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Russo, N 2017, Needle Felted Tapestries, Stackpole Books, Pennsylvania, United States.

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Brief Notes

Covers both wet felting and needle felting to make tapestires!

Literally the ownly source i've found covering what I'm experimenting. Has a ton of instructional projects.

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Extended Notes

Pre-Felt

Definition: Pre-felt is the starting point for tapestry needle felting and serves as the “blank canvas.” It is wool that has been only partially felted, making it less dense. It can be machine-made or handmade.

Machine-Made Pre-Felt:

Lightly needled, loose fabric.

Very fine and delicate; handle gently.

Increases in density and durability when wet felted.

Available in a wide range of colors.

Since it is nonwoven, it may be cut into any size/shape without unraveling.

Ensure it is 100% wool.

Recommended to use two layers because of delicacy.

Handmade Pre-Felt:

Partially felted wool that has not been fully agitated.

Works well as a blank canvas.

Example: Maple Leaf Coaster project (shows how to make your own pre-felt from carded wool).

Felting Needles

Come in many gauges, varying in configuration, quantity, and depth of barbs.

The bottom inch does the work.

As you poke, barbs grasp strands of fiber, pushing them through the pre-felt base and securing them in the needling board.

Types & Uses:

38-gauge triangular needle: General-purpose, used for most projects in the book.

Star needle: More barbs, works faster and more efficiently for shaping forms; used in 3D projects.

Performance factors:

Thickness of pre-felt.

Type of wool.

Flat vs. 3D needle felting.

How to Use Felting Needles:

Hold between thumb and finger, poke straight up and down through pre-felt into the board.

When poking at an angle, remove at the same angle to prevent breakage.

Signs of Wrong Needle:

Needle struggles to penetrate (too thick).

Needle glides too easily (not catching enough fibers).

Care & Safety:

Made of brittle carbon steel → can break.

Disinfect wounds if pricked.

Store needles safely when not in use.

Preventing Strain & Safe Practice

Use a needling board only 1 inch thick.

Support arm/elbow on the table while needling.

Release the needle when adding color.

Stretch fingers and move hands often.

Use the correct gauge needle.

Checking if Needling is Complete

Run hand over surface → no shifting fibers.

Turn design over → should be visible on the back.

Hold pre-felt to the light → reveals weak spots.

Needling Benefits:

Strengthens pre-felt by adding density.

Secures fibers.

Prepares design for wet felting.

More needling = less shifting during wet felting.

Needling Board

Must be placed under your project to catch the needle and secure fibers.

Should be 1 inch thick.

“Blue board” foam insulation is recommended because:

Inexpensive and available at lumberyards.

Provides firm, solid background.

Ideal 1-inch thickness.

Can be cut to any size.

Notes:

Foam boards degrade with use and must be replaced when fibers and bits of board stick to felt.

Lift and rotate your project often to prevent sticking.

Needling Wool

Wool comes in many types, colors, and processing methods.

For success, use wool from the same mill blend or same sheep breed (different scales may not felt together well).

Use carded wool (not combed), as bent strands entangle more easily.

Best for projects: carded wool with short staple.

Beginners: seek advice from retailers.

How to Felt

Wet Felting

Uses hot water, soap, and pressure to entangle fibers into dense fabric.

Adds durability to needle-felted designs.

For small projects, felting by hand is enough; for larger projects, use a textured tool to speed up.

Work Station:

Kitchen, bathroom, or laundry area (access to hot water, drainage, waterproof surfaces).

Equipment: towel, plastic mat (trash bag for small projects; pool cover/bubble wrap for larger ones), soap.

Lay towel → place plastic on top (slightly smaller than towel).

Tips:

Cover design with nylon curtain until tool performance is known.

Begin on the backside of the pre-felt, design face down.

Thoroughly saturate with water, add soap for glide.

Begin gently, increase pressure gradually.

