Jenn asked me to guest post about how to make wool felt. Jenn and I were Package Pals a while back (read about our exchange here and here) and I sent her a few pieces of wool felt to work with (I think she liked it!). So here is a tutorial for how to make your own from repurposed wool items.
I make all sorts of things from wool felt, I actually prefer it to the regular craft felt you can buy. It has more body and just is nicer.
I make my felt from wool sweaters, blankets, hats, scarves, dresses, coats, jackets and find them at yard sales, auctions, thrift stores and second hand stores.
I use the process of fulling to create felt. I have actually received blog comments from some folks pointing out that what I called felting was actually fulling. Basically (at least in my mind) it boils down to this…if you start with something woolen already made (woven, knitted, crocheted, etc) you are fulling it when you attempt to shrink it to produce felt as the end result.
Fulling by definition is the process in which the woven or knitted cloth is subjected to moisture, heat and friction causing it to shrink considerably in both directions and become compact and solid. In heavily fulled fabrics both the weave and the yarn are obscured, thus giving the appearance of felt.
As an example, here I have made a pair of slippers for myself out of some 1970s wild variegated yarn that I found at a second hand store. The slipper on the left has already been fulled, thus shrinking it both ways.
This is the same sweater, showing the stitches and the yarn on the left, the right side shows a more compact felt appearance.
Felting is an ancient technique that produces a non woven sheet of matted material which is most frequently made from wool, hair or fur created by the entanglement of a mass of fibers that takes place when heat moisture and pressure are combined.
This is one of my few attempts at wet felting. Not my cup of tea…much more time intensive! The brown felt was made from llama roving (processed wool).
Look for labels that say 100% wool, Shetland, merino, lambs wool, cashmere (although it won’t felt as thickly as other wools), camel, alpaca. I will use some wool that is >90% wool content with mohair or angora…when fulled these will be fuzzier.
Avoid labels that list <90% wool or say wool blend. This sweater says wool cashmere blend on the main tag, but after locating the actual contents tag near the bottom of the sweater, I found it contains 30% viscose which is a lovely fiber but doesn’t shrink at all. So that’s a no go! Also avoid any items that says superwash or list washing instructions. Wool items should be dry cleaned so look for that on the tag.
Here’s the before in this brown sweater I bought today to show you a few things….see the shoulder seams?
OK, so now you have your items ready to full (or shrink). Start by grouping like colors together. I put mine inside a zip pillow cover, and full lots of items together.
Set the washer for hot water, and the longest regular cycle you can run. Add detergent (the usual amount for the load size) but never fabric softener and a pair of old tennis shoes, several tennis balls, or those dryer balls that are spikey. I have wool dryer balls that I use too because it seems to help the wool stick to them and makes a bit less of a mess. Either way, it is going to be a fuzzy mess!
Sometimes I run two cycles, sometimes just one. If the felt is not tight/dense enough for you, wash it again. You want the zip pillow covers to be loosely filled so the pieces can move around inside them. Another reason to use the zip covers is to contain the fuzz that is a by product of fulling. Some fellow crafters will not do this fulling in their own washers, preferring to take them to the coin laundry so it creates less lint in their own washer/dryer.
I check in on the progress of the felting several times during the cycle, just ‘cause I’m crazy like that. But, I must warn you about the smell of wet sheep (or camels or llama or the like) that emenates from the washer, and if you used old sweaters, think of a wet sheep smell combined with mothballs! Mmmm, lovely!
So now, remove the wool items from the zip case outside if you can, otherwise there will be fuzz all over, shake each piece well, inspect it to make sure it is compact enough for you and then put it in the dryer on high heat. I clean the lint filter at least two times during the drying cycle. Once everything is dry, you have wool felt!
If your felt is especially fuzzy you can use this sweater stone (get one here for just $5.99 shipping/handling or you can buy them at Target, Eddie Bauer, and several other online stores) to remove the extra fuzz. The stone is swiped across the felt and removes the excess fuzz and also works great for other sweaters too!
One of these sweaters is Gap brand and one is Old Navy…they make the best wool sweaters to felt! Now you have ready to use felt….what are you going to make from it? Here’s some ideas!
Labels: being thrifty, crafting, felted wool flowers, felting, recycled, thrift store finds, thrifty finds, tutorials, upcycled, wool
I have never tried this with a sweater stone... I need to pick one up! Thanks so much for sharing at Monday Funday!
So many great tips! Really want to try felting now and that sweater stone looks like a handy tool. Thanks for linking to the Craftastic Monday party at Sew Can Do!
Wow! Thank you for sharing all the great info. I love your creations and have pinned this to my Pinterest board. Patti@OldThingsNew
Hello, I'm your newest follower. I found you on Girlish Whims blog hop and came to visit your blog. Hope you will visit my blog sometime. Awesome blog.
I have dyed roving just waiting for me to nuns felt or something, I just haven't decided what I want to make yet! :) thanks for reminding me I have that there in my stash of random projects to try! :)
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the topic of wool felting. And thanks for linking to What to do Weekends!! Hope you come back next week with your tips. Linda
For Jess’s birthday I made this LOVE project. I used a new map of Paris…couldn’t find an old one although I looked for several months.
I used Mod Podge to attach the map to 8 inch paper mache letters , smoothing the edges and trimming as I went…I used plain brown Kraft paper for the back to make it look professional.
I tried to be sure I included all the places Jess and Mike went on their trip to Paris. You can see the Eiffel tower on the L!
I am thinking of covering an E for my letter wall in my bedroom with a Connecticut map since that is where I was born. And maybe make an S letter covered in a Missouri map for my son’s room. The possibilities are endless!
Paris is ( bar none ) my favorite city to visit - have Paris mementoes all over the house - but THIS is something I need to make - FABULOUS job!
I love this! You make it look easy - wonder how it would turn out if I tried... Lots of possibilities of words and maps!
These look really cute! I did map letters also, though I was only crafty enough to apply the map to the face of the letters:) I have them hanging in our dining room - they are the first initials of our families first names. What a cute idea doing the maps from one place like that!
Love this idea! I'll be travelling to Paris for the first time this summer and I am so excited. This will be a great project to do when I return. :)
These came out so cute. We have a link party called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop and would love to have you share this and any other posts with everyone. It runs from Tuesday night through midnight Sunday. We also have a $50.00 Visa Gift Card Giveaway. Here is the link to the party.
The letters are gorgeous and I'm loving that entire vignette! Thanks for linking this up to Monday Funday!
I have maps upon maps from our travels! LOVE this oh so much and featuring it this weekend! THANK YOU for linkin up to Sunday FUNday!
Just wanted to let you know I'm featuring you this weekend. Come on by and see your name in lights! Thanks for linking it up! Have a great weekend!