Sew Heart Felt: Shirley Sheep Children's Slippers

The world’s a small place nowadays and it’s nice to know that Sew Heart Felt is doing its bit to break down barriers and join people together. Every piece of handmade felt in our collection starts life as a drawing on a farmhouse table in leafy Oxfordshire – created by UK award winning designer Sonia Spencer. From here, the drawing goes to Kathmandu in Nepal.

‘Wet felting’ designs get made into prototypes by skilled felt makers and seamstresses. A traditional craft of the Nepalese villages, wet felt making and designing is a group activity at the workshop – with teams of women working together with great skill and expertise to craft the slippers, furnishings, clothing and Objet d’art in the Sew Heart Felt collections.

Felt is made from Lamb’s wool and the workshop gets its supply of pure, natural wool from Tibet or New Zealand. The pigments for dyeing are sourced from Switzerland – especially selected to be safe, natural and eco-friendly. Any other bits and bobs required for a particular design are sourced locally in markets – often employing specialist artisans like carpenters or leather workers to create a unique button, ornamental feature or slipper sole.

Every single Sew Heart Felt piece is unique. And before it leaves the workshop, it gets a hand sewn label, is adorned with ribbons and is packaged in organic cotton, pull string bags – also hand crafted using local cotton in Nepal. So, a truly international business embracing England, Switzerland, Nepal, New Zealand and India, with families and friends working together at every step of the way. That’s the Sew Heart Felt journey.