Traditional Wet Felting

This is one of the oldest ‘crafts’ around today. Legend has it that a very long time ago a Greek shepherd put some fleece into his shoes to make it more comfortable – later to find that the friction and pressure of walking, plus moisture and warmth turned the fleece into felted fabric!

You will need:

Creswick Crafts Alpaca or Merino fibre, A mat, or similar, for backing sheet or skin, Hot water,
Soap flakes or grated pure soap

• Be assured that felting can be done by complete beginners – or taken into the high realms of fashion and
sculpture – without changing the simple steps and processes needed. It does require space to create, and as
moisture is a vital ingredient I suggest you work on the kitchen sink or better still, out in the back yard.

• The fleece is layered onto an outer skin – and there are several materials that can be used for this. Bamboo
place mats (also used for sushi rolling), bubble wrap (used with bubbles closest to the fleece), fine chicken wire
or lace curtain material are all suitable, and ideal, depending on the size of the felted piece you require.

• Take a handful of processed fleece – sometimes known as wool tops. Hold the fleece in one hand and gently
pull a small amount out of the larger piece, and layer it onto your lower skin – cross hatch each layer of fleece
for about 3-4 layers deep. The shape of the layered fleece is the shape of your finished piece of felting. Place
another skin over this and roll up the work tightly and hold it in the rolled position.

• Mix boiling water with soap flakes or grated kitchen soap, mix well to dissolve. Pour the hot water generously
over the rolled felting and then start rolling, banging it down onto a hard surface, more rolling, more soapy water,
more banging and rolling. The pressure combined with the heat will turn the fleece into felt. Open up the felting
and check – do you need to add more fleece, or gently alter the shape of the felting? Do it now, if required. You
may like to layer another coloured fleece on top of the felting, or add single strands of yarn or areas of colour
with yarn – experiment! Roll up the felting and repeat the process of moisture and pressure. Open it again to
do a final check.

• When you are satisfied with the shape and quality of felting, roll it up again and pour over generous amounts of
cold water. This change of temperature will finally shrink the fibres together permanently, and rinse out as much
of the soap as possible.

• Allow the unwrapped work to dry flat in the shade. Make hand-sewn quilts, cushion fronts, throws, scarves or
garments from felted pieces.

There are many well written and illustrated books available on felting, and I suggest you read all you can about this un-demanding craft. Fleece used in felting can be merino, alpaca or mohair, and while man-made, silk or cotton fibres can be used to embellish felted pieces, felting can only occur when fibres of wool fleece are locked together through the felting process.