Shrinkage is very important in felting, I will make a video on this at some point! Most times for Merino wool (which I am using in the video) shrinks 15cm. Shrinkage depends on the amount of fibre used, how many layers, which direction and if there are other fibres blended into the wool. Most often from my experience the fibre shrinks based on layers of any type of wool. This also varies depending on how thick you lay them out. One layer in one direction shrinks the most. Two perpendicular layers shrink approximately 15-20cm (delicate drape) Four perpendicular layers shrink approximately 8-10cm (soft, durable, stiff) Six perpendicular layers shrink approximately 5-6cm (firm, sculptural, holds shape well) I found these results with both Merino (fine 22 micron), as well as Corriedale (medium coarse wool 30 micron). This also depends on how felted you want the finished piece to be. The amounts above are my idea/opinion of how felted I prefer my finished piece.
I've been wet felting for years. It's great to keep kids occupied in the summer and stay cool by rolling using their feet. I swear they love it and have so much fun while creating art. All of my kids friends were always in awe of me and everyone wanted to come over in the summer lol
Hi Matthew, yes you can definitely felt wool sweaters. It might be a good idea to practice felting small items first. It's really fun to knit and felt bags, because it doesn't matter so much the size it ends up. The only wool that can't be felted is superwash wool sweaters or knits. If it is labeled super wash, the yarn used was preshrunk before it was knitted :)
Hi Joanne, you can go as thick as you like! The thicker, the more labour intensive. You will want to put it in the washing machine. It will felt quickly. For the first time, try cold wash first for 15 min, take it out to check the size and continue that until it’s how you like it. You will have to felt it a bit first so the fibres have attached at least. Then it can go in the machine.
Hi there, I do have a few suggestions for making a large piece of felt. Making a large piece of felt can be quite the endeavour but doable with the right tools. Merino wool can shrink a lot, it can be surprising how much it shrinks. The more surface space there is, the more space there will be for shrinkage to occur, so I can imagine a wool blanket will shrink even more than a small felt piece. Also something to take into consideration is your layers. More layers will result in thicker felt and thick felt shrinks less. If you lay out say two thin layers, it will shrink much more and take much more time. I prefer thick layers for large projects because it takes much less time. But thin layers offers a beautiful drape. You may want to use netting fabric instead of bubblewrap to cover your wool layers. Unless you can source a very large size bubblewrap. I have taped bubble wrap before but I warn the tape had come off several times mid rolling and it ended up not being a fun project. If you can find large netting fabric to cover your entire piece, that would be helpful. Overall I have not made many large projects such as a blanket so I can't say for sure. Personally I feel that I would make a few, or four, or six smaller pieces and then attach them. But, there are also so many cool techniques you can do by making it in one piece... definitely something you've got me thinking about and now would like to try! Optional: You could use a large peice of woven silk fabric or cotton fabric as your base (called Nuno felting) and lay your wool on top of that to keep everything together.. It adds beautiful texture and many techniques can be achieved this way as well. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_TMxpkSMx1I.html
Well a massive thank you. I have been doing it all wrong thinking the rolling was to get the water and soap out so I thought how clever I am....put it through my big shot which is like a mangle and hey ho it all fell appart. You are a star.x
Me too! I jumped into felting after watching only one video. While it had good info, I totally missed the point about shifting wet fibers around to get them to blend together. I didn’t realize how wet the piece needed to be either. Your video helped so much!
So sorry to hear! You can..Once it’s partly felted you can put it in the washing machine and many do to complete a project. It felts quickly and there won’t be as much control in the direction the shrinkage occurs.
Yes 🙌 bubblewrap I found works great! And can reuse it. Alternatively you can use a bamboo sushi mat, bamboo blinds or cotton netting, synthetic netting, although I find the wool fibre sticks to it. Bubble wrap gets the job done.
Definitely! Sewing finished felt fabrics together is a very popular technique. Felt is often cut into shapes and then blanket stitched into all kinds of cute 3D figurines, kids toys and badges. But it could also be sewn together to make a fabric quilt and remarkable felted sculptures. The ideas out there seem endless. Stitching the edge of felt work can give it a professional looking finish.
As I get closer to finishing the piece of felt, I dip it in the water without soap, continue felting it until the soap is out. It comes out as I finish felting it. I add less and less soap throughout the process. I use a biodegradable soap and it seems to dissipate quite quickly :)
Yes you do! Just one or a few drops will help the fibres stick together and fuse more easily while rolling. Too much soap will cause the project to slip and slide, and not agitate, which is necessary.
Hi 👋 so many things! Personally I make nuno-felted scarves, felted handbags, felted slippers and boots, felted jewellery, no-sew pillow covers (video coming soon) and cat toys (also videos coming soon). You can make amazing things: Felted clothing, Felt hats, Felted accessories, soft no scratch pads for pots etc.., phone cases, laptop covers, wallets, sacks, slippers, fabrics and even more robust items like cat beds, cat caves, yurts 🛖, carpets, insulation and the list goes on and on and on!
