# I want to try wet wool felting



## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I want to try and make wool boots with the wet wool felting method. So I need wool, how do I go about finding it ? And how much should I be paying? Dont care what color.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I paid 19. a lb at a mill near me, clean and carded. Little barn has some nice wool and other fibers. Someone here might sell you some.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

You will want to make sure it will felt via the wet method. No all breeds felt and not all breeds felt well. Some breeds will produce a soft felt, some will produce a hard, firm felt. Try doing a Google search for best wool breeds for wet felting and see what you come up with. play with the wording and also look up wet felting techniques.

Let us know how it goes.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Yes, please do let us know what you find in your searches. I have never done any wet wool felting but would like to try. I would sure like to make some of those hats I saw at Shepherd's Harvest.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Well finding wool batts or roving has turned out to be a big pain in the butt. Prices are high but then I have never bought wool, and have no idea what all gos into making it into a wool batts or roving. But for me and a first project $28.00 on up plus shipping for a pound need 10 oz per boot is just way too much for me to play with. I dont want to try cleaning washing and carding wool for my first project, might be able to get that for $18.00 a pound with shipping. and was told I would need to buy 3 pounds for wet felt boots because you loose a good bit of weight in washing and carding. I guess so if they send you wool with poop and weeds in it but thats what I was told. Learning enough to know I cant aford to do this now. Oh well


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Forcast, tell you what.
I have about 90 pounds of some Suffolk that I bought from the local 4H kids.
It is way too short to spin comfortably, and the kids did the shearing, so alot of seconds.
I am planning on making felted soap, and boot liners out of some of it, but if you will PM me your address, and cover shipping, I will happily send you the amount you need, say 4 or 5 pounds?
That way you can play a bit too....


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Thanks so much! pm sent:angel:


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Be aware that not all wool felts, especially if you are wet felting. I'm thinking that Suffolk may be one if those. If you are making foot wear you will need a hard felting wool that wears well, especially for the outside of the item. Some examples of those wool would be, Icelandic, Romney, Navajo, ..... A softer wool can have mohair heed to it. Check on eBay, do a search for wool roving. Stay away from anything that says "superwash", it won't felt. Stay away from anything made specifically for felting since you will generally pay a premium price for it, felting is pretty hot right now. If you find something you think you might like to use come back here and post a link to what it is so we can help you.

Good luck!


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

thanks! it sure is tricky knowing and thinking what will work. Do you buy the total amount needed for a project like you would yarn? Or do you buy a small amount test it then go back and reorder the larger amount.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Testing it would be a good idea, you don't want to waste money. Here is a site that has dis rioting of various breeds, it say if they are good for felting. This is in the UK so it wouldn't make sense to order from them. Just use it as a guide http://www.worldofwool.co.uk/natural_wool_tops_and_fleeces.php 
More info for you
http://www.sheepmagazine.com/31-3/felt_big_demand_for_your_wool/
http://members.peak.org/~spark/feltingwools.html


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

I've done felted balls with Suffolk, I know it's not the same application but they definitely felted....the end result was not as firm as the Rambouillet, but I would think it should work for your boots.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

DragonFlyfarm, did you make your felt balls in the washing machine? Wet felting by hand is very different. Suffolk will felt, but it takes a long time and a LOT of work and the end results probably would not be suitable for boots or slippers, maybe a liner.


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## DragonFlyFarm (Oct 12, 2012)

Yup, in the washing machine. I was just thinking that they felted, never thought about how much energy it took to get there. Thanks!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

_The Fleece & Fiber Source Book_, Pg 68 about the Down breeds, of which Suffolk is one of them: " It doesn't felt especially well, so yo may be able to machine wash it". They did recommend it highly for sock yarn.

_The Field Guide to Fleece_, page 196 "Suffolk doesn't felt readily, which means you may be able to machine wash whatever you from it (always test a swatch). On the finer end of their spectrum, Suffolk yarns can be used to make soft durable items that may rest comfortably close to the skin. Otherwise, use Suffolk to make great socks, mittens, hats, and everyday sweaters."


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I used Suffolk to stuff my 1830's bum roll because it's springy and doesn't felt easily. Worked like a dream.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

I agree with Svenska flicka and many of the other posters. Suffolk, being a Dons, meat sheep, does not take kindly to wet felting .I don't know anything about the American breeds but something fine fibred with some merino, or the winter grown wool frrom Gohaland or double coated like Icelandic. Sufflok is great for stuffing if making toys. 
Ãr du en flicka frÃ¥n Sverige?


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Nej, min mors farmor kom frÃ¥n Sverige i 1890-talet. Jag Ã¤r Amerikansk. Jag talar lite Svenska; jag studera det i Uppsala i 2010. Jag Ã¤lskar min Svenska arv!


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Great. I can quite understand that. I have lived here for 5 years and love the strong Swedish cultural pride. Jeg har boet mange Ã¥r i Denmark sÃ¥ Danske er sproget jeg skriver bedste. I have lived many years in Denmark so I write better in Danish.
And to get back on topic I have just got back from vÃ¤vdagerne i GlimÃ¥kra (weaving days) so I must start a new topic with photos from the museum but that will be another day. Now I must catch up with Ravelry. (And you must get an antique Swedish rok instead of the CPW.)