Wet Felting Process

1. Set up workstation.

2. Lay needled design face down on plastic.

3. Saturate with hot water (using wet plastic bag or tap).

4. Press surface to test saturation (water should pool).

5. Apply soap to palm, glide hand over surface with continuous motion.

6. Begin gently, increase agitation (circular or back-and-forth).

7. Ensure even pressure to maintain shape.

8. If distortion occurs, agitate opposite side.

Felting with a Washboard

Begin agitation with your hand before using washboard.

Once stable, place on washboard and slide up and down ridges.

Move frequently to avoid uneven felting.

Check for distortion and add water/soap as needed.

Shrinkage

Wool tightens and shrinks with agitation.

Shrinkage depends on:

Wool type

Degree of needling

Aggressiveness of agitation

Tools used (hand vs. textured tool)

Finishing

Stretch to correct small distortions (not large).

Can be re-felted if needed (more needling, insufficient agitation, or to clean).

Wrap and Roll Instructions

1. Place towel on surface.

2. Place textured plastic mat (texture down) on towel.

3. Place needled design face down on mat (cover raw wool with nylon curtain).

4. Saturate with hot water, agitate with soapy hands.

5. Place PVC pipe at end, roll mat and felt around it.

6. Tie at both ends, roll back and forth with forearms for ~10 minutes.

7. Move wrist placement often (like playing piano keys).

8. Rewrap from opposite end, repeat rolling.

9. Ensure felt stays wet/soapy.

10. For large projects, check squared edges with yardstick.

11. If uneven shrinkage occurs, apply pressure to opposite side.

Felting Soap

Wet felting is hard on hands → olive oil soap recommended (but most soaps work).

Soap acts as lubricant so hands/tools glide.

Always rinse soap thoroughly from felt after finishing.

Taking Care of Felt

Wool felt is durable and versatile.

May be spot cleaned with hot water and soap.

Can be reshaped when damp.

Can be re-needled or re-felted at any time.

Does not unravel → may be cut into any size/shape.

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My sources have brief summeries of the info and usefullness of them then followed by my extensive notes. You don't need to read the extensive ones!😅 It was just for me to keep track of specific parts I found important or different that I needed to remember where they came from when writing!

They all have their covers added so its easier for me to differentiate them when scrolling quickly through them looking for one since it gets hard to tell with how long they are. And asa visual person I remember sources based on their covers over titles.

Also the red ones are coloured that way to show they are the best and most informative sources of the bunch.

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In the end went with a methodological structure, since it seemed to work best with the information I gathered, comparing the different techniques of needle and wet felting. separating the wet, needle, combined felting into seperate sections with headings. (Not that the combined section had much in it but it was worth noting at least one person out there has written about finishing a needle felted project with wet felting like I'm trying to do.)

But as mentioned previously, since the practice of each doesnt vary much except maybe by technique based on the indivudual, most sources said the same thing in more or less words. So I decided to initially highlight all the sources covering the topic at the start of the section, then go through the process using the information from the most thorough sources, and add in mentions where sources added something new or different to the process.

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So when I write its the hardest for me to start, so i typically need to throw up something bad into the page for me to do anything or figure out where to go.

The above image shows one of said throw ups, just structuring out the process of wet felting and going from there.

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Continuing on from part one after I have the process down I scour all my notes, re-scan through all my texts for anything I may not have considered before and then assign sources to each phase of the process who provided the best info for that section, quoting it so i can find it again and reference in the writing stage.

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I then realised my previous structure wouldnt work for such a limited word count and had to drastically cut back on the detail I was giving. Enough for the reader to learn and understand but not so much detail that wouldn't be fully nessecary for this reviews.

(the image above is a show of my word count and that was after i'd already cut like 100 words 😫)

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(sorry its chaotic but its just how it worked for me before I put everything into Padlet😅)

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My sources are almost all borrowed from the library, both online and physical versions.

