Dive into Wet-Felting with Confidence
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- I've tried to provide a strong sense of what to do and how long to do it for and a range of simple techniques that will help you turn wool fibre into a beautiful piece of felt.
Dont hesitate to ask questions. I am very happy to answer or explain further.
You need a 'big enough' flat surface, preferably but not necessarily high enough so that you dont have to stress your back . Cover the surface with something waterproof and lay a towel on top of that. I can be helpful if the bottom waterproof surface can be moved to make it easier for you. You need to be able to access your work from all directions. This is not essential but it is helpful.
I am using merino wool roving, but all wool will felt. You can use raw fleece or combed fleece, wool batts and lots of other types of wool. But dont worry .. just use what you can access. It will be fine. And yes, sheep are not the only animals whose wool will felt.
In this video I have used olive oil soap because it is not too sudsy. I only use warm water except right at the end where I might want to shock the wool fibres into felting /shrinking a bit more.
I understand that many felters use pool bubble wrap but any bubble wrap with those lovely blisters will advance the felting process. The thinner bubble wrap is easy to use and ... you can see through it. It can be used with the non bubble side in contact with the wool at first but then turn it over and work with the bubbly side facing each surface of the project. In the days before bubble wrap, feltmakers used net curtaining, the plainer the better or tulle. Some also use lightweight mosquito mesh or flywire as we call it in Australia. When you get to the rolling stage you can use a towel, a bamboo mat or a sushi mat.
While there is a definite science to feltmaking. There are any number of wonderful ways to make felt or to make felt a bit differently. The one thing we know for certain about felt is that if you lie wool fibres near each other and gently then increasingly forcefully stroke, agitate, rub you will have a piece of felt.
So ... What would you use this for? For a start it will make an excellent cleaning cloth.. absolutely brilliant as a duster a polisher , wet or dry. I am looking after a 92 year old full time so I use this felt piece as a little mat that I can use to protect a surface and ensure that kitchen sounds are muted. Similarly I use the mat under hot plates and pans. It can even go in a microwave under a plate of soup being warmed. It works well. People with dementia can enjoy stroking a lovely surface and this one is defintely soothing. It will feel beautiful.
I have deliberately made a video that better describes the actual time it takes as well as the flexibility of how you work. Some parts can be repeated again and again until you are happy with the work.
The most important thing is that you start slowly and dont try to rush. the slower you work the better you are likely to be.
When it is possible to do so... hold your piece up to a light...the sun, tape it to a window... You will be easily able to see any spaces where there is little or almost no wool. And if there are spaces... then you can either check regularly along the way and add a bit of wool to fix it or... you could also needle felt in some wool if that works better for you to fix a few weak spots.
And... Yes you can use the sander for longer if you like. Once the felt is together enough you can use the sander.
You can also use a microwave to heat your wool parcel and use it a few times if needed.
And...One I didnt show here.... Put your parcel into a zip lock plastic bag and put it out in the sun or in your car on a warm/ hot day. I am pretty sure that speeds up the felting too. And.... one last one...wrap up your felted work in progress and leave it alone over night. or longer if you can . Being rejected can also shock the work into felting.. Or maybe I am just imagining this. Try it and see. - Навчання та стиль
Thanks, very instructive and encourages me to try felting 🙏🙌
I am so pleased. Thank you for watching. Feltmaking is very doable. Do get in touch again with any questions you might have. Best wishes.
Fantastic! I will enjoy your new videos. I am glad I have discovered your utube channel. We are fortunately experiencing rain after a dry spell for so long.
Wonderful!
Greetings, Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm very happy to help you.
I really enjoyed this video. I am new to wet felting, I have done a bit of needle felting and was wondering if I could use carded wool instead of Merino rovings/tops. I Will investigate buying some rovings. I live in Queensland. To make a piece of felt the size in the video what amount of wool would I need?
Yes, absolutely. thank you very much for watching and for your questions. I am just doing a few follow up videos which I hope are also useful for you. Yes it can be much simpler to use batts as they have already been evenly carded if you purchased them as batts. Now as for how much ...I used the roving in the title picture and that was sufficient for two layers covering a piece of A3 paper. If you can get so that you pull out wisps of wool at a time you can always add more if the wool is not covering properly. It depends on whether you want a piece that is thin and flexible or something that could be strong enough for a bag. I will do another one soon and include the weight of the wool roving I used.
Thanks again. I am in Perth Western Australia where we are longing for some rain. Best wishes and thanks again.