How to Wet Felt

I recently decided to learn how to wet felt properly so following a felting book learnt a really easy way to make felt. I have tried to make the instructions as clear as possible.

Start with laying the colours you want in a horizontal direction in a quite thick layer of fleece making the piece as big or as small as you wish; then lay white merino fleece in a vertical direction to cover the previous layer; then another layer of white in the horizontal direction but make this layer very wispy fleece; finally another layer of your chosen colours in the vertical direction. When all that is done put the fleece on a large piece of bubble wrap and use hot soapy water to saturate the fleece ( using olive soap to dissolve in the water is best but just a bit of fairy liquid is perfectly fine). When the fleece is fully wet lay another piece of bubble wrap on top and pour a little more water on the outside bubble wrap to prevent your hands sticking to it. Then starting rubbing your hands round to agitate the fibres and start to make them felt. After twenty minutes of this action turn your piece over and do the same to the other side. You know your piece is done when you can pinch the felt and individual fibres don't lift up. Then just rinse and squeeze as much water out as possible, your wet felt is done.

Just an extra note to say that I have finished crocheting my scarf and it is currently drying after being washed. I have decided to make a wet felted piece to needle felt onto my scarf which one end will go through, the felted piece is a mix of pink, yellow,blue and purple which goes really well with my red scarf.

I have also washed my handbag as the flap was starting to curl in one corner but washing seems to have sorted it out.

Meghan