What is felting?
Felting is a fiber craft that involves matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together to create fabric. It’s a versatile craft with a rich history and many different techniques to explore.
There are three main types of felting:
- Wet felting: This technique uses warm, soapy water to agitate the fibers until they interlock and create a dense fabric.
- Needle felting: This technique uses barbed needles to repeatedly stab the fibers, causing them to tangle and compress.
- Nuno felting: This technique combines wool fibers with other fabrics, like silk, to create lightweight and flowing felted pieces.
Felting is a popular craft for many reasons. It’s incredibly versatile, allowing you to create everything from small embellishments to large rugs. It also offers endless creative possibilities, with unique textures and colors to explore. Plus, felting is accessible to both beginners and experienced crafters.
This article will define felting by describing each of the three main techniques, the materials you’ll need, and the process involved. We’ll also explore the diverse applications and uses of each technique, so you can discover the world of felt making.
Wet Felting: Definition, Materials, and Process
Wet felting is a simple and satisfying way to create a dense, non-woven fabric from wool fibers. It’s a fun craft that anyone can learn, and it doesn’t require a lot of specialized equipment.
What is Wet Felting?
Wet felting is a process that uses water and agitation to interlock wool fibers, creating a unified piece of fabric. The water acts as a lubricant, and the agitation coaxes the fibers to cling to one another.
But how does it work, exactly? Wool fibers have scales, like tiny shingles, along their surface. When these fibers are wetted with warm, soapy water and then agitated, those scales open up and grab onto the scales of nearby fibers. As you continue to agitate, the fibers become more and more entangled, eventually forming a solid fabric.
Materials Needed for Wet Felting
To get started with wet felting, you’ll need a few essential materials:
- Wool fibers (roving or batting work well)
- Hot water
- Mild liquid soap (dish soap works great)
- A towel
- A plastic sheet, bubble wrap, or bamboo mat to protect your work surface
You may also want to have these optional materials on hand:
- Bubble wrap or a bamboo mat for agitation
- Embellishments like yarns or silk fibers
The Wet Felting Process: A Step-by-Step Guide
Here’s a simple guide to wet felting:
- Prepare your workspace. Lay down your plastic sheet to protect your work surface. Place bubble wrap or a bamboo mat on top of the plastic sheet to provide a good surface for agitation.
- Layer the fibers. Take small amounts of wool fiber and lay them down in a thin, even layer on your work surface. You can create a design by layering different colors of 100% wool. Remember to keep the layers thin, as this will make it easier for the fibers to interlock.
- Wet and agitate the fibers. Mix hot water with a small amount of soap. Gently pour the soapy water over the wool, making sure all the fibers are moistened. Then, begin agitating the fibers using a circular motion and applying gentle pressure. You can also rub soap directly into the wet wool. Keep agitating until the wool becomes thick and matted.
- Fulling and shaping. Once the fibers are well-matted, you can begin fulling the felt. This involves rolling and rubbing the fabric to tighten the fibers even further. Check to see if the fibers are interlocking.
- Rinsing and drying. Rinse the felt with warm water, then gradually cool the water down to cold. Squeeze out any excess water, shape the felt as desired, and lay it flat on a towel to dry. To prevent shrinking, don’t put it in the dryer.
As you work, test the firmness of the felt. If it feels too loose, you can add more fiber and continue agitating. With a little practice, you’ll be able to create beautiful and unique felted items.
Needle felting: Definition, materials, and process
Felting is a fun craft that can be done in a variety of ways. Needle felting is a popular method that’s easy to learn and requires only a few basic supplies.
What is needle felting?
Needle felting is a process that involves repeatedly poking and prodding wool fibers with specialized barbed needles. These needles have tiny barbs along the shaft that catch the wool fibers and tangle them together as you poke. This interlocking action creates a dense, matted fabric.
Materials needed for needle felting
To start needle felting, you’ll need a few essential materials:
- Wool fibers (roving): Roving is unspun wool that’s been cleaned and combed into long strands. It’s the primary material you’ll be felting.
- Felting needles: These are specialized needles with barbs along the shaft. They come in different gauges (thicknesses) for different types of felting. Single-needle tools are most common.
- Felting mat/foam pad: This provides a soft surface to work on and protects your work surface and your needles from damage.
You may also find these optional materials helpful:
- Multi-needle tool: This tool holds multiple needles, allowing you to felt larger areas more quickly.
- Finger protectors: These protect your fingers from accidental pokes with the sharp felting needles.
- Embellishments: Beads, buttons, embroidery floss, and other embellishments can be added to your felted creations for extra detail.
The needle felting process: A step-by-step guide
Here’s a basic overview of the needle felting process:
- Prepare your workspace: Place your felting mat or foam pad on a stable work surface.
- Shape the wool: Take a small amount of wool roving and shape it into the desired form. This can be a simple ball, a flat shape, or a more complex design.
- Felt the wool: Place the shaped wool on the felting mat. Hold the felting needle vertically and poke it repeatedly into the wool. The barbs on the needle will catch the fibers and tangle them together, making the wool firmer.
- Add details and layers: Add more wool to the existing shape to build thickness or create new details. You can also incorporate embellishments at this stage.
- Finishing: Once you’re happy with the shape and details, remove any loose fibers. Shape and refine the felted piece by gently smoothing the surface and poking in any stray fibers.
Nuno felting: definition, materials, and process
What is nuno felting?
Nuno felting, at its heart, is the art of combining wool fibers with a fabric base. You’re essentially felting wool onto a foundation fabric.
What makes nuno felting special is that it results in a felted fabric that’s lightweight and has a beautiful drape.
Materials needed for nuno felting
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- Wool fibers (roving or batting)
- Lightweight fabric (silk or muslin work well)
- Hot water
- Mild liquid soap
- Towel
- Plastic sheet, bubble wrap, or bamboo mat
You can also use these optional materials:
- Yarns
- Silk fibers
The nuno felting process: a step-by-step guide
- Prepare your workspace. Lay down plastic sheeting to protect your work surface.
- Lay out the fabric and fibers. Place the wool on the fabric, creating the shape or design you want. Put it all on a sponge (if you’re nuno felting).
- Felt the fibers into the fabric. Use a felting needle to poke the wool into the fabric until it’s secure.
- Fulling, rinsing, and drying. Follow the same process you’d use for wet felting.
What can you make with felting?
Felting is incredibly versatile. You can use it to make anything from clothing to toys to jewelry. The possibilities are endless!
Here are some examples of what you can create with each felting technique:
- Wet Felting: Clothing (vests, jackets, skirts), Accessories (hats, gloves, handbags, purses, pouches), Home decor (throw pillows, table runners, coasters, placemats).
- Needle Felting: Three-dimensional animal figurines, Holiday ornaments and decorations, Small accessories (brooches, pins).
- Nuno Felting: Textured scarves, shawls, ponchos, and wraps, Vests, tops, dresses, skirts.
Felting is also used in art and design. The technique allows the artist to create unique textures and patterns. Artists also use felting for sculptural purposes. The medium is limited only by the artist’s imagination.
Final Thoughts
Felting is a fiber art that uses wool to create three-dimensional objects or to add texture to fabrics. The three main felting techniques are wet felting, which uses water and agitation; needle felting, which uses a barbed needle; and nuno felting, which bonds wool fibers to a base fabric.
Felting offers endless opportunities to experiment and express yourself. You can create almost anything with a bit of wool roving and some simple tools.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafter, felting is an accessible and rewarding way to explore your creativity.