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Thrift stores are usually a good place to find wool sweaters and also wool fabric (blazers, coats, skirts). Finding them is half the fun! Now that you have them what do you do next?
First off there's no exact science to this process so take my experience and refine it with your own experimentation :o) Part of the fun is you never know how much for sure it's going to shrink or how it's going to felt. :o)
Anything with at least a 50% wool content will produce a felting result from worn and fuzzy to fantastic dense felt. Then every different type of wool (lambswool, merino, angora, etc.) will produce a different hand and degree of felting. It's all part of producing a one of a kind creation! The flaws create character that makes it distinctly "yours". :o)
Ok, now I recommend the following ways to prepare the wool:
For Wool Blankets:
I would cut up the blanket into smaller pieces then put the smaller pieces into the garment bags or a pillowcase. If your washing machine has a filter that is easy to get to then you could try felting the blanket in one piece but just be aware of the major lint that's going to drain out during the cycle. If you hear a hum and nothing happening with the washer then you know your filter is clogged..LOL
For Wool Sweaters:
Extra Heavy weight:
*Cut off the sleeves and then cut out the sleeve seam so it will lay flat as a piece of fabric would.
*Cut off the collar
*Cut off the shoulder seams and side seams (if no side seams cut it apart either on both sides or down the center to make one large piece of wool.
For Medium weight:
You may get away with just cutting out the sleeves and collar and shoulder seams.
For Light weight:
You can cut off the collar and sleeves or even throw it in with just the collar cut out of it.
For Wool Fabric (Yardage, Blazers, Coats, Skirts)
Cut out the linings. I like to cut up all of it and get rid of the bulky seams and find out how much interfacing it has. Some of it has been heat fixed and will not come off and some of it will come off. I throw all of the pieces in to see what happens. It's all usable for different techniques.
Okie doke...you've got it all prepared and ready to go in the washing machine.
Next...
It's very important to place your wool in garment washing bags. The Woolite Wash Bag is great..it's very tightly woven so very little to no lint winds up in the washing machine. You can also use a tightly woven Pillowcase..Too much lint in a washing machine filter is not a good thing...been there, done that! Save yourself a great delay and just use the bags or pillowcases. :o)
*Place one sweater to each bag
There are several options for additives to ensure better felting.
Use one of the following:
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
or
* One Tablespoon Dawn Dishwashing Detergent
or
* Laundry Detergent such as Tide, Cheer, etc.
Washing Machine Process
* Set the water level to the low setting
* Set it to a HOT/COLD temperature
*Place up to three wash bags into machine and a piece of denim to enhance the friction during the agitation.
*Put in your choice of additive
*Set machine on the longest cycle and set a timer or keep a close watch on the agitation period. You want to reset the agitation to the beginning so it goes through a total of two times and them let it complete the rinse and spin out.
Now that the load is finished take out the bags and kind of shake them around to spread out the contents and then throw them into a hot dryer.
When you remove them from the dryer and unzip the bags be aware of a major amount of lint. Sometimes it easiest to go outside and pull out the pieces and let the lint fall and then go back and sweep it up. Or stand there at the dryer and patiently pick out the lint so it doesn't fly everywhere :o)
Now...Go Create!!
queenofdreamsz ~ keeper of dream kingdom
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