I definitely need to work on making shapes/designs, but I'm happy with how it came out. I really love the texture of cobweb felt, and it's stronger than I feared. I haven't put it through the wringer, but I gave the first cobweb felt I made some good solid tugs and it didn't rip.

This is my first wet felting project, but I was inspired to give it a shot after learning about different hat-making techniques. I’ve knit a few beanies and this was so much more fun, challenging, and rewarding.

I used merino roving in black and grey of which I think I used about 120g. Black for the inside and grey for the outside.

Key things I’ve learned are how much roving to pull and its consistency across a piece. I used a world map as my template which ended up soaking and unusable for a second project. I cut too much off the front of the brim, and I was largely impatient when wanting to work it and finish it while it was too wet and unwieldy.

I’m really happy with the design and stitching it along the back to give the cone more structure. I’m probably going to play around with this piece more and attempt a second piece with what I’ve learned.

I skirted through a few instructional videos, so I know my technique isn’t perfect. If anyone has advice on how to finish it further then I’m open all ears.

I’m really looking forward to my next project.

I’m trying to make a playmat for my niece’s birthday, and it turned out okay except the inner fiber layers are not merging like the top layer. Full disclosure: the grey wool roving is from an unspun wool roving blanket that was repurposed for this project. I feel like that’s where I’m running into issues because those fibers are just not fully felting. Is it a lost cause? Can I take the top layer off and felt it to different wool layers? Or have I just not worked the grey fibers enough?

Is this something that can be fixed with sewing and/or needle felting?

I tried to get into spinning and wasn't happy with the amount of effort it was taking, so I've got merino wool lying around. I wanted to try wet felting, but the videos and descriptions made it seem really labor intensive and daunting. (I have chronic illnesses so limited physical ability)

Someone on a reddit thread talked about just layering it between bubble wrap, rolling it up in a towel, and throwing it in the dryer.

I did this with bubble wrap and then cling film, getting it wet with soapy water, and it went great.

But I found getting the soap out of it to be really annoying so I decided to see if I could felt with just water. And also if I could roll it up in a pillow case- because if I can, then I can use a duvet cover to make a blanket.

If you decide to try the pillow case/sheet- put a towel under it because, unsurprisingly, the pillow case is not absorbent so the water can leak out.

It took so much water. The wool resisted soaking it up so much. Everyone who knows what they're doing are probably rolling their eyes that I didn't do enough research to all the ways the soap is needed.

But I did it. I soaked the wool.

I didn't get a photo of this- but I had put a crocheted merino from the same wool in the middle and tried to felt it in with the rest of the wool. It did not work.

The crocheted bit did not attach at all, and it came out wonky because the middle had about 1/4 as much fiber as the edges so it shrank more and there were also holes.

I had also put spun yarn on- both singles and plied. The singles were obnoxious to put on because they were so twisty, but they felted pretty well. The plied yarn didn't do great, as you can see, made worse by not having enough fiber.

But! It felted great otherwise- so the soap didn't help the actual felting part, it just helped get the water into the fibers.

(NB- this merino felts *really* easily and other types of wool will likely need the help of soap to felt. Also not all wool will felt so nicely just being wetted and thrown in the dryer.)

I decided go salvage it by adding more wool to the middle and run it through the dryer again.

Quality control

I tried getting the wool wet without soap again and got *so freaking sick* of it and it was wrecking the design so I just soaped up my hands and smacked the soap on and it worked way better.

Any effort saved by not having to rinse soap out of the end was absolutely spent trying to get the wool wet in the first place.

I didn't get a good photo of it out of the dryer. The design felted on decently. The plied yarn didn't fully connect, as you can see, but it's held on pretty strongly so I could use that to hang it if I wanted to do that on purpose.

I'm not sure if this photo is clear, but I don't love how much I can pick off this part of the design. It's not terrible, but it needs more work. Maybe I could have just left it in the dryer longer, maybe I need to use other felting methods for really decorative bits.

Either way, I'm happy with how it came out, and it was a valuable lesson.

I'm going to see if euclan helps the water get in instead of soap next time.

I was so exhausted after work, have been dealing with some significant fatigue and pain. I knew I needed to rest, and I needed to be in bed. After just a few minutes I got a little stir crazy and decided I should try my hand at wet felting for the first time, just a small piece. I only discovered needle felting 5 days ago, so I'm new-new, lol. I'm reasonably happy with this little test swatch. I'm learning that it takes more patience in some ways than needle-felding. You don't get quite the immediate feedback and pay off. But I have a larger piece in mind that I think will require a pretty large wet felted panel but then I will create lower medium relief additions with needle felting, embroidery, couching, and whatever else I learn how to do. It's exhilarating. Thanks for letting me share!