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I have an antique Norwegian rok, does that count? I do want a Swedish one, though. 
I can't wait to see your pictures!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Welcome to The Fold Reneedarley! Wow SvenskaFlicka has someone she can speak Swedish and other Scandinavian languages to  how fun is that. You two will have to translate for those of us who don't speak those languages. So glad you joined us. I cant wait to see our photos.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I basically explained that I am American, my great-grandmother came from Sweden, and that I speak a little Swedish and studied it in Uppsala Sweden.  Sorry for the bursting out into Swedish, lol.
Oh, and welcome to the fold!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Do not apologize SvenskaFlicka . I made a little squeeee for you when I saw where Reneedarley was from.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

I have a pair of felt boots in progress made from quilt batting from a nearby Cotswold farm. I think I got the queen size, and the boots used up a good share but not all of it. The downside to this source is that the batting is extra lofty, so I get fewer cris-crosses on the layers than I would have with the same number of pounds in a thinner batting.

http://www.nistockfarms.com/handspinning-batting.html

The boots have been sitting by for months half done. It's a lot of work, and I'm debating if they're ready for the washing machine acceleration or if I'll ruin them trying that. I nearly ruined my first pair putting them in the wash too early.

http://my-health-experiment.blogspot.com/2014/03/felt-boots-version-2-session-1.html
http://my-health-experiment.blogspot.com/2014/03/felt-boots-version-2-session-2.html


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Marchwind said:


> Welcome to The Fold Reneedarley! Wow SvenskaFlicka has someone she can speak Swedish and other Scandinavian languages to  how fun is that. You two will have to translate for those of us who don't speak those languages. So glad you joined us. I cant wait to see our photos.


Post some photos of your projects!


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## Gailann Schrader (May 10, 2002)

A neighbor friend and I just recently went halves on several Cormos (one wether and one ewe) and a Leicester/Cormo ewe. We're planning on breeding the Cormo and LeicesterX to a Finn Ram (he's a LOVELY mocha color!). 

Needless to say, I have some wool to play with after we did a first shearing... I'm wanting to do wet felting as well. I want to make a capote or similar out of the felted material. I've not done it yet, but found some videos on how native yurt builders make felted fabric. I think (with the exception of me washing the raw wool first) that the method they showed is more akin to what I want to do... A 'rough' product instead of the small, fine work I've seen illustrated everywhere else...


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Just the other day I saw some Iranian coat makers felting similarly to the Mongol way. They spread the fleece out in a basic shape of the coat opened at the sides and flattened. They had these already made felt squares that seemed to be spacers for where there was no fleece for the coat. Then rolled it up. They didn't show in the video it being dragged around, but it looked exactly like the mongol preparation for being dragged behind a horse. Then they took the prefelt and folded it up in a coat shape, tore open the neck, added a bit more prefelt in weak spots, stuffed feed sacks in the middle as a resist, and rolled the whole thing up again. The real beauty of the coat was the beading another artist did afterwards, the coat itself looked warm but very rustic.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Here are the coat makers I was mentioning: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-WW39owXTE[/ame]


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

That's interesting that they tie it down onto itself once they fold it over. What kind of wool do you think that is, it looks pretty coarse. It felts well and easily or so it seems. They don't seem to user much water either and no soap.

Beautiful video!


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

The mongol method also does not use much soap. They don't wash the fleece, they just beat it with sticks until the locks open up and the VM falls out, I wonder if the type of water they have is alkaline and forms a bit of soap with the lanolin and sheep sweat?


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

I thought the tying thing was cool too. They have to know what they're doing though, to get it felted to the right stage to do that without under-felting it and it not holding together during the shaping.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I wish they had shown how they actually felted it after rolling it up. My guess is that they walked over it and rolled it around, maybe the whole family joined in. I also would have liked to have seen it finished and being worn. You only got a glimps of other coats in the background.


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## dlskidmore (Apr 18, 2012)

Marchwind said:


> I wish they had shown how they actually felted it after rolling it up. My guess is that they walked over it and rolled it around, maybe the whole family joined in. I also would have liked to have seen it finished and being worn. You only got a glimps of other coats in the background.


The mongol way is to drag it behind a horse and go for a ride. These guys look more modern, they may have a felting roller or at least use a motorcycle instead of a horse. (It doesn't seem that Google is returning many relevant results for "Motorcycle felting", but it is a thing.) These folks are using bikes and just dragging them: http://strawbale.pbworks.com/w/page/24829979/Mongolian Felting Workshop


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Corriedale is fantastic for wet felting. You can get it from any Ashford dealer for reasonable prices: there are little multi-coloured packs of six different shades for about $15, and you can get it in kilogram bumps for about $60.

SvenskaFlicka is an Ashford dealer, I bet she can source it for you!


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Yep! I can! 
(And I am proud to say I am now a full Ashford dealer, wheels and all-- not just fiber! )


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Kelsey, that is great news!!!! Wooot! 

Are you going to set some up in your shop do you think? Maybe offer spinning classes?


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

Yep! I'm going to have three wheels in my shop to start. I'm going to figure out my upcoming class schedule today.


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

Great news on the dealership Kelsey. I did some wool felting one time, when I washed a sweater I wasn't supposed to. I wasn't happy with the results. I suppose it might have made nice boots but I discarded it. ;-)


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

http://www.feltinglessons.com/


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Forcast - what an awesome link! I got lot looking at the pictures of her scarves.

http://www.feltinglessons.com/photo-gallery/wet-felted-and-nuno-felted-items-by-terri/

I love the free-form delightful unexpectedness in her work.


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