Wow! Here in Oregon, it has gone from chilly to friggin' warm in like a week! Definitely time to dust off the old air conditioner and pay extra on the power bill!
Recently I have made several bracelets and earrings, but I decided to get out that wool and acrylic that I have been dying to use and make something out of it. I learned how to felt via a washing machine, and I have a purse drying on the clothes line as I type. It is actually pretty easy.
1.) Once you have your project completed, place it in a zippered pillow case protector, or if you don't have one, then do what I did and use a normal clean pillowcase and tied the end up, making sure that the whole pillowcase was closed, leaving no gaps in the knot.
2.) So I took:
- about a 1/4 cup of wool detergent depending on the size of the project (I got mine from Fred Meyers, but Woolite or any store brand delicate wash detergent will do)
- and set my washer to hot (but not boiling, so I could open the pillowcase every so often)
- with low water level (most washers will be low level water the first 5 minutes of the wash, unless your washer has a specific low level water setting.)
- and maximum agitation (do not let the spin or rinse cycle come on, it can cause permanent creases)
3.) You need to check the item every 5 minutes or so, to make sure the process is working. Reset your washer for the above settings, then repeat until the item has shrunk to the desired size. Make sure that you DO NOT let the washer go into rinse or spin.
4.) Once your item is finished, rinse out the detergent in warm water completely and roll into towels to get as much water out of your item as you can. Pull into shape if needed and let dry completely.
If you follow these steps, you should have a neat wool felted thingamabob!
