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Daphne Feb 2, 2008

I'm seeing "already felted wool" pieces on eBay and of course figure I must be able to felt the wool I have but do you think I can find info on "how to" do it? NO! I'm guessing it's boiled to have that look. I tried boiling a piece of wool felt but it didn't come out looking like the photo below which is the look I want! The piece I used is really thick and I'm not sure if it's 100% wool but I think so. Perhaps I needed a thinner piece?

So... anyone know how to do this? Should it be a wool blend rather than 100% wool? The photos above are of 20-30% wool with rayon blends. How long do you boil it? Is it then laid flat to dry? Is soap used in the water? Help... someone? This stuff on eBay isn't super expensive but gosh, I have so much felt that I might as well learn how to do my own! But maybe I can't with 100% wool?

Help, please??

toadbriar Feb 2, 2008

Put it in the washing machine, hot. throw some tennis balls in there, or jeans, or something bulky to beat that wool up. then put it into a hot dryer, again with something bulky to batter it into felt.

Of course test it with a piece that isn't precious, first. I would think 100% wool would work best, and mohair knitted stuff also felts. Alpaca and angora both felt readily (Angora TOO readily) There are all sorts of different sheepswools though. Some are finer and crimpier than others - these work great. Some are silky like hair and felt poorly.

If you're working with superwash wool, it will not felt AT ALL. As a spinner I can get superwash roving. How ridiculous would it be, trying in vain to felt that!

If you do it by hand, soap not detergent is the thing to use. Soak it in water as hot as you can stand (boiling, if you're using tongs) then plunge it into icewater. Repeat! Wrap it up in a bamboo placemat and rub the heck out of it, letting the ridges of the bamboo massage it into tighter felt. An old fashioned washboard works great too.

Oh the things we do for art. Do you see why I suggested the washing machine first? 

Daphne Feb 3, 2008

Thanks, Kim. I guess my boiling water to cold water should have done it then... I'll try it again. This time I'll use the washer. And I'd laid my test piece flat to dry. I'll put it in the dryer.

I'm familiar with felting knitted yarns of natural/animal fibers... been helping Dad with his knit and felted teddy bears... just had never tried pieces of regular felt material.

toadbriar Feb 3, 2008

best of luck, I am curious to see what technique or combination thereof gives you the best results. It can be maddeningly unpredictable, to me anyway. I knitted and felted some mittens in the washer/dryer, and they felted up marvelously. BUT they had a fuzzy halo of soft hair like angora (but this was 100% alpaca). My friend felted a couple of hats from the same stuff in her washer, and they turned into a very matted, non-fuzzy felt - still very pleasing, but not with the fuzzy halo. But they were made from the same alpaca! I'd have loved to get the matted results on the mittens, because I had some men on my mitten list. I still don't know why the differences happened.

Do you have a photo of how yours turned out? I think it is a cumulative process, and if you work determinedly on the same piece, it continues to tighten up. Maybe it needs the rubbing action to get the effect you want.

How do these compare to the ones on ebay?
http://www.joggles.com/store/catalog/in … 554eb2b38e

Daphne Feb 3, 2008

Joggles... why didn't I think of that?! I like the bumpy/nubby look of the stuff I found from one seller on eBay. I've purchased a couple of pieces from her for closer inspection. But that's the look I'm after for a project I have in mind that I really don't even have time to be doing.. but once I get focused on something there is no looking back!

I will continue to experiment with some pieces I've got here too. I'll let you know how it goes. At the moment the scrap I tried boiling got a little fuller/thicker but the texture didn't change and that's what I'm after.