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Find old woolen sweaters. Clean out all the closets in your house, and take out the sweaters that are out of date or too small. Go to rummage sales and thrift stores and purchase wool sweaters inexpensively. You can use old woolen blankets to make felt as well. Blankets that have holes in them are perfect for this type of project.
Try to find sweaters and blankets that are at least 50 percent wool; 100 percent wool is better. The higher the percentage of wool in the original item, the better your felting results will be. - Cut apart the wool sweater at the seams. The seams will make the felt bulky and uneven. You may also want to cut out any ribbing on the bottom of the sweater and at the cuffs. Make sure to remove all buttons and snaps. You can also set aside any pockets or decorative parts to the clothing to add to your project later.
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Wash the wool sweaters in the washing machine. You can add a little dish washing soap if you want, but it is not necessary to the felting process. Use the same process you would to wash normal clothes. Make sure to turn your water setting to hot. Also choose the setting for heavily soiled clothes. This uses the agitator more, which speeds up the felting process. The heat is part of what makes the felt. Put the sweaters in the dryer to further strengthen the felt.
You can stop the washing machine during the wash cycle to check the felting. Skip to the rinse cycle if the felting is to your satisfaction. Then line dry the sweaters and blankets. If the wash cycle is complete, but the fabric is not felted enough, put the material in the dryer on a high heat setting. Repeat this whole process if the wool is not felted enough after drying. - Cut the felt up to your desired piece size for making different projects. You can make scarves, blankets, quilts, hats, purses, Christmas stockings and almost anything else you can think of where wool felt would be the perfect material.
