MATERIALS

Merino Wool Tops

Plastic bubble wrap

Decorative Plastic Netting (available at Zart 10m rolls)

Plastic bottle with lid

Liquid detergent

Hot water

Cold water

Bucket

Rubber bands

Old towel/ tea towel

To Start

Lay Wool Tops out on to a sheet of Bubble wrap – Placing them in one direction, the next layer can go in the opposite direction (this will vary depending on the thickness you require your finished piece to be.) Make sure row-by-row the Wool Tops slightly overlap.

Continue this process until you have the size required. (Keep in mind the Wool Tops will shrink by about a third its original size)

You may wish to add some decoration to the surface of the piece– circles, flower shapes, stripes etc

Cover the surface

Once you have completed laying out the Wool Tops – the surface you have created needs to be covered.

The plastic mesh is ideal – this will hold the tops in place as you begin to wet down the wool.

Wetting down the Wool Fleece

Fill a plastic bottle with liquid detergent and warm to hot water. (An old plastic milk or water bottle with holes in the lid is ideal)

Carefully shake/squeeze the soap mixture over the work (and nylon mesh) to wet down the fleece.  

We now need to work the soapy mixture into the fleece (placing your hand inside a plastic bag gives a good result – but you can work directly with bare hands) work the soapy mixture in a circular motion into the wool fleece.  Make sure all wool is wet – dry wool will not felt.

Once you feel all the wool is wet through – carefully remove the plastic mesh.

This part is optional – if you have a lot of surface detail – it tends to work better if the surface is now covered with a fine plastic sheet-this will ensure any surface detail is not disturbed. Press the plastic sheet into place.

The rolling process

We are now ready to start the rolling process.

Taking the bubble wrap –roll your wet fleece and bubble wrap- secure the ends with rubber bands.

Wrap the rolled piece in an old towel or tea towel – this will soak up any excess liquid. Secure the ends with rubber bands

We now begin the rolling process- rolling and not squashing the piece  - roll the bubble wrap piece forward and backwards 100 times

Once you have rolled the piece 100 times unroll the work- Gently- If any thing has moved during this process – reposition them– remove the plastic sheet- and re- roll the work in the opposite direction

Re-wet the wool with a soapy mixture – reworking the mixture through the wool again   (at this point it is not necessary to apply the plastic mesh to the area)

We will now re-wrap the piece and roll in the opposite direction – counting 100 times

This process is then continued, either another 100 times or 200 times- depending on how fine you would like your felt to be.

Unroll your work – You should now have a strong piece of wool felt.

Any excess soap now needs to be rinsed off – rinsing the felted piece in hot water – wringing out the soap and then rinsing in cold water- finally in hot

Your felt fabric is now complete.