Saturday 24 & 31 October 2026, 1 - 4pm BST: Feltmaking with Jorie Johnson

Online Workshop with Jorie Johnson

Saturday 24 & 31 October 2026, 1 - 4pm BST (British Summer Time)

Jorie Johnson was born into a Boston wool and fibre merchant’s family and studied Industrial Textile Design at universities in the USA and Finland. Now based in Kyoto, where she has lived for over thirty years, she has re-established her studio practice, focusing on the expressive potential of feltmaking in a contemporary context.

She is the owner and principal designer of JoiRae Textiles, as well as a university lecturer and researcher of indigenous felt traditions. Since 2011, she has been an invited fellow of the Imperial Household Agency in Nara, researching mid-8th-century Tang Dynasty floral-motif felts held in the Shōsō-in repository (see HALI, no. 196, UK). She is the author of two books and a contributor to numerous publications on both historical and contemporary feltmaking.

Her work has been selected for exhibitions including Artwear: Fashion and Anti-Fashion at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Fashioning Felt at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York. Her pieces are held in museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among others.

Jorie’s practice centres on hand-felted wool, creating wearable works, interior pieces and contemplative objects that speak to the body, the environment and the spirit.

Workshop Description
After a short welcome, Jorie will lead participants straight into making. Those new to felt will be guided through the fundamentals with a clear, step-by-step demonstration, beginning with a small ‘Flower Object’ before progressing to a personal Fragment Pendant or Brooch.

This approach to surface design centres on layering different coloured wools and working with plastic resists to build thickness, form and subtle shifts in tone. Felt asks us to think ahead — to imagine the finished piece and work towards it — allowing colour to blend and surfaces to evolve as the fibres interlock. Participants will observe shape emerging, thickness forming and variegated surfaces developing, with time set aside to consider finishing techniques, including a range of cord options.

As confidence grows, Jorie will introduce a series of surface motifs suitable for artworks, accessories and garment detailing. She will also share her knowledge of different wool breeds, after-dyeing effects and essential equipment, answering individual questions along the way.

Rooted in an ancient tradition yet alive with contemporary possibility, felt offers warmth, structure, colour and movement. Jorie invites participants to begin a new journey with this enduring material — one that carries within it a deep and vital human history.

Included in Your Material Pack:

• Ziplock bag
• 10 colors of Merino wool (total 15g x2 (black and white), 10g x8 (bright colours)
• Plastic sheet 
• 2x small hand-sized plastic bags
• Piece of screening (approx. 16cm x 32cm)
• Wide, plastic packing rope (5cm x 50cm)
• 2x 3-ply bubble wrap resist
• 2x pin backs
• Instruction notes for Fragment brooch and Flower Objects

Additional Materials to Bring:

• Black permanent marker
• Narrow masking tape or cellophane tape
• Sharp scissors
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Small personal sewing kit
• Two hand towels
• Apron
• Small piece of soap
• Shampoo (conditioner-free) or liquid soap
• Plastic bottle with 9–10 small holes punched in the cap (to create a shower effect for the hot water and soap solution)
• Rolling rod approximately 2.8 cm x 50 cm (wooden dowel, PVC pipe or similar)
• Needle-nose pliers
• Steam iron
• Timer
• Non-slip rubber mat (such as one used for a dish rack)
• Digital scale for dyes, if available
• Access to a hot water source

Level
Open to all levels with minimum equipment necessary.

Please Note: Material packs are shipped on an insured, trackable delivery service. Any customs duties, delays, lost or undeliverable packages are the responsibility of the customer. Once a material pack leaves the workshop tutors' hands with a tracking number, the seller has no further obligation to the buyer.

If we reach capacity, we may close bookings. Be mindful that we must close bookings at least 3 weeks before the workshop, in order to ship material packs. Book now to avoid disappointment.

Location
This is an online event. A Zoom link will be sent to participants the week before the workshop.

Recording
This workshop will be recorded, and a link to the recording will be emailed to all participants. Please allow 7 working days for us to send you the recording.



Cancellation Policy

All places reserved for workshops are non-refundable. 

If you require additional information about this workshop please contact events@selvedge.org.

Visit Jorie Johnson
Follow Jorie Johnson