Felting wool is a kind of creativity based on the property of wool to felting - the adhesion of wool to each other under the influence of mechanical friction. Felt is used to make clothes, household items, ornaments.
What is required to make felt
There are two ways to roll wool - wet and dry. With the wet method, felt is obtained using an alkaline solution, which is soap, and rubbing with hands and improvised devices:
- rolling ropes;
−massagers;
−washing board;
−Air bubble film;
−bamboo rugs;
−plastic tubes.
In the process of felting, the wool shrinks by 30-50%, this must be taken into account when laying out the base.
Felting process
Take a bubble wrap, cut out the pattern of the product you want to get from it. Lay on it even thin strands of dry wool at least two layers (there may be more layers), oppositely directed. Lay out a pattern of colored wool on top of the base, cover the work with a thin net and water it with warm soapy water.
Rub the material evenly with your hands until pellets begin to form. This means that it is time to remove the mesh and continue working with improvised means, you can roll the product into a roll. This process is not fast, the product is rolled in different directions so that it does not deform, at least 50 times.
At the final stages of work, thermal shock is used, the product is alternately rinsed in cold and hot water and repeatedly beaten against the table. The readiness of the felt is determined by several criteria. The main one is density, the wool should not be soft and exfoliate. If the product is squeezed out, the water droplets are poorly absorbed and appear on the surface like dew. Also, on a quality felt, the direction of the fibers should not be visible.
Give the finished wet product its final shape and leave to dry. A felt product can be steamed with an iron, it becomes plastic, during steaming, you can correct the shape of the thing.
