Wool Felt Making Fleece Into Felt

Making wool felt

Wool felt is a wonderful, tactile textile which has many uses from wool jackets to wool rugs. It is always made from pure wool and differs only in the type of wool used and the way in which it is made. Sheep wool is the customary material used in felt making and it can be an extremely cheap way of creating a warm, wearable and attractive wool fabric. Sheep wool may often be obtained for nothing from sheep farmers who frequently have no market for the fleeces.

Preparing the fleece

When you acquire your fleece, the chances are it will be rolled up, tied with a loose bit of fleece and filthy dirty. The first thing to do is to soak it in cold water and give it a bit of a scrub.

Fleece rinsing

Making wool fleece

Change the water several times and get all of the dirt out. You may prefer to soak the fleece in tepid water which is fine, but use the same temperature all the time as it is the sudden change in temperatures which causes wool to shrink. Pick out all the burrs and bits of mud, grass and other extraneous bits and pieces. Put the fleece inside a pillow slip and spin in the washing machine to remove excess water. Peg onto the clothes line until dry.

Carding wool

and using fleece combs

At this stage you will need a pair of carding combs which look like dog brushes with steel teeth, one is for the left hand and one for the right. When the fleece is completely dry, separate it out into manageable pieces and lay it piece by piece onto your hand carders. Proceed to draw one carder over the other in opposite directions to comb out the fibres and leave them lying all in the same direction. This process is also the same if you want to spin your wool into wool yarn for wool sweaters.

Making felt with wool fibers

To commence making felt use a surface that is either waterproof or that can be covered with a large oilcloth but the best way is to cover your table with a sheet of heavy duty plastic. Place a large sheet of bubble wrap, bubble side up onto the plastic sheet, on this lay a selection of fibres in a single layer, the fibres must all be facing in the same direction. Place another layer over the first one with the fibres running at 90° to the first layer. Repeat the process once more so that you have a total of four layers of wool fibres. Sprinkle the surface of the fibres with hot water until they are quite wet, cover them with another sheet of bubble wrap (bubbles down) and gently massage the fibres into place (about five minutes) pour a little hot water onto the bubble wrap and soap it to make it easier to work. Turn the whole package and repeat the massage using a little more soap.

Rolling the felt

After massaging your piece, it is now time to roll. Roll up the whole package gently as the felt is fragile at this stage of the process. Roll gently backwards and forwards thirty times. Unroll and roll up from a different direction, roll gently backwards and forwards again, repeat until you have rolled from all four sides. Turn the whole piece over and repeat the rolling process all over again increasing the pressure on the piece as you roll it until the felt is ready.

Wet felting

Water will be oozing out of the package as you roll so be prepared with cloths to mop up the excess. When the felt is ready rinse in clear water to remove all the soap and gently squeeze out the water, do not wring the fabric, dry flat in gentle heat or outside in the shade.

This is the basic way of making wool felt, the decorations and colours are added during the process of laying out of the fibres.