Have you just recently discovered wet felting, and don’t know where to start? I’ve put together a list of resources for you to help you know what to learn next.
START BY MASTERING THE BASIC WET FELTING SHAPES
When people approach me about learning to wet felt, they often tell me they’d like to make scarves and garments, so they’re particularly interested in nuno felting.
But to get to nuno felting and other more demanding techniques, you need to be confident with the basics first.
So, here are the simplest instructions for the 3 basic shapes, whether you would like to work with wool batts or with wool tops.
And here are a couple of additional tips that can help you perfect your technique:
In case you’re not sure what a pre-felt is or what it’s for, here’s a short article that can help: What’s a pre-felt?
WHY DOES WOOL FELT? THE 5 ELEMENTS NEEDED TO WET FELT
It’s important to understand why wool felts, since it can also help you know why something went wrong with a project. These are the 5 elements needed to wet felt: 1) wool, 2) soap, 3) water, 4) heat and 5) agitation/pressure.
Why don’t other fibers felt like wool? Well, wool is a very special fiber. It has microscopic scales along its surface. When the fibers come in contact with moisture and pressure, these scales open up and lock onto nearby fibers to form the tight mass we call felt. Heat and soap facilitate the felting process. As the fibers tighten onto each other, the piece shrinks. And the process is irreversible!
Source: https://www.powermerino.com/merino-wool-benefits.html
Are you interested in knowing more about the 5 elements needed for wet felting? Click on the links below to access more detailed articles.
WHAT IS WHAT IN WET FELTING?
Do you keep hearing terms like fleece, wool batts, wool tops, and don’t actually know what these are? Here’s an article that can help you with that. And an additional one on the types of felt.
FREE PROJECTS
Here are a couple of simple wet felting projects to try what you’ve just learnt.
FEELING READY TO START WORKING WITH RESISTS?
Have you been experimenting a bit and would like to peak into wet felting with resists? Then check out these two blog posts that introduce you to them.
WHERE TO GET YOUR WOOL AND HOW TO STORE IT
If you can’t find a supplier near you, the best thing is to place an order online. Here’s a list of online suppliers that I’ve either personally ordered from or have been recommended by my students.
Have you already ordered your wool, but aren’t sure how to store it to protect it from bugs? You can find tips on this in the article below.
I hope this was helpful and I wish you lots of fun in your new hobby!
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