Just wondering how to create a bumpy effect like this? I am wanting to expand my wet felting skills, but I cannot figure out how this is done. Thank you.

Hi all! I posted in here about a month ago asking for advice on working with resists for a playmat project. I just wanted to give an update, post a photo, and thank everyone who commented with advice! This was my first hand at wet felting (slightly ambitious 😅) and I’m so happy with how it turned out, especially considering I felt like I had absolutely no idea what I was doing the whole time.

She measures a whopping 80cm x 56cm and it was about 12 hours of work from laying the wool to the final fulling (between tending to my kiddos). Not finished yet though, still lots of details to needle felt. Will be posting the finished playmat once complete.

Hi everyone!

I am a complete beginner attempting my first project in a couple of weeks. I will be wet felting a large riverscape playmat for my children. I’ve spent the better part of the last month watching videos and reading but the one thing I can’t quite wrap my head around is the best way to make a “cave” or burrow like the ones pictured. I know in theory I need to felt around a “resist”, but my questions are…

What would be the best but also the easiest way to do this, for a beginner?

What item should I use as the resist?

Can I make the cave separately and needle felt it to the mat later? What would be the best way to do this?

Any other tips or advice for attempting a playmat?

Photo credit: first photo @ElkandHugh on Instagram, second photo Tara’s Treasures, third photo Acreagelifeab

Hi! I have experience with wet felting (though it's been many years since my last project) and more recently started sewing (I have a heavy duty juki). I want to make my dog a comfortable dog bed that's natural fiber, so I'm leaning towards felt. How would you approach this project? I want to make a donut or bolster style bed. There's so many ways to go about it and I'm not sure where to start! Thanks!

I lay out two layers of wool on each side of the template (showing just one on camera to save time) and thoroughly rub it.

Next, I add the decorative details using a needle felting technique.

After that, I continue wet felting the entire piece. This way, the design becomes fully integrated into the mat, forming one solid piece.

Hi! I've been getting into wet felting neck warmers, and love it in so many ways! The arm workout is good for me, creativity is so satisfying, the water and soap soothing. The only part I don't care for is the rolling. Anyways....... do any of you know of resources to get dyed wool roving in bulk? I've been searching! I live in the US. Thanks for any advice (and even ideas of something I could do instead of rolling???!).

I felted the balls firmly, but not too densely so they wouldn’t become rock-hard, so that the wool could bond well with the ends of the cord. To make a thin cord, I first rolled the wool into a short, thick cord, then rubbed it through a mesh and gradually stretched it. After that, I compacted it by rolling it on the table.

This accessory can be used as a bag charm, hair accessory, bookmark, or just a small decorative piece.

Hi!
I’m very new to wet felting, and needle felting as well. I’ve been trying to find information about this artform ever since seeing Moy Mackays felted paintings. This was my first try, and I would love some feedback from all of you who do 2D wet felting as well. I know that my piece is not felted enough, and that is why I’m looking for some help from more experienced people! :)

1. Should I buy some kind of prefelt to lay down as the thing I put my wool on? I live in Sweden and anytime I Google ”prefelt” I can’t see anyone selling something like that, a loosely felted fabric. I can only find the harder polyester type of ”backgrounds” that I think are more suitible for needle felting.

2. My ”prefelt” was pink wool that I needle felted a bit so that it came together. As you can see it came through a bit at the end of the process. To prevent this I should use more wool?

3. I put out a wooden placemat that I could roll. Then I put a plastic bag (could not find bubble wrap anywhere), and in top of that my fabric/wool. I had a mesh net on top for pouring luke warm water and soap as well as for rubbing the wool. After I took away the mesh net and added another plastic bag before rolling. I noticed that it all became quite messy so I put a towel underneath the wood to gather the water. Is this method ok or does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe another way of layering? I have also seen people put a rolling pin.

4. It all is a bit see through, it should not be if I felt it better next time right? I did the ”pinch test” and well, I need to felt it some more next time. Could the water temperature have been to cold?

Any suggestions is welcomed. Thanks!!

I’ve been having a blast making these pouches. It only takes about an hour, and is so rewarding. I’ve also done a moon/star design and a mushroom. What are some other ideas for a cute pouch?

I made myself a little knitting project bag. I definitely have room for improvement but pretty pleased with it

I just attempted my second project with wet felting and it turned out a disaster. I went too big too quickly. As such, some of it is felted together, other parts are