Locations include:

Sutherland Shire Libraries

Felting: The Complete Guide

Carnival of Felting

Felting Fashion

Felt Fabric Designs

University of Wollongong Library

The Story of Change: Felt Art

Uniquely felt: dozens of techniques from fulling and shaping to nuno and cobweb: includes 46 creative projects

Hoopla (using a Wollongong City Libraries card)

Painting With Wool: Sixteen Artful Projects to Needle Felt

Needle Felted Tapestries

Kawaii Needle Felting: Felt 20 Good Luck Charms From Around The World

Internet Archive

Beginner's guide to needle felting

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White, C 2007, Uniquely felt : dozens of techniques from fulling and shaping to nuno and cobweb : includes 46 creative projects, Storey Pub, Massachusetts, United States.

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Brief Notes

only brief explanation of what needle felting is

Best source for wet felting. and extensive source for practice and techique over various topics and why these techniques work and various projects to practice it. from what is felt to the various practices to wool types. it is truely THE book on wet felting

she also features many artists and their work and practices for inspiration and to encourage readers to view their work

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Extended Notes

How does wet felting work? p. 8

Two stages of feltmaking: felting and fulling

Mentions needle felting techniques on p. 16

Wet felting soap p. 21

The chemistry of felting p. 23

Making prefelt p. 65

When is it finished? p. 77

focus on chapters:

1 - what is feltmaking

4 - learning the basics

5 - learning about wool

6 - 3D seamless felting

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The Ashford Book of Needle Felting (Revised Edition)

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The Ashford Book of Needle Felting (Revised Edition)

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Allen, B 2009, The Ashford Book of Needle Felting (Revised Edition), Ashford Handicrafts Ltd, Ashburton, New Zealand.

book on needle felting and various 2d and 3d projects to try. No mentions of wet felting

Shape the wool roughly to the size of one of the lower wings and hold it in place. Now push your fine felting needle (38S) through the wool until it goes into the foam underneath it needs to go about 5mm, or '/4in, into the foam). Pull the needle out and repeat. It is as easy as that! Now you are needle felting! p. 15

interesting to note:

recommended not pulling the design off foam until design is finished. most would do so to prevent embedding. i believe she has this much confidence in it because she uses stabliser or has some barrier between the wool and the foam, wchich makes fare more sense than without

says its ok to use multiple layers of stabliser, so you can add more finer details. good for people making identicle patterns or just arent as good at freehand

works with fibres 2.5-5 cm long and rubs them together so they are mixed in different dirrections so there arent distincive lines in the design.

a thivk backing so it is more vibrant and easier to show through

recommends techniques for blending colours together for an even mix

two methods for making an edge to the felt

techniques for feathering the edge of a design so it belnds in involves tugging the fibres out, but if they are too felted make small snippets with siccors then pull. also works for feathering two colours

twirling the needle quickly catches the last few wispy fibres just above the surface ti feld down

the smaller the needle the smaller the whole so finish off with smaller needle

brush away edges of stabliiser with wet brush

For train design

Begin by drawing the train and carriage on the stabiliser and cutting the pattern out, leaving a margin around the edge. Place a foam block inside the jersey and position the pattern so that it is sitting evenly on the front of the jersey.

Pin the pattern on by pushing the pins down through the jersey and into the foam underneath.

Needle felt the front wheel that is partially hidden, using Liquorice wool, then work forward with your colours from there.

Because of the nature of a knitted garment, which will move and stretch as it is being worn, it is better to make a strong joint where two colours meet. You will need to run one colour underneath the next, so that if it stretches, the two colours won't pull apart. Continue to make clean sharp edges around the outside of the picture, as in the butterfly, but build the inner joints one on top of another.

To do this, let the lower colour (e.g. green) spread over the line where it joins the next colour (e.g. red). When you place the red beside it, make a sharp line where the original line was drawn on the pattern. This will reinforce the colour joins so that they won't pull apart.

When building up an area of colour, felt a small amount of wool on, then add another small wad and felt this beside the first. Continue like this until the whole area is filled. In this way you will have more control over where the wool goes and how much is used in each area. Once you have established the edges of a shape (using the dent-and-fold method or your fingernail), a needle punch tool will quickly felt down the wool within the shape. A single needle will do just as well; it merely takes a little longer.

