How to Quilt With Wool
Wool is a warm and versatile fiber that makes a great batting for hand and machine quilting. Felted wool appliques can bring the warmth of the wool to the outside of the quilt and add color and personalization to the finished product. Quilting with wool presents challenges that are unique to the fiber compared to working with cotton or polyester batting, but the result is natural, long-lasting and lends added warmth.
Things You'll Need
- Wool batting (washed and carded, either natural or dyed)
- Water
- Dish soap
- Rotary cutter
- Cutting mat
- Quilting fabric
- Cheesecloth
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine or sewing needle
- Color-coordinated thread
Instructions
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Wool Appliques
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Tear off a chunk of wool batting that is about four to six inches square. Lay the square of wool on a table, counter or mat and wet it thoroughly. Add about a tablespoon of dish soap over the surface of the wool. The water and soap will aid in felting.
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2
Press both hands down on top of the wool and begin slowly agitating the wool. Work your hands back and forth in short strokes while pressing hard on the wool until you feel it start to bond together. Begin scrubbing the surface harder once the wool begins to fuse, flipping it over periodically to work both sides evenly.
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3
Work the wool until it is one completely solid sheet of felt. Add water throughout the process if the wool begins to feel dry. Once the wool is a solid sheet of felt, rinse it well and squeeze out the excess water. Allow it to dry fully before working with it any further.
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4
Cut the dry felt with a rotary cutter on a cutting mat into the shapes you want to use. You can cut triangles, squares, hearts or other free-form shapes. Trim any frayed or jagged edges so the edges are smooth.
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5
Sew the wool applique onto your quilt with a blanket stitch. You can also fuse the felt to other felt pieces using felting needles.
Wool as Quilt Batting
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6
Lay out the bottom layer of fabric for your quilt so that it lies completely flat and the wrong side of the fabric is facing up. Lay a layer of cheesecloth over the fabric. The cheese cloth is used to prevent "bearding," which is when the fibers of the batting poke through the surface of the fabric of the quilt.
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Lay your layer of wool quilt batting over the bottom layer of fabric, lining up the edges so that the edges are even. You can purchase sheets of wool that have been carded into quilt batting from wool mills like Leilinger Mill or Spinderella's. Place another layer of cheesecloth over the wool.
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8
Lay the top layer of fabric that you will be stitching your appliques or patchwork onto on top of the batting, lining up the edges evenly and having the right side of the fabric facing up. Pin all the layers together with straight pins.
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9
Sew the layers together along the outer edges, then sew straight lines four to six inches apart down the length and across the width of the quilt using a straight stitch. You will have a criss-cross pattern that creates squares on the surface of the quilt.
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Quilt your patchwork or appliques on the base quilt as desired. Once the quilting is finished, finish the edges of the quilt with either a blanket stitch around the edging or a fabric or ribbon edging.
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Tips & Warnings
Reviews on different brands and preparations of wool quilt batting can be found on Quilt.com's Batting Frequently Asked Questions.
Other preparations of wool such as combed top, loose washed locks or roving can be used to felt your own appliques.
Wool can contain trace amounts of lanolin, which can irritate people with lanolin allergies. If you are allergic to lanolin, use a cotton or polyester batting for your quilting.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
