Project For Wet Felting
Recommended Supplies
Rectangular resist 6 inch x 8 inch (cardboard or fabric or bubble wrap)
Cotton fabric 12 inch x 16 inch
One ounce merino wool
Two plastic bowls
Olive Oil soap gel
Rubber mat
Two bath sized towels
Ballbrauser
Two pieces of mosquito netting 9 inch x 12 inch
Sponge
Step by Step Instructions
In a bowl add approximately 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil soap gel to three cups of warm water. Stir until blended.
Lay one towel out on a table and place the rubber mat on top of it.
Take one ounce of roving and divide in half lengthwise into two strips.
Pull each roving strip in half. To do this, hold roving strip in the middle with hands about 4” to 6” apart and gently pull. It should pull apart very easily. If not, place your hands further apart. If the strip is still thick divide again, making a smaller strip of wool roving. The goal is to make the strip a workable size for laying out the fibers. You may need to divide one more time if you are pulling thick tufts of wool while laying out the fibers.
Place resist on the rubber mat.
Layer One: About ¼” inch off the left edge of the resist, hold down a strip of roving with index finger crosswise and with other hand about 4 inches apart from the index finger gently pull a small and even amount of tuft of fiber. Continue laying tufts side by side (horizontally) with edges barely overlapping one another until you are about ¼” beyond the resist on the right edge.
Layer Two: The second layer is placed on the resist vertically (perpendicular to the first layer). Start the fiber layout at the top left of the resist (do not go beyond the edge of the resist) and continue laying out fibers side by side with edges barely overlapping one another. Continue laying out fibers with the last row of tufts placed ¼” beyond the edge of the resist (bottom of pouch).
Layer Three: The third layer is placed on the resist horizontally.
Layer Four: The fourth layer is placed on the resist vertically.
With the Ballbrauser, gently sprinkle warm soap solution on fibers but avoid the fibers that are beyond the edge of resist, keep them dry.
Place mosquito net on top. With fingertips press down to penetrate soap solution thoroughly into the fibers.
Hold the top of the project and net (with fingertips)and flip over gently with net side down.
Fold dry fiber over resist and lightly with Ballbrasuser wet the fibers so they stick to the resist.
Lay second side of pouch the same as first side.
Gently wet down fibers with Ballbrauser. Place mosquito net down on the fiber layout and with fingertips press down to penetrate soap solution thoroughly into the fibers.
Hold the top of the project and net (with fingertips) and flip over gently. Fold over any dry fibers. You are now ready to start the actual felting process.
Put net back on pouch and massage top side of pouch for a total of 10 minutes. Periodically lift net to prevent it from felting onto the fiber. Flip nets and project together and massage the other side of pouch for 10 minutes. Felting tips: 1)During the felting process add soap solution as needed; and, 2) if there is too much soap solution on the pouch, take a sponge and press to absorb the cold water; then reapply fresh warm soap solution as needed. Squeeze out cold water in separate bowl.
Take scissors and cut evenly along top of pouch (the end you did not overlap dry fiber). Gently pull apart and remove resist.
With soapy hands, place one hand inside of pouch and the other hand on the outside of the pouch. Gently rub with fingertips and continue rubbing the pouch between 10-15 minutes (you can get more aggressive rubbing as the wool begins to felt). Work on the edges so a thick line does not form down each side of the pouch (if there is irregularity in the edge gently rub and gently stretch out the line) and the inside corners to prevent lumps in the felt. Also, rub the cut edges until the raw edges disappear. You may sponge out the cold soap solution and add warm soap solution during this stage of the felting.
Squeeze out some of the soap solution from the pouch. Then take the pouch and roll it up in a cotton fabric (like a cigar). Roll about 50 times on a table in each direction and on both sides of the pouch. After each rolling sequence, unroll the pouch from the cotton fabric. Gently place one hand in the pouch and pull sides apart gently. This will prevent the pouch sides from felting together. Check sides also to make sure no seams are forming. Reroll and proceed in a different direction.
Rinse pouch with warm water. Squeeze lightly but keep enough water in the pouch making it mushy. Go to the work surface and throw the watery pouch on the table at least 30 times. Be aggressive with throwing the pouch - it should make a thump sound when hitting the work surface.
Rinse pouch with cool water. Soak in vinegar water for a few minutes (about 1 teaspoon per three cups of water)
Squeeze water out of pouch. Roll pouch up in a dry towel and roll to squeeze until pouch is “towel dry”.
Unroll, shape and block pouch. Allow to dry.
Drop down to lay out the second row. Repeat as above, but overlap fibers next to one another and with the previous row. Continue until the resist is covered with the first layer of fiber. Look at your overall first layer and fill in fiber tufts in the thin areas. Remember you want a consistent layout before going to the next layer and fiber should overlap on three edges of the resists ¼” to ½”.
The pouch is now ready for the final stage of felting (fulling).
Enjoy your pouch!!!