If you find that you are losing track of where the edges are, because wool from a nearby colour is overlapping, try adding another piece of stabiliser with just the pattern for the shape you are working on, e.g. the black wheels.

These can be pinned directly on top of the previous pattern and felting, and will show you clearly where the edges are.

Felt through all layers. Once you rinse out the stabiliser you won't know there was ever another layer put in there.

When you have a shape that comes to a sharp point, as in the front end of the wagon, roll the wad of wool between your fingers to form a sharp point before applying it to the design and felting it down. Felt the oval of the eyes with white wool, then add a smaller oval inside of black for the pupils.

Her method of stabilising the pattern is to flip the design and needle felting the fibres back through the fabric, but at a slant almost parallel to the design. Dont push them through to the other side uou don’t want to see them so stay at that angle. The embroidering around the design

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Smith, S 2013, Felt Fabric Designs, Batsford, London, England.

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Brief Notes

ONLY BRIEFLY MENTIONS NEEDLE FELTING,

no examples for it

Great source on wet felting, covers most of what the other sources do, but uniquely covers methods for creating unique textures to wet felt fabrics!

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Extended Notes

Felting Solution (p.19)

Soap Jelly (Preparation)
You will need:

Pure soap flakes

Boiling water

Heatproof measuring jug

Small whisk

Method:

1. Pour soap flakes into the measuring jug (no more than half capacity).

2. Add an equal quantity of boiling water and whisk until the soap dissolves.

3. Decant into storage containers and allow to cool.

Soap Solution (for use in felting)

1. Place one dessert spoonful of soap jelly into a heatproof container.

2. Add a small amount of boiling water—just enough to dissolve the jelly.

3. Pour into a sprinkler bottle and top up to 1 litre (1¾ pint) with cold water.

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Processes in Making Felt (p.17)

Rolling

Rubbing

Kneading

Throwing

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Making Hand-Rolled Felt (p.15)

Method:

1. Prepare the work surface with a towel and bubble wrap (bubble side up).

2. Take a wool top approx. 1 metre (40 in) long and divide it lengthwise in half.

3. Using one half, gently pull short tufts from one end and place them side by side in a straight row on the bubble wrap.

Lay a second row half-overlapping the first (like roof tiles).

Continue until the required area is covered.

4. Add a second layer at right angles to the first.

Continue with additional layers, always at right angles to the previous one.

Sprinkle with cool soapy water and cover with thin plastic sheeting.

5. Gently flatten fibres by pressing on the plastic sheet.

Check fibres are thoroughly wetted out; add water if necessary.

6. Cover again with plastic sheet. Place a roller at the end, roll up tightly, tie at both ends, and roll backwards and forwards 100 times.

7. Untie, unroll, turn a quarter turn, re-roll, and repeat rolling 100 times.

8. Remove and discard plastic sheet. Test with fingers to see if fibres hold together.

Turn package over, roll up again, and roll 100 times.

9. Turn a quarter turn and roll again 100 times.

10. Remove roller and roll felt in bubble wrap only, rolling 50 times from each side.

11. Test for firmness: fibres should be fully meshed with no loose fibres on the surface.

12. Rinse carefully, squeeze out water, gently stretch into shape, press with a hot iron, and lay flat to dry.

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Allowing for Shrinkage p. 22

All wool shrinks during felting as fibres contract and entangle.

Shrinkage varies between 20–50%, depending on wool type and thickness.

Fine wool shrinks more than coarse wool; thin felt shrinks more than thick.

To allow for an average shrinkage of one third, add 50% to the desired finished size when laying out fibres.

Example:

Desired finished size = 50 cm (20 in).

Add 50% (25 cm / 10 in).

Lay fibres out to 75 cm (30 in).

After shrinkage, the felt will reduce to the desired 50 cm (20 in).

Garments:

When making felt garments from commercial patterns, shrinkage must be factored in.

