How to make a knit felt is actually quite simple , though time consuming process. You can learn to felt with simple instructions . If knitting is useful , knit felt is totally addicting ! The only limit is your imagination . You can make hats , placemats , bags , coasters , slippers , dolls and much more . How It Works Felting is the process of breaking down the natural animal fibers ( wool , alpaca , angora , etc. ) through agitation . Especially for felted knitting , washing machine agitating .
When animals are exposed to fibers heat and humidity and then agitated , hair ties around loose , causing the fibers to expand , loosen and bind together . This creates texture , smooth felted , felt similar to the routine . Are you wet felting already less than satisfactory ? Or maybe you have not tried it yet and want to make it right the first time . The following tips will help you master the wet felting wool . Fiber Choice First , you need to choose the right wool for felting . Some fibers are not good at all felt .
Try felting alpaca wool or merino wool . A little more expensive but tasted fine fibers very well. Other intermediate fiber sheeps ' felt is good too . When you choose your wool , make sure staples uniform length . Your project will be completed and shed a little less hairy . 3 inches is a good length . Felting fiber test with a small sample to see if it will be satisfactory for your project is completed . Lay your wool layering at 90 degrees to the last layer . 5-6 thin layers is actually better than 2-3 layers thick . You will be more even coating and fiber you will be better felt . Check the layers you to see that there are no thin places .
This examination will go a long way to make sure you and even coating will prevent a lot of problems in your finished project . You have to throw your felt made only if there are thin spots or too much wasted a lot of time going back over it with needle felting and fiber to fill thin sections . Save yourself some time and do it right the first time . Phase I make felt Use the screen and sponge method of felting . It holds the fibers in place and keep the fibers from sticking to your hands . It really helps make better even felt . Note the amount of soap and water you use . Too much water and fiber you drift away from each other , instead of felting.
If the pool water between your fingers when you press down , then you 've used too much . This is where the sponge is really helpful . You can better control the amount of water you use and keep it to a minimum . Soap is better? Nope . You will create a bubble that separates the fibers so that they can not lock together and felt . Really, you only need a small amount of soap .
Do not press too hard at first . Gradually add the pressure will make your fiber felt better and make more even felted wool . Keep your water as hot as possible . If the water has cooled down , add more hot water . If this will cause problems with too much water , water with a towel to absorb before adding more fiber to your . Fulling Stage This is what will make or break your felt you just created .
During fulling you remove air from between the fibers to make them fit tighter . If you do not tighten the fiber , your project will get messy pills and warehouses . Which is the best method of fulling ? This is not a method , it's whether you finish the fulling process . So just choose what the best method for you . How do you know when it's done fulling ? If you pull on your felt and stretches , it was not done . You must felt until firm . Keep warm while you fulling . If you can , full in the sink or tub so that you have access to hot water during the fulling process .
Finishing When you have completed the fulling process you need to completely rinse the soap with cold water . Leaving soap can damage the fibers to make them brittle , or they may even be destroyed from time to time . Just gently squeeze out excess water . Do not squeeze . To speed up the drying time , roll in a towel to remove noticeably more water . Let dry completely before adding another . Wool has a very good memory . It will hold whatever shape you dry it in. A full 24 hours is required for your wool to dry completely . Now that you have mastered the art of wet felting , your project will be of high quality . Friends and family will be happy to receive a gift of your felted or , if you do felts sell , you will have satisfied customers . Now go and make a big felt !
