How to Boil Wool Fabric
Boiled wool is a characteristic fabric, originally created in Austria. It is often made into short, bolero-style jackets. Finding boiled wool is not easy in the United States, so you may want to try boiling your own. The three ingredients of boiling or felting wool are hot water, agitation and detergent.
Things You'll Need
- Washing machine and dryer
- Laundry detergent or soap
- 100 percent wool fabric (not super-wash)
- Sewing thread and needle
Instructions
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Before felting, baste the selvages together so that the fabric will not twist out of shape in the washing machine.
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Put the washing machine on the hottest setting, and set it for a full wash cycle. Let the tub fill half-full or more before adding the wool. Dissolve a small amount of detergent or laundry soap, about 1/3 what you would normally use, in the water. Put the wool in the washing machine.
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After the machine has agitated for about 10 to 15 minutes, check the wool. If it has felted to the desired weight and texture, run it through the spin cycle. If it has not felted as much as you want, let it agitate for another 5 to 10 minutes.
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If the fabric is not felting, there are two possible problems. Your water may not be hot enough, or the fabric may not be 100 percent non-washable wool.
If the fabric is starting to felt, add boiling water to your washing machine and continue agitating and checking until it is the thickness you want. If it still doesn't felt, it's not going to do so.
Note: Many newer houses have hot water tanks set lower to avoid scalding, and these may not be hot enough to felt wool. Either reset your hot water tank to a higher temperature (around 140 degrees F), or add boiling water to the washing machine to bring the temperature up. -
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Spin the water out and remove the fabric from the washing machine. Do not let it sit in the machine or it might get folds that will be hard to remove.
If the fabric is felted, spread it on towels on a flat surface and let dry.
If the fabric does not felt as much as you would like, try putting it in a hot dryer while still damp. Check often so it doesn't shrink too much.
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Tips & Warnings
Always test the process on a small sample of fabric first to see how it is going to felt. Buy the minimum amount, usually 1/4 yard, and ask the fabric store to hold the bolt for you for 24 hours while you test on a small piece. Wool is expensive, so don't buy it until you are sure it's going to work the way you want it to. Buy plenty of fabric. Your goal is to shrink the fabric, so you will need at least two to three times as much as the pattern calls for to allow for shrinkage and varying the pattern layout.
Do not try to felt a lot of fabric at once. Use smaller lengths and repeat the process several times. If you put too much fabric in the machine at one time, it will not agitate enough for even felting. After the wool is felted and your garment is made, do not put it in the washing machine again. From here on out treat it as you would any fine wool garment.