Calculate expected shrinkage for each pattern piece and total them to determine required material (see p.94).

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About Needle Felting p. 24

Uses barbed needles originally made for industrial felting machines.

Needles can be:

Triangular (three-sided)

Star type (four-sided)

Each side of the blade has small barbs that mesh fibre layers together.

Available in small quantities for hand use:

Single needles

Multi-needle handles

Embellisher machines

Uses:

Adding small design details after wet felting.

Lightly tacking design elements in place before felting.

Creating unique textures.

Fabric Behaviour: p. 60

Needle-felted fabric stretches more lengthways and widthways.

Aim for even results by gently pulling lengthways, then widthways.

For larger pieces, randomize the needle felt beforehand.

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Güllü, S, & Gürler, D 2016, ‘The Story of Change: Felt Art’, in R Efe, I Cürebal, G Nyussupova, & E Atasoy (ed.), Recent Researches in Interdisciplinary Sciences, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Bulgaria, pp. 198-217.

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Brief Notes

Describes history of felting as a practice, its modern applications, tools, and all the different techniques of the process.

Mostly wet felting, one explanation of needle felting as a technique

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Extended Notes

TRADITIONAL FELT MAKING AND TECHNIQUES (p.g. 203)

Kicked Felt-Making

Figured Kicked Felt-Making

Pre-felt

Preparation of Wool

Designing (Figuring)

Spreading and Rolling

Kicking and Boiling (Felting)

Finishing Process (Washing and Drying)

Features of Colours, Designs and Motives

Plain Kicked Felt Making

Wet Felt Making

Dry-felting (Needle Felting)

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Houghton, L 2009, Felting Fashion, Batsford, London, England.

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Brief Notes

no mentions of needle felting

Great source, explains the process of wetfelting much like previous sources. Of most note are the sections on how to design the felt with pieces of fabric.

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Extended Notes

Wet Felting Method (p.23)

1. Initial Setup

Place bubble wrap underneath.

You can use netting over the top, but wet plastic is best for this initial stage.

2. Laying Out and Wetting Fibres

Lay out fibres.

Soak with hot, soapy water.

Press down to remove air and help water penetrate the fibres.

Ensure fibres are completely wet.

3. Felting Stage

Rub the surface of the plastic in a circular motion.

Flip and fold in the edges to keep it neat.

Continue flipping and rubbing until it passes the pinch test.

4. Fulling Process (Rolling)

Roll the felt tightly in bubble wrap around a rolling pin or dowel.

Roll backwards for several minutes.

Repeat until rolled in every direction.

Remove felt from bubble wrap and plastic.

You can stop here for non-wearable garments.

5. For Wearable Felt

Prevent pilling or hairiness by immersing the felt in very hot water, keeping it soapy.

Squeeze and roll in your hands.

Further shrinkage will occur when rubbing it in a towel.

Rinse out soap in cold water.

Reshape and leave to dry.

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Davis, J 2009, Felting: The Complete Guide, Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, United States.

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Brief Notes

Fully explains BOTH wet and needle felting

Extensivly covers multibple felting practices, wet felting, needle felting, fulled knitting and crochet fabric, and multi-technique projects.

Has two projects combining wet felting and needle felting, though only after the wet felted garment is finished todo they add it for embellishment

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Extended Notes

What is felting? p. 12

Felting terms p. 25

Felting methods p. 29

Tips for success p. 31

Basics of wetfelting p. 34

Additional felting factors and techniques p. 37

Flat felting step by step p. 43

Needle felting p. 103

Surface design p. 106

Tips for success p. 121

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Ives, D 2019, Painting With Wool: Sixteen Artful Projects to Needle Felt, Abrams, New York, United States.

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Brief Notes

no mentions of wet felting

But was an incredible source on how to get intricate and beautiful 2D designs using needle felting. I'll definatly be refering back to it to see if I can managed this level of detail for washable garments.

