felt fortress??

[mcmrymoon]

i needle felted a pretty decent sized tree years ago that my boys love to use for their army guys and mini-guys. now they have asked me to make them a fortress like the tree. they want to be able to hide guys in a variety of openings etc.

i'm not sure how to make it. i don't have alot of roving either.

i have an idea - i thought about making it more cave-like (or rather mountian like) and i thought about making a wire armature out of chicken wire in which i can mold a variety of holes and caves etc....almost as if i'd be making a paper machie cave. i'd make it backless so they can place their figures in from behind. then i thought i'd use a bunch of felted sweaters i have lying around as the base and needle-felt roving on top...and kinda lay that over the frame and secure it to the frame.....

does that make sense? i can picture it in my head and am not sure if i am explaining it right.

does it seem doable or is there a much easier way to make a cool wool fortress for them?

tia!

[greenmamato2]

that makes sense to me! I think it sounds awesome and I love your resourcefulness of using the felted sweaters as the base and then needle-felting overtop to get the look you want. Great idea!

[umma]

I like the idea - how would you make the chicken wire strong and sturdy? Will it bend if they lean on it? I would like to figure out how to make something cave like for my son to play with dinasours - let's try to figure this out and I'll show you my work!