How to Make Felt

Felt comes from carded or fleece wool. Making felt at home requires little effort due to the nature of the wool. Working water into the fibers interlocks the scales of the wool. This process makes the strong textured fabric—felt.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Carded wool
• Tub
• Beach mat
• Plastic
• Laundry detergent
• Water
• Towel

The Setup

1. Purchase carded wool from an arts and crafts shop, fabric and sewing store, or a sheep farm.

2. Find a flat work area that's ok to get wet and a tub to roll and soak the felt.

3. Take a beach type bamboo or rattan mat and lay flat.

4. Place a piece of plastic wrap onto of the matt. Figure the size of the felt piece and cut the plastic several inches larger.

5. Pull the wool into 4 to 6 inch strands and separate into four piles. Use 6 oz. to make a 20-inch piece of felt.

The Process

6. Place the first layer of wool on the plastic slightly overlapping the previous strand. Run the strands the same direction until you have a square.

7. Sprinkle laundry detergent over the layer. Use liquid or dry soap.

8. Take each of the remaining sections of wool to layer perpendicular to the previous row adding a little soap each time.

9. Roll up the mat and plastic then take it to a bathtub or other suitable water container.

10. Add hot water, then place the matt in the water; use pressure to open and close the mat in a rolling fashion 3 to 4 minutes.

11. Remove the mat from the tub, lay across a dry towel then turn the fabric 90 degrees (quarter turn). Repeat Step 5 each time you turn the mat until you've turned it all the way around.

12. Rinse the felt in cold water then place it over a towel on the floor and step on it to remove excess water. Dry the felt on any flat surface.

Tips & Warnings

• To make thicker felt, add more layers. For larger or smaller sizes use more or less wool.

[felt4all]

on 5/16/2009 Warning: First of all the comment at the beginning of these directions is inaccurate and misleading. "Making felt at home requires little effort ". Second the directions posted here will not result in true felt, but a soft mass of wool which has started to felt together but is NOT a finished piece of fabric. There is a lot missing here, and it will only frustrate a person trying this. There are plenty of good books on the process out there. I have studied felt in Central Asia, and am a full time professional handmade felt maker.