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Zaïchik, H 2025, Kawaii Needle Felting: Felt 20 Good Luck Charms From Around The World, David & Charles, Exeter, England.

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Brief Notes

no mentions of wet felting

Great source for needle felting tips and techniques, covers most of what other sources do. Not a huge amount of 2D projects but some techniques are universal for 3D felting so still usefull.

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Harris, G 2012, Carnival of Felting, Collins & Brown, London, England.

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Brief Notes

Equally emphasizes combining both wet and needle felting methods for various projects, but not wet felting needle felted designs.

Includes specific projects with templates.

Only has a singular few words tip for perhaps wet felting needle felted designs for more stability of wearable garments

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Extended Notes

Wet Felting Method (p.12)

1. Lay out wool vertically, overlapping the edges of the template.

2. Cover with netting, wet, soap, and rub for a few minutes.

3. Turn over, fold edges, and rub again on the other side.

4. Briefly rinse in warm water, then roll completely.

5. Rinse under very hot water, then roll again.

6. Once all pieces are joined, rinse in hot water followed by very cold water until all soap is removed and you are satisfied with the shrinkage of the felt.

Needle Felting Embellishments (p. 21)

1. Insert protective foam into or behind the garment.

2. Outline the design in the wool.

3. Stab the wool through the garment until it is completely felted down.

Durability Notes (p. 29)

Needle-felted designs are not as sturdy as wet-felted ones.

Recommended options:

Periodically go back over the design with the needle when it becomes fuzzy.

Alternatively, wet felt the embellishment onto the garment as part of the design.

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Wallis, S 2008, Beginner's guide to needle felting, Search Press, Tunbridge Wells, England.

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Brief Notes

no mentions of wet felting

Covers Most of what previous sources cover, and has various beginner projects, and covers basic techniques. Most relevent sections are needling (p.12) and carding wool (p.20)

Was borrowed through Internet Archive

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(sorry the gif text isn't relevant I just thought it was funny for sources haha😂)

It wasn't very complicated, I did try using some of the AI searches recommended in class, but considering the information I was looking for was found in books that needed to be purchased or weren't available to be borrowed since they weren't in my public library, I stuck with purusing the libraries I had access to to find relevent sources, borrowing them, and scanning them for relevent information.

This did limit my search a bit as I wasn't willing to purchase some books i found online since I likely won't use them in the future, but what I did find I think was pretty extensive in covering this topic overall.

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I did use ChatGBT to summerise my notes on all the sources for my Padlet so they would be neater and cleaner to read. I also asked it how it would write a literature review based on those notes, just out of curiosity to see what it would do. It wrote a 300 word review instead which was not good 😂, but once I rephrased it it did give me two options for a potential structure narrative of the review. by source, or by process, and since most of the information in these sources are the same I went with the latter.

Link to chat: https://chatgpt.com/share/68de541c-3924-800e-b13c-c4a6f3671843

But more importantly I wasn't sure if I was writing this review properly, never done a literature review before and wasn's sure, and my insecurities and minor anxieties would make me doubt what I wrote. So I also used a site called Jenni.ai to review my draft a day before submission and give me feedback where I could improve and what I had done right. (especially since I wasnt completely sure how to synthasize the topics as the sources don't differ much in technique 😫). It gave me more confidence since I had done pretty well but told me where I was lacking so I could touch up on things, like when asking how to cut back, it told me detailing all the techinques in detail was a bit much and could cut back in some areaslike that.

Screenshots for the text conversation are below (I'd share the file but I can't find how to do that yet)

One thing I will say about Jenni.ai is that it was annoying where if i stopped typing for a few seconds it would give me a sample sentence that frankly didn't make sense and make me loose my train of thought. You're supposed to put your references into the library so it can help you write and since I didn't do that it would give me random sources I hadnt read or things it read form my draft. Useful if you were writing this as the platform intended, but I only wanted feedback so it was annoying.

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A rough sketch of my old structure I drew out to follow before writing. Then realising later it wouldnt work and scrapped it haha