDALE: A fitted sleeveless bodice made of handpainted devore Italian silk felted onto merino – the frilled collar and peplum are highlighted by handdyed bamboo fibres.

MORAL FIBRE: A shoulder capelet made from Teeswaterlocks felted onto Blue Faced Leicester fibres with added bamboo fibres. All hand dyed.