Melody
The Great North Woods in the Land of Hiawatha
USA
3324 Posts
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 07:16:46 AM
HELP! I have never felted soap before and have gone online to several different tutorial sites to learn. Well I practiced over the weekend with some wool someone sent me and some wool I purchased at the local farmers market. I noted a vast difference in how the felting turned out and also one wool smelled highly of wet dog and the other wool didn't. Some wool "felted" very nicely while the other wool just kind of laid there and could easily be pulled of the soap. Is there a specific type of wool I should be using...Merino maybe? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am HOOKED on felting and would love to be able to perfect this as I know this will be a profitable addition to my handcrafted soap business-By the Bay Soap.
I know some of the gals who spin and felt on here can help you Melody. I've not tried felting yet but I know you can put the wool inside a folded tea towel...wet it and apply the dish soap to the outside of the towel and rub the towel with your hand. Hot water rinses seem to be the key to getting a good felt from tutorials I've read. Believe it or not I'm saving my 2 long haired cats fur that is so soft and silky and I'm going to try felting it. The gals suggested I add in another type of wool with it that will bind it tighter. Every time I brush them the fur goes into a ziplock baggie for a future project. Good luck and I hope you get lots of suggestions.
I have been making felted soap for about 12 years and sell it at my farm shop. There are several tricks here - first the wool works best when you know the breeds. Merino is the quickest to felt and will give you the smoothest results. However, Correidale Sheep and Southdown where two breeds I raised that they too made incrediable felted soap. Icelandic also works great but I have also done soaps with Llama, Alpaca, Camel and Cashmere so this brings us to the next trick - the soap. Some designer or homeade soaps will not aid in the sucess of felt. Oilve Oil soaps are best. Next you have to wrap correctly and then your technique on felting is important. You have to work with really hot then cold water to shock the fibers and you must work the fibers to give enough movement. You can not hurray either of the process otherwise you will have uneven sloppy felt. Next, you really must make sure you give the felt resting time inorder to check the felt - I set mine on a big towel and let the sun cure it. It really helps in the long run.
I hope that helps but if you have any further questions I will be checking in - I am sure others will have advice too. Good luck.
Grace Gerber Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Having trouble felting soap....
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 07:16:46 AM
