Has anyone here experience with felting?

[Abbe Osram]

Hi guys,
I had a shot in the art of felting. Wanted to felt a boot.
The trouble is that the wool was felting in flakes, at some places the wool sticked nicely together, at other places only the shingels of wool I put over each other before the felting started, felted together resulting in a hopless uneven felting process. A big piece is felted ok other places looks like rotten meat hanging from a dead body.

What did I do wrong? Did I use to much water or why did the felting happend so uneven?

cheers and thanks
Abbe

 

[torjusg]

I did it at school once, I can recall. Made mittens. I am not sure if I remember everything correctly though.

Maybe you didn't use enough wool. It is advantageous to use raw, unwashed wool. It has to have the same direction. And you have to have at least two layers, going in the opposite direction of each other. With raw wool you don't need as much soap, but some is advantagous. And use plenty of water. Don't really think you can use too much.

You can add more wool to thin spots if it is not too late in the process. And you have to start really big! At least three times the finished surface. It shrinks a lot as it thickens. Maybe that is your problem? Started too small?

When you have reached the approximate size of your garment. Custom fit it by rubbing it on the foot you are going to wear it on. You will smell like a sheep before you are done.

I sewed thin leather on the inside of my mittens to reduce wear.

Edit: Rub it gently over the edge of your pattern (you used a pattern right?) first. Work gently to begin with.

Hope this helps.

Torjus Gaaren

 

[Toddy]

Hi Abbe, I make felt. But, there's felt and there's felt.
If done very gently, no more than about 10% shrinkage, then the felt will be soft, pliable and will shape easily. If it is shrunk by much more than that you will end up with a stiff felt that is ideal for boots and slippers, bags and hats.
The problem is that not all wool felts well.
If the wool you use has a lot of kemp in it, that's the stiffer, straighter hairs, it will give you patches that won't be well integrated into the whole piece.

I rarely felt 'in the grease' because it takes too long, I use hot, soapy, water in a squirty plastic bottle, and layer the felt, squirting hot soapy liquid over each layer as I build up the felt.
Then I lay a piece of bubble wrap over the whole thing and give the plastic a squirt of soapy water too, now comes the fun part work your way over the bubble wrap rubbing in circles with your fingers (very therapeutic, like skiddling in a sinkful of bubbles )
This needs to be done for about ten minutes or so. Then carefully peel back the bubble wrap and have a look at your felt, if it's all attached to itself, great, if not, do it some more.

When it is all attached peel off the bubble wrap and wash the felt piece in very hot water then into very cold water, the felt will shrink and become much stiffer. Pieces can be joined together simply by making felt in the middle between two pieces.

If you want a shaped piece like a boot or a glove then you need a mould, and to be honest the washing machine is your best quick felting friend here Build up the felt as before but work it together over the mould (you can use your foot or hand but remember it will have to shrink quite considerably to felt so won't fit when you're finished) If you cut out a flat template from wood, plastic or heavy cloth and felt over both sides of it you can pull the finished felted piece apart in the middle and thus make socks or mittens, by the same method as above.
When you have the basic felted shape put it into the washing machine and give it a coolwash, pull it out and have a look, if it seems sound then pop the whole thing into the tumble dryer and the heat and agitation will finish off the felting

Traditionally feltmaking, shoe insoles apart, is damned hard hot sweaty work that leaves your hands covered in dry hard skin that cracks and forms hacks very easily. Rubber gloves are good things if you're doing more than a couple of small pieces.

It is wonderful stuff though, colourful, springy, comfortable, hard wearing....

Best of luck with it,
Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Toddy,
thanks a lot for your info. The biggest problem I have at the moment is how I lay out the fluffy wool in a way that it is even. Then I believe I was casting to fast the water onto the wool resulting into a quick felting in one area and getting it cold in another. But I am not sure. I put up some pictures for you to see my process. I made the wool fluffy and layed it out in layers, like shingles on a rooftop, half laying over each other. I tried to have it even, I even used a form but later had to open it up, the corners where not sticking together, In the last picture you can see my biggest problem, the shingles of wool where felting but not felting nicely together as a big piece = everything together. It was ok in one area in another area it sucked big time.

Here are the pictures:

do you see the flakes in the last picture? They should have been in one big piece hanging together not flapping like dog ears in the wind.

thanks
cheers
Abbe

 

[shadow57]

Hello Abbe....My pal says that washed and carded Merino wool is the best quality for consistant results. Long staple lengths give a stronger finish.

One trick , to stabilise the matted wool at the end of the process is to gather the felt up roughly and throw it onto the worksurface a few times.

My pal is interested in what type of sheep breed you used.

John

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hello Abbe....My pal says that washed and carded Merino wool is the best quality for consistant results. Long staple lengths give a stronger finish.

One trick , to stabilise the matted wool at the end of the process is to gather the felt up roughly and throw it onto the worksurface a few times.

My pal is interested in what type of sheep breed you used.

John

mate I dont know for sure what they sold me, I think it was a mixed bag.
I ask for finewool of Leicester and Gobeläng type. I am not sure if that helps you but it was finewool type.

cheers
Abbe

 

[Toddy]

Shadow 57's right about the Merino, but sometimes you've just got to go with what you have.

You've obviously got the general gist of the process Abbe, but I think you've had too much air in between some of the fleece, and the trapped air has been squashed like flattened bubbles and that has allowed the wool to felt in the 'flakes' rather than as a piece.
Can you get hold of a very fine crochet hook? If not a large eyed needle will do.
Open up each of the layers and try to tease out some of the fibres, now carefully lay in a very fine layer of freshly carded wool ( the wool you're using looks excellent lots of crimp) Make up another very fine layer and lay it underneath your felt.
Now stab through all of the layers with the crochet hook bringing some fibres up through to start binding the layers together. If you're using the needle thread some of the fleece through the eye and bring it up from underneath and through all of the layers. Now re-felt the piece again using hot water, pressure and agitation, but press all of the air out quite firmly...a potato masher helps

Hope this helps Abbe, if nothing else though you can cut up the piece you've made for sewing into mitts and slippers for the kids or insoles for your boots.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[BorderReiver]

http://gfwsheep.com/flatfelt/flatfelt1.html

I think this came from BCUK.

 

[sandspec]

Hey, just an important point when handling raw fleece. Please wash it carefully first. Raw fleece carries many nasty bacteria etc which can be especialy nasty.
Fleece making can be great fun, if a little wet !¬!!!!

 

[shadow57]

Hello Abbe....after reading your thread ...I asked my lady friend about making felt.

She had some spare marino wool so I gave it a go.

I only made a small piece to find out what problems there would be.

To be different I used 8 thin layers, boiling water, and bubble wrap.

The result was good ....but it was only a small piece.

John

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hello Abbe....after reading your thread ...I asked my lady friend about making felt.

She had some spare marino wool so I gave it a go.

I only made a small piece to find out what problems there would be.

To be different I used 8 thin layers, boiling water, and bubble wrap.

The result was good ....but it was only a small piece.

John

this looks very nice mate, very nice indeed!
cheers
Abbe

 

[shadow57]

Hello again...continuing the theme on felt...has anyone had a go at making a hat from felt?

John