How to Felt a Wool Sweater

My first tutorial will be on felting wool sweaters. I plan on writing a tutorial for felted sweater Baby Bottle Cozies, so you will need to have this step completed first. (Of course these instructions are good for making felted sweaters for any project.)

This can get a bit "fluffy", so make sure you read through the instructions so you will know where to keep an eye on it.


Supplies

* Sweaters (at least 90% wool - this will make a better felt, therefor better end product.)
You can get sweaters from friends, family, thrift stores, Freecycle etc.
* Washing Machine & Detergent
* Dryer
* Scissors

Step 1. Cut the sleeves off the sweater and cut up the sleeve to open it up. (This prevents heavy lines in your felted sweater material.)

Step 2. Cut the front from the back & remove all buttons (if applicable).

Step 3. You can wash all sorts of colors and patterns together, so get to your machine & throw in a load on hot wash / cold rinse. Don't forget the detergent!

Step 4. Clean your poor washing machine, as you will have covered it in little pieces of fluff!

Step 5. Throw your sweaters into the dryer on medium heat. Come back to your dryer every 5 - 10 minutes (use a timer if you can) because there will be a lot more fluff in the lint catcher and the dryer drum - you need to keep those clear to avoid potential issues (i.e. fire).

**TIP**

Shake the sweaters out really well before you put them into the dryer, this decreases the amount of lint a lot! Makes a bit of a mess though, you may want to do it outside.

Step 6. When they are dry, they will be felted. You may need to wash & dry some sweaters twice to get the texture you wish for.

Thanks for reading, please visit again soon!