Felting is the process of transforming wool into a dense cloth by bonding and shrinking the fibers together, and turn it into felt-like fabric. Technically, there are three types of felting: wet felting, needle felting, and commercial felting.
Commercial felting is the proccess used to create sheets of felt sold at craft and fabric stores. Needle felting is accomplished by using special needles to help create and embellish fabric. Wet felting is what this post about. With wet felting, you can create a soft, dense cloth using wool. The process uses heat, agitation, and moisture to shrink and bond the fibers of the wool together.
WET FELTING
Step 1:
CHOOSE THE YARN
If the yarn package is not labeled as 'feltable', look for yarns that 100% wool or other animal fibers.
Step 2:
CHOOSE THE FELTING PATTERN
You can either knit or crochet it.
Step 3:
PREPARING FOR FELTING
You can use hand for this step because we only need hot water and agitation for your item to felt properly, but the process will be quicker, easier, and safer if we use a washing machine. It may not be recommended in some sources to use soap, but it could make the felting process goes faster. Some sources may recommend to use baking soda because it can be used to 'improve felting', especially in hard water, but it may hurt the users.
Step 4:
START THE FELTING PROCESS
Put your project in hot water in the washing machine. You can put it as it is or in a pillow case or a mesh bag. You can also put some jeans in the wash because it may speed up the agitation process. Don't put in a towel! You could end up with a mess of lint on your project. Set the washing time for about 10 minutes. Check every 5-10 minutes. If you think you need to felt it more, just put it back again in the wash. Don't let it to drain yet. Once you determine it is done, simply let the washing machine finish running it through the rinse and spin cycles.
Step 5:
DRY YOUR PROJECT
Lay your project down flat on top of the towel. Make sure it is away from bright sunlight and any direct heat, and DO NOT put it in the dryer. While your piece is wet, you will want to take some time to stretch and manipulate it into shape. Make sure your item does get as much air circulating around it as possible, turning it over occasionally might help speed the process. Don't be surprised, however, if your project takes a couple days to dry.
Step 6:
FINISHING YOUR PROJECT
Use sharp scissors to trim off any pilling or longer fibers that were caused by the felting process. Add some decorations and accessories to make it look prettier!
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