How to make Felt boot liners for winter trips

In a couple of years I will be going to Canada for the final expedition of the 2 ( 3 because of plague) winter course. As much as possible, we are going to be using clothing and equipment that we have made ourselves.
I have always been fascinated with the far north, perhaps it goes back to my favourite childhood book; Hiawathas childhood illustrated by Errol le cain, which had a beautiful illustration of a Wintery northern night.
"Flaring far away to northward,
in the frost nights of winter
showed the broad white road to heaven
running straight across the heavens
crowded with the ghosts, the shadows..."
My interest also comes from experiencing Ice age conditions, while using Ice age clothing and equipment, and I'm determined to do as much authentically as possible. This set of boot liners is made using modern, machine carded wool. my next set will be made of hand warded sheep fleece, and the wool of an ancient breed of Donkey which has astonishingly long hair- since i cant play with actual mammoth wool, and musk oxen are in short supply, I thought it would be an interesting experiment!
I hope you enjoy it, if you there is something specific you would like to see a video on, let me know and I will see what I can do!
Don't forget to Like, subscribe, and share

Пікірлер: 61

  • @lorraineclark1838
    @lorraineclark18387 ай бұрын

    This is BY FAR the best tutorial I've ever seen. Thank you for explaining WHY you are doing everything and what alternatives exist. A masterclass in 1 video!

  • @pepeluke5911
    @pepeluke5911 Жыл бұрын

    Wow I didn't have any idea how work with wool I was looking for diy winter boot liners and I bumped into this, great work thanks for sharing.

  • @crmsn_
    @crmsn_ Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for sharing, they look really great. I could totally tell you were going for pine trees!

  • @tilia1719
    @tilia171910 ай бұрын

    Thank you for this great and helpfull video. Also appreciate your calm voice expression.❤

  • @jessi3096
    @jessi30962 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so so much for sharing this! Best felting video I’ve found yet. Following!

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    2 жыл бұрын

    So glad you've found it useful :) i'd love to see what you make!

  • @lorraineclark1838

    @lorraineclark1838

    7 ай бұрын

    I couldn't agree more! Now I finally feel like I can proceed with my own project.

  • @jasoncalaz1476
    @jasoncalaz14763 жыл бұрын

    This helped so much. Thanks for sharing.

  • @bobdebouwer7835
    @bobdebouwer78358 ай бұрын

    Mad respect for your patience. And thanks for sharing the knowlegde

  • @WomanOfTheMountains
    @WomanOfTheMountains3 ай бұрын

    I’m going to try this without soap, the raw wool I have holds a lot of lanolin that would be nice to keep in for waterproofing. Well see how it goes

  • @brwood7722
    @brwood77223 жыл бұрын

    This was the coolest thing I've seen in a WHILE!!

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you liked it :) soon I will be doing another pair, but trying to make boots using only what would have been available during the Paleolithic! Should be interesting!

  • @possumoutdoors3063
    @possumoutdoors30633 жыл бұрын

    Stopping by to say. I miss seeing a new upload from you. Looking forward to it. Off I go then.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    Soon! I'm working on 10 videos, the first of which should be out in the next month or two :)

  • @richandnic
    @richandnic3 жыл бұрын

    Great video. You certainly know your stuff. I've had the pleasure of doing courses with you over the past few years. Good luck with future videos.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    Cheers ! was that when I was at Woodlore? or with Will :)

  • @richandnic

    @richandnic

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 with Will at the Bushcraft show and also last years primitive hunter gather course.

  • @mevk1
    @mevk1 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating. you could easily commercialize genuine felt insoles. The best of everything is usually natural and hand made. Nicely done video - your accent is so warm and earthy -just want to cozy up to you (sorry that was inappropriate ;-)

  • @jimv.661
    @jimv.6613 жыл бұрын

    I enjoyed seeing something different, and always enjoy videos that show me how to make my own. It was also nice that the background music was low so that we could hear you clearly. I've watched too many videos where the music was so loud it turned into a music video. If you haven't thought of it already, you should get far enough north to observe the Inuits, and maybe pick up some muskox wool, or hunt one if you can. The meat is very white and mild, so it picks up flavors from spices readily. Great for making jerky.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    I would love the opportunity to meet some i uit women and learn some sewing techniques from them. I think our expedition is fairly far south compared to inuit territories, but maybe one day! They are the masters of cold weather clothing. :)

  • @jimv.661

    @jimv.661

    3 жыл бұрын

    There is a nice display of their artwork at the airport in Yellowknife. The hair and wool are amazing. The longest of any living animal, but you probably know that. And yes, they are well adapted to the cold, although I did see some shaking when it was -60 deg F and 50-70 mph winds....and we were lost....

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jimv.661 I bet that was a 'life affirming moment' :p

  • @richardtoston964
    @richardtoston9643 жыл бұрын

    I hate shoes so I think this is my next project. Thanks

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    As slippers you can coat the bottoms with shoe glue, or specific fabric paints which make them more trippy. I'll be wearing these inside mukluks

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    Grippy* thanks autocorrect !

  • @bushcraftjoe1
    @bushcraftjoe13 жыл бұрын

    Just subscribed . Seem your post in the fb group

  • @AlexanderMason1
    @AlexanderMason111 ай бұрын

    Would you want a finer wool (lower micron size) or would you want a coarser wool (higher micro size) for the most warmth and durability?

