Has your wet felted wool been less than satisfactory?
Or maybe you haven’t tried it yet and want to make it right the first time. The following tips will help you master wet felting wool.
Fiber Choice
First, you need to select the right wool for felting. Some fibers don’t felt well at all. Our favorite, of course, is alpaca wool. A little more expensive but the finer fibers felt up very nicely. If you want to try fine fiber that is slightly less costly, try merino wool but don’t tell our alpacas we said that. Other medium sheep fibers felt well, too.
Even fine dog hairs like our Great Pyrenees felts really nicely. Labrador hair felts, too, but it is coarse and the quality is not near as good.
When you choose your wool fleece, make sure it is of uniform length. Your finished project will be less hairy and shed less if you make sure the staples used are the same length. We have found 3 inches is a good length.
Test the fiber you have chosen to see if it will be satisfactory before you waste your time on felting projects that will be worthless when finished. Felt a small sample so you know how the finished item will look.
Lay your wool at 90 degrees to the last layer. Most people layer 2-3 thick layers. It is really better to layer 5-6 thin layers. You will get more even layers and your fibers will felt better.
Before you start with your water, check to see that there are no thin spots. Making sure your layers are even will prevent a lot of problems in your finished project. There’s nothing worse than having to toss the felt you just made because there are too many thin spots or having to waste time going back over it with a felting needle and fiber to fill in thin areas.
Save yourself some time and do it right the first time.
Felting Stage
We strongly suggest using the screen and sponge method of felting. It holds the fibers in place and keeps the fibers from sticking to your hands.
In our opinion, it really helps make nicer even felt.
Really be careful about how much soap and water you use. Too much water and your fibers float away from each other instead of felting. If water pools between your fingers when you press down, then you have used too much. This is where the sponge really helps. You can better control the amount of water you use and keep it to a minimum.
What happens if you use too much soap?
You will create bubbles that separate your fibers so they can not lock together and felt. Really, you only need a small amount of soap. Don’t press too hard at first. Gradually adding pressure will make your fibers felt better and create a more even felted wool.
Keep your water as hot as possible. Our water is as hot as our hands can tolerate. If the water gets cold, add more hot water. If this is going to cause a problem with too much water, soak up some water with a towel before adding anymore to your fibers.
Fulling Stage
This is were you will make or break the felted wool you just made. Why?
During fulling you are removing air from between the fibers making them tighter fitting. If you don’t tighten the fibers, your project will pill and shed until it falls apart.
Which method is best?
Any method is fine. It’s not the method, it’s whether you complete the fulling process.
How do you know when it is done fulling?
If you pull on your felt and it stretches, it is not done. You must felt it until it is firm. If your water cools while fulling, you need to warm it up. We always full in our sink so we have access to hot water during the fulling process.
Finishing
When you have finished the fulling process you need to completely rinse out the soap with cool water. Leaving soap in could damage the fibers making them brittle or they may even disintergrate over time.
Never wring your felted wool. Just gently squeeze out excess water. To speed drying, roll your felt in a towel to remove more water.
Let dry completely before embellishing. Wool has an excellent memory. It will hold whatever shape you dry it in. Give it about 24 hours to completely dry.
Now that you have mastered your wet felted wool, your projects will be high quality. Friends and family will love receiving your felted gifts.
Or…think about selling them to satisfied customers. Hope this helps you create great felt.
