Things You'll Need:
- Completed knitting item ready for felting
- Front load washer with a stop or pause button to allow you to check the progress of your felting.
- Rinse-free wool soap, such as Woolmix or Eucalan (do NOT use Woolite!)
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Step 1
Make sure your knitted piece is ready to be felted, with all the loose ends tied or woven in, straps or other accessories, attached, etc. Your knitting pattern should tell you whether to felt the item in separate pieces or all put together.
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Step 2
Place your item to felt in a nylon mesh lingerie bag or a pillow case.
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Step 3
Set the wash temperature to "Hot," and the load size to "Small," with high agitation.
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Step 4
Add the rinse-free soap, if you choose. (One tbsp. for a small item is sufficient).
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Step 5
If you have a small item, such as a wallet or small bag, add a larger item to help increase agitation, such as a tennis ball or an old pair of jeans.
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Step 6
Start washer and set timer. Check the progress of the felting every 5 minutes or so. In a front load washer, you'll have to use the "Pause" or "Stop" button, and wait for the water level to settle and the door latch to open. If your front load washer does not have this feature, it is almost impossible to felt correctly.
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Step 7
Keep checking the knitting until it has reached the firm, felted stage. You may have to take the piece out of the washer, wring it out, and see how it is doing. Continue this process as many times as necessary to reach the final felted stage. Do not allow the washer to rinse and spin, as this will stop the felting process, and it can add permanent creases to your felted piece.
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Step 8
Rinse the piece in cool to warm water. If you used a rinse-free wool wash, you don't have to rinse your piece.