  • @francestutt5308
    @francestutt5308 Жыл бұрын

    Do these go inside other boots? Do they need a bottom or sole on them. Love your calm nature.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    If you're using them as slippers you can sew a leather sole on, but yes they are for inside other boots- either rubber boots or mukluks

  • @tamaraspillis612
    @tamaraspillis6123 жыл бұрын

    The roll blind is much like a sushi mat. Probably close to ancient actual useage.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    At some point when the weather warms up, I want to have a go felting using onlt what might have been available in the stone age.... the bamboo mat is fairly plausible. We dont have bamboo, but some reeds have stems that might work. I will have to try it :)

  • @tamaraspillis612

    @tamaraspillis612

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 everything was bone, stone, plant and skin. Ubiquitous resources. Hair, wool use rather than leather pelts from the kill, were the beginning of animal husbandry. From there monoculture textiles whether farmed animals or plants allowed settlements and time to engage in civil pursuit. The ancient skills are marvelous to ponder. Really enjoyed the vid. Will be working on boots this month. Just the basics. No stooping snow owls on an arctic plain! I'll check your channel from time to see if a go felt is scheduled. I'm a tanner.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@tamaraspillis612 i think felting could go back further than the neolithic ; a lot of ice age animals would have had a downy underwool- musk ox, bison, possibly wooly rhinos and mammoths. So its not impossible that people could have collected the material as it was shed. It naturally felts anyway if you just use it to stuff your boots so its not a huge leap of the imagination :)

  • @tamaraspillis612

    @tamaraspillis612

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 bison doesn't felt well. Worked with it at home. Have a calf and bull tanned. The guard hairs are similar to black bear. Don't interlock when wet and rubbed. Coyote and fox winter pelts felt well. Border collie brushings also felt🐕(Best friend) Brush your dog rather than killing, eating and making a vest from leftovers... 😉And your right, foot wear stuffing and vest stuffing was found in Outzi's accoutrement. Must have been common winter wear during the bronze age.. Thanks for your demos, got a pair of slippers made.. unfortunately one shrunk too much. Should have paid attention 🙄

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@tamaraspillis612 it may not felt well, but it does felt. Steven le say made some felt booties out of it using this method revently :)

  • @johnricker9997
    @johnricker9997 Жыл бұрын

    This was an inspiring video on my quest of wet felting different products. I'm trying to find a few things though, but can't. How much roving did you use for each boot (ounces, pounds..)and what your final thickness turned out to be?

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    *goes to weigh boots...* Each foot uses about 315 g of wool finished. I actually made two sets, one to be worn inside the other. But the total is about 1cm. If I'd done it as one layer of boot, it would be about 8-10 decent layers on each side of the ' insert.

  • @johnricker9997

    @johnricker9997

    Жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 thank you for the fast and detailed reply! I'll use this as my guide to start.

  • @agnetahallberg9845
    @agnetahallberg9845 Жыл бұрын

    What kind of "shoe" do you use this together with?

  • @dianeibsen5994
    @dianeibsen59949 ай бұрын

    Hi again🤗 I'm looking for a woman's winter rain boot that I can put a wool liner in. do you have any recommendations? I'm in Washington state we get some snow here but mostly cold wet 🙄

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    9 ай бұрын

    Hiya, unfortunately I'm the wrong side of the pond to be much use :/ we don't have many boots available that work with these liners here- only footwear we make ourselves. Your best bet is probably to try one of the US based bushcraft or wilderness groups and see if they can help.

  • @dianeibsen5994

    @dianeibsen5994

    9 ай бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 Ok. Thank you for letting me know! I appreciate it 🤗

  • @dianeibsen5994
    @dianeibsen5994 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for this video! Can you wear something on your hands or do you have to use bare hands?

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    Personally I tend to do it bare handed.. the later stages you could deffinitely wear washing up gloves , but the early stages of the felting I think it helps to have that direct feedback from your fingertips

  • @dianeibsen5994

    @dianeibsen5994

    Жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 ok. Thank you for letting me know. If I had an allergy to wool, would it show up right away on my hands?

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    @@dianeibsen5994 I honestly don't know.. I have an allergy to some kinds of soap and that seems to be cumulative but no idea about wool allergies

  • @8thsinner
    @8thsinner Жыл бұрын

    I watched this yesterday andit's got me looking up shearling...how much did you need in the end for these?

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    Each boot was a out 315g

  • @8thsinner

    @8thsinner

    Жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138Thats way less than I thought. Means I could maybe even afford merino. Do you know if merino sticks to other stuff easily? I'd fancy merino inner but tougher outer. Is there a chart somewhere of wool types and features etc

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    Жыл бұрын

    @@8thsinner it seems to :) I'd deffinitely use a mix of things. I can't advise on which ones are tougher... But I know merino isn't considered tough

  • @8thsinner

    @8thsinner

    Жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 Indeed you said as much in the vid. I've seen stuff at £30 per 5 kilo, when merino is £60 per kilo. But I've no idea if the £30 stuff is good or not. It's raw so needs washed and caided I guess...

  • @obamalastname34
    @obamalastname34 Жыл бұрын

    How much grams for a one pair of size 11 US insole

  • @veraalex7446
    @veraalex74463 жыл бұрын

    Is it safe for walking on ice??

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    I think they would grip well, but really they are intended as liners for other footwear. the best way to get grip is either to have a bit of thonging going under the foot, or fur.

  • @haylabox1662
    @haylabox1662 Жыл бұрын

    valenki

  • @Skoden_lures
    @Skoden_lures3 жыл бұрын

    Great video but the background music was awful and distracting.

  • @memmathecavewoman7138

    @memmathecavewoman7138

    3 жыл бұрын

    You could always mute it and switch on subtitles...

  • @Skoden_lures

    @Skoden_lures

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@memmathecavewoman7138 I never thought of that. Thank you

  • @jessi3096

    @jessi3096

    2 жыл бұрын

    (I loved the music!)

  • @dianeibsen5994

    @dianeibsen5994

    Жыл бұрын

    I loved the native American music! And it was played softly also👍😊