What Is Felting & How Does It Work?

The secret to making felt lies in the material itself. Wool, and most other mammalian fibres such as human hair, tends to mat together when it gets wet or agitated.

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Why does it do this?

Well most mammalian fibres are comprised of individual fine strands, where each strand features a solid core with a scaly surface. These scales are invisible to the naked eye and point away from the root of the fibre.

The scales are long and pointy, and can even resemble thorns when observed under a microscope. At rest, these thorny scales lie close and flat to the solid core of the wool strand. But when wool is rubbed, or wet, the scales flare outwards from the solid core. These naturally occurring scales hook and become entangled with other fibres. The act of felting, regardless of the felting process, bonds wool fibres together and compresses them, making a dense, flat and warm fabric with all kinds of uses.

Read more: 9 Facts About Wool

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What are the methods of felting?

There are three main felting methods:

First, you will want to thin out your wool roving. In general, it&#;s better to felt several thin layers of wool as opposed to one thick layer. Using your hands, gently open up the wool roving (side to side) until you can just see through it.

Next, place one of the cookie cutters on top of your felting pad or sponge. Then put a thin layer of roving inside the cookie cutter. If you&#;re using finger protectors, go ahead and put those on as well. Now, you are ready to begin needle felting.

Now, take your felting needle or tool and very carefully begin poking through the wool into the felting pad and pulling the needle back out. Do this very slowly at first and keep your hands out of the wool! Trust me when I say you don&#;t want to poke yourself.

Continue poking the needle in and straight back out again. Make sure and do this all along the edges as well. You will start to see the fibers blending and matting together.

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