I now sew labels into many of my felted items, giving my blog address as my online presence. Every item sold has a Care of Wool Felt leaflet with it... but incase these get lost I decided to put this page up... and because I have a lot more room here, Ive been able to add to it.
Wool-felt is a fantastic fabric! For thousands of years its natural properties have made it very popular; amongst other things it is naturally dirt and odour repellent and has great thermal values. It is also beautiful. Because it is naturally dirt & odour repellent you will find that you very rarely, if ever, need to wash it.
The recipe for felting is basically: moisture+heat+soap+friction = FELTING. So, to wash felted items without changing the appearance of them we need to limit our use of these 4 elements.
A quick shake and air out will do the trick most often, even with creamy white felt bags. However, if you do need to wash it:
• Use luke-warm water with a little liquid wool wash in (or mild shampoo)
Wool-felt is a fantastic fabric! For thousands of years its natural properties have made it very popular; amongst other things it is naturally dirt and odour repellent and has great thermal values. It is also beautiful. Because it is naturally dirt & odour repellent you will find that you very rarely, if ever, need to wash it.
The recipe for felting is basically: moisture+heat+soap+friction = FELTING. So, to wash felted items without changing the appearance of them we need to limit our use of these 4 elements.
A quick shake and air out will do the trick most often, even with creamy white felt bags. However, if you do need to wash it:
• Use luke-warm water with a little liquid wool wash in (or mild shampoo)
• Submerge your felted item and leave it to soak for a few minutes
• Gently swish your felted item through the water a few times
• Rinse thoroughly using same temperature water, and same method.
Squeeze gently to remove excess water (squeeze like a sponge, don’t wring like a rag)
Squeeze gently to remove excess water (squeeze like a sponge, don’t wring like a rag)
• Blot between 2 towels to remove even more water. Pull back in to shape and leave to dry naturally, flat if possible. Cobweb felt dries quickly, thicker pieces & bags take longer.
If there is applied surface decoration, like the sheep on my Sheepish bags and purses or beads, please be extra careful in those areas.
DO NOT USE WASHING MACHINE or TUMBLE DRIER WITH YOUR WOOL FELT.
If there is applied surface decoration, like the sheep on my Sheepish bags and purses or beads, please be extra careful in those areas.
DO NOT USE WASHING MACHINE or TUMBLE DRIER WITH YOUR WOOL FELT.
Unless you want to felt/shrink it – if you do you should be aware that sometimes shrinkage can be severe. Either of these machines can potentially be used to full felt, although in my opinion this is rather risky as you have little to no control over the process.
I personally like to store my felt with lavender bags / sachets and pomanders – they smell fab & hopefully keep moths and other creepy crawlies at bay. I have heard that Cedar wood is also excellent for this, though haven’t tried it myself as yet.
I personally like to store my felt with lavender bags / sachets and pomanders – they smell fab & hopefully keep moths and other creepy crawlies at bay. I have heard that Cedar wood is also excellent for this, though haven’t tried it myself as yet.
