Why Won't it Felt! Felting Problems
Challenges of Recycling and Repurposing Wool Yarns and Fabrics
Jul 24, 2008
The felting of old recycled woollen sweaters, blankets and garments to produce a firm, felted fabric that is ideal for turning into bags, hats or other great accessories is a popular craft. Many books and magazine articles suggest that the felting of wool fabric and yarn should be as easy as popping it into the washing machine for perfect results every time. The reality, however, can be very different. It is important to know why wool based fabric and yarns might not felt to help avoid wasting time and effort.
Before looking at the reasons why a fabric might not felt, it is useful to look at the key requirements of wet felting fibers (this is different to needlefelting or dry felting):
- Water – the traditional wet felting process (not dry or needle felting) requires water in order for the fibers to felt and mesh together. The water squeezes the air from the fibers and allows them to lock tightly together.
- Heat – hot water speeds up the felting process making the fibers shrink. This makes a firm and sturdy felted fabric. Any temperature water will work, however the hotter the water the quicker the process wil occur.
- Agitation – rubbing the fibers together will encourage them to tangle and lock together. Agitating the fibers either by hand or in a washing machine will help the felting process. It is also possible to 'shock' the fibers by throwing the sweater or garment onto the floor or other hard surface. Agitation is one of the most important requirements of felting - don't be gentle!
Felting Problems
The process of felting is so simple that when there are problems it is likely to be down to the yarn or fabric rather than the process or technique. This is particularly likely when working with recycled wool yarns and fabrics where accurate information about the fiber or yarns used are unavailable.
100% Wool?
Wool will felt regardless of whether it is mixed with other non felting fibers such as silk or cotton, however the finished effect will be much less noticeable. A mix of 50% wool and silk will felt, although not as much as pure wool. A yarn or fabric with just a small amount of wool may stay virtually unchanged during the felting process. Other animal fibers such as angora, alpaca and mohair will felt, however the effect varies depending on fiber type.
Machine Ready Wool
Some wools are preprocessed so they can be machine washed. These wools will not felt as all the key features that are required by the felting process have been removed. Machine washable wools are great for hardwearing garments – but sadly useless for felting.
Already Felted or Shrunk
When buying old woolen garments or other items for felting it is important to be aware that these may have already felted or shrunk through general wear and tear over the years. A pure wool blanket, for instance, even when washed in the most gentle manner may partially felt over the years, meaning that a much less dramatic result will be achieved.
Is it Really Wool?
Many man made fibers that are made into yarns and fabrics feel like wool and it can be difficult identifying these when looking at unlabeled items. Man made fibers will not shrink.
Before buying an item for felting it is worth double checking and making sure that it looks as though it has all the right features. Although second hand and used items are often available at low cost, it is a waste of time and effort to buy items and go through the felting process only to end up looking just as they did before starting!
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