Beginning Wet-Felting Instructions

Welcome to Beginning Wet-Felting!!!!


In this class you will learn how to make a basic sheet of felt from wool!  This can be the basis of a needle felted picture, or a stand alone piece of art!!!


Supplies:

  • Two Towels
  • Bubble Wrap, 20x16
  • 2 layers mesh, like tulle, 20x16
  • Pool Noodle
  • Bar soap, I use Olive oil based soap
  • sponge, like a kitchen sponge
  • bucket for water
  • 2 - 4oz roving or batting for base layer, does not matter which color, I like using a neutral cream color for mine
  • 2 - 3 oz of colored wool, roving or batting, for your pictures, i.e. greens for grassy fields, blues for skies, whites for clouds
  • small amounts of matching specialty fibers, like bamboo, silk, fun yarns
  • The more wool you have, the larger your piece can be.  This will make approx 12 x 14 finished piece

Instructions:


  1. Lay down your towels flat
  2. Lay down your bubble wrap on top of your towels.  This can be bubble side up or down.
  3. Lay one piece of mesh on top of your bubble wrap.
  4. Starting with your base layer of wool, hold the strap in one hand, at least four to six inches from the end.  Pull the end with your other hand, fingers to palm, until some pulls apart.  This should be fairly wispy.  Not thick, but not completely see-through either.
  5. Leaving an inch border of mesh, lay the wisp down onto your mesh, starting in one corner, in either direction (top to bottom, or side to side)  I usually lay my first layer top to bottom)  Continue until you’ve covered approx 15x20 of your mesh.
  6. Now, you’ll need to lay a second layer going in the opposite direction of your first.  This is necessary to bind your fibers together.  This will be the base of your piece.
  7. Start with your designing!  Using the same pulling process, lay down pieces of your colored wool in the corresponding areas of your base.  So if you’re doing a piece with a sky, blues and whites will be at the top.  Greens at the bottom for a field,  yellows and reds at the horizon for a sunset.
  8. After you get the background design laid out, you can add specialty fibers for shine, like Angelina, Bamboo, or Silk.  You don’t need very much of these, just small wisps wherever you want it to be shiny.  These fibers all go a long way.
  9. Once you get your design how you want it, lay your other piece of mesh on top of your design, carefully so as not to move your design
  10. Take your sponge and get it dripping wet and squeeze water all over your wool until thoroughly wet.  Adding soap to your sponge towards the end.
  11. Your piece should be thoroughly wet and soapy.  Now starting with your fingers, lightly press in a circular motion all over your piece to make sure it’s completely wet through, and to start the felting process.
  12. Once your piece is all nice and flat and soapy, take your pool noodle, and starting at one end, roll your piece, along with your mesh and bubble wrap, until you get to the other end.
  13. Roll your piece 50 times in this direction. 
  14. Unroll your piece, turn it 45 degrees, roll it back up, and roll another 50 times
  15. At this point you can remove the mesh.  You don’t want your mesh to get felted into your piece.  Turn your piece another 45 degrees, roll it back up with just the pool noodle and bubble wrap, and roll another 50 times.
  16. Turn your piece over, and repeat steps 13-15.  Your piece should be about done.  At this point, if I want it felted together more, I’ll take out the bubble wrap and the pool noodle, and roll it into one of my towels.
  17. If your piece feels like one piece, and doesn’t pull apart anywhere, you are finished rolling.  If not, roll some more.
  18. Take your piece to the sink, and while rinsing out the soap, squeeze and turn your piece to do some ‘fulling’.  This continues felting the fibers together.  Use cold water if you like the size of your piece and don’t want it to shrink any further, hot water if you want it to shrink some more.
  19. Lay your piece flat to dry.  You can pull on the edges to get it back into a square.



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