Jeanette Buelt
by Christi Marsico
When it comes to making hand-crafted, wool felt garments, "You have to have a passion to do it," Jeanette Buelt said.
Sewing for more than 40 years, Buelt also brings 23 years of 4-H leadership to the table when it comes to the art of creating and teaching her favorite folk art. She's won various 4-H awards and prizes at both the county and state level.
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And on a personal note, Buelt made her own wedding dress, bridesmaids' dresses and the flower girl's dress when she got married in 1976.
She continued sewing clothes for herself and her family, along with home décor items.
As she has worked with 60-plus kids throughout numerous sewing projects, Buelt has developed an unbridled enthusiasm for creating wool fashions.
"It's very self-gratifying to take a piece of wool from a sheep and see it transform into a garment," Buelt said.
Committed to sewing with only Wyoming wool, she works primarily with local sheep ranchers, like the Martons who raise commercial-grade Rambouillet sheep, which white wool.
The Rambouillet is a popular, high-quality breed that's also valued for its fine quality wool, which was developed in France from the Spanish Merino sheep.
Buelt noted that it's much easier to work with the natural colors of a sheep's wool rather than try and mix a colored sheep's wool, also referred to as a marker sheep, with a white Rambouillet sheep.
Constantly finding ways to enhance her skills as an artist seamstress, Buelt jumped at the chance to assist some 4-H sewers who wanted to enter a Make-It-Yourself With Wool contest eight years ago.
This event is sponsored by the State and National Woolgrowers associations. The ambitious sewers also could enter their ensembles into the local and state 4-H competitions.
Seeking different and unusual fabrics to use, Buelt discovered a Web site, which intrigued her. After further investigation, she was on her way to creating one-of-a-kind folk art master pieces.
A long process
"It's a great aerobic workout," Buelt noted as she described the process of felt making.
Her 17 step-by-step process can produce artistic results that are unparalleled.
This labor-intensive process is best completed while wearing clothes that a person can really work in, suggested Buelt.
As wool fibers are subjected to heat, pressure, agitation, moisture and soap, which cause the fibers to bond and shrink together. That results in forming a firm material, and the unique fabric is created.
Buelt doesn't embellish her creations with a lot of frills, which in turn allows their uniqueness to speak for themselves.
While she is open to assisting with any wool sewing projects, Buelt prefers to work with advanced sewers.
One of her favorite students, Tiffany Mortimer, has done exceptionally well, having attended national competitions twice for hand-felt wool projects.
"I love it when kids come back and want to do this," Buelt said.
When it comes to achieving the right color of wool, it's nothing to baaah about. Experimenting with Rit dye also has been a successful venture for her in designing the right colors.