The Felting Process
If you have ever had a favourite wool sweater leave the washing machine tighter, thicker and matted, then you have already experienced the effects of wet felting - albeit unintentionally.
Let me explain my process...
I use merino wool pre-felt as a canvas and create the image using mostly dyed merino fibres. Pulled wisps of fibre are laid onto the base. They can also be combined with other colours and carded (combed together) to create additional shades and a more varied texture. As the picture progresses, I add silk and other fibres to add detail.
Snipping the wool is another way of layering and is useful when adding tiny amounts of colour. It is also a great way of creating movement and variety, within a colourful sky.
The surface used for wet felting needs to provide friction and I use a bamboo blind.
Placed on the bamboo, the picture is carefully covered with net (I use a plain net curtain), which holds the fibres in place during the initial stages.
A hot soapy solution is then sprayed over the net and smoothed down. (I use pure olive oil soap as it is kinder to the wool and to my hands!). More liquid is added slowly until the thickest fibres are soaked and the whole piece can be flattened and the air pressed out. Too much wetness will result in the fibres floating around, and not felting properly, so it is best to work slowly and add the solution gradually.
Available to buy here.
The felting process now begins. I use a glass ‘MOOL’ tool to rub away at the fibres as it adds weight and increases the friction.
Rubbing the Mool over the fibre in all directions, tangles the fibres together and begins to secure them – just like the washing machine does to your sweaters. This takes a few minutes depending on how much wool has been used.
Having worked the fibres for about 4 minutes, or until they are lightly bonded, the net is removed and the picture is rolled repeatedly inside the bamboo blind. This continues the bonding process and turns the fibres into a piece of felt. This gradually shrinks the more it is worked, so it is important to turn it 90° after each minute of rolling, to keep its’ shape and proportions.
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About 1 minute in each direction is all that is needed for the pictures, as it leaves the strands of fibre just loose enough to adjust. If I was making something that needed more durability like a bag for example, the rolling would continue a LOT longer as the fibres would need to be very tightly bonded to each other.
The soapy mixture is rinsed out in cold water...
... and the felt is screwed up tightly to remove any excess mositure.
Drying can take quite a while so I like to smooth out the rinsed picture, between towels. Rolling over this helps remove most of the moisture and flattens the work nicely.