Felting Wool

All of a sudden I have been bitten by the "felted wool" bug. I have so many cure "folk art" style wall hangings made from felted wool, I decided I need to make one for myself. Actually, I have a great pattern I would like to make. It is the head of a cat with a bird sitting on his head. But, I have found that felted wool is very expensive. So, here's my question. How do you felt wool and can you felt any wool. ie...can I go to a thrift store and buy wool clothing and then felt the wool?

Mardi Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot com. ____________________

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Reply to
M. Wetmore
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If I can be of any assistance...just wash the wool the way you are NOT supposed to...warm to hot water, throw it in the dryer...et voila!

Off for the weekend to QUILT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lynne >

Reply to
Lynne in Toronto

I do it all the time. I buy wool skirts (more fabric) at Goodwill and our local flea market, cut apart, wash in hot water with a little laundry detergent, rinse in cold (it's the sudden change in temperature that shrinks wool). Dry in the dryer and enjoy! I'm on my fourth wall hanging/table runner. I made the one with chickens and eggs (the pennies) around the outside that Connecting Threads had in their catalog. You can even overdye wool (eg. light color plaid) with another color such as green, blue, etc. I haven't tried this yet but some of my friends have and they used RIT, not the expensive dyes being sold now. Use only 100% wool because mixed blends don't shrink well. To tell if it's wool, snip off a small piece and put in a cup of bleach. In an hour or two it will be completely gone--if it is a blend or a polyester, it will still be in your cup. Good luck and have fun. I like the thrill of finding fabric for nothing or a little of nothing---and you can find more variety that if you buy a yard of wool. Don't be afraid to use checks and plaids--they add texture and interest to your work.

Betty

Reply to
Betty in Wi

Or even boil it, so I understand? . In article , Lynne in Toronto writes

Reply to
Patti

Hi Betty:

Thanks...thats just the information I have been looking for. Since I hand dye my own fabrics, I suppose dyeing and felting will become my next project. I think the reason why your friends use Rit is that it is a hot water dye. Procion dyes (the expensive kind) are warm water dyes. So, I guess I could dye it and felt it at the same time!

Off to Goodwill to see if I can find some real wool clothing. Or, there's always E-Bay.

Mardi

Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot com. ____________________

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Reply to
M. Wetmore

I do traditional rug hooking and buy alot of 100% wool clothing at thrift stores. I also buy 100% wool on ebay....do a search and type in rughooking. I also dye my wool for this. I try to buy light colored wool and then use wool dyes to color. To felt wool, all I do is throw wool (even pieces from thrift store whole) into my washer and wash in hot water. Then into dryer and dry on hot setting. If it doesn't felt enough then redo it until you like the felting. When I dye, I sometimes boil the wool in the dye on my stove. Use enamel pans....not metal for this. and then set it with vinegar. If you plan to dye then soak it the night before in dishwasher rinse It helps the wool to absorb water. I have dyed with onion skins, blueberries and tea. I have heard you can dye with koolade too. You just don't get the intense colors as using the dye. But boiling it will also felt the wool. HOpe this helps. Barb

Reply to
Barbara Bowen

I make penny rugs, ornaments, hooked rugs, etc. often from "reclaimed" wool from thrift stores, Goodwill, etc. A good resource is men's suits, although you have to watch for that iron-on type of interfacing because it is impossible to get off! I learned that the hard way. LOL You can get a lot of fabric from the back of a men's suit, and also the sleeves. You want to look for a nice weight wool, not anything too fine. Also, if you are unassembling clothing items to reclaim the fabric, you may want to do it outdoors - there can be a fair amount of dust and lint during this process. I always wash in hot water with a cold rinse, throw it all in the dryer and have great results almost all of the time. Do be sure that it's 100% wool, as Betty noted, or you will be disappointed with the final product.

HTH- JoyceG in WA

Betty said in response to Mardi's note:

Reply to
Jmgreenfld

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