Felt is always in style the third.

Here's an example of one way felted knits (sweaters) can be manipulated. I discovered this when I designed the costumes for a production of The Chronicles of Narnia. What fun! By the way; the thrift store is a costumer's heaven on earth.


In the book Second Time Cool - the Art of Chopping up a Sweater some recycled or restyled clothing is shown for inspiration. Japanese designer Jun Takahashi's ensemble includes footwear that looks just like birds' feet. Although the feet appear to be constructed of leather, I thought wool would work, so I made clawed feet for the two woodland birds in the play. I went from there; using wool for all of the character's footwear with the exception of Tumnus (who wore painted wooden clogs so he could make hoof-sounds).

below: birds' foot in progress

For the elf & troll characters I created footwear with pointed & curled toes. The elf wore red shoes with gold buttons, the Troll wore a brown calf - length boot. I used more felted wool for the Unicorn's horn, Tumnus' scarf, & the Troll's cap. Wool felt is so versatile; it takes dye well & can be embellished in any number of ways. Holes can be poked in it without concern about raveling. I can think of no other fabric so useful in creating dimensional effects while retaining movement (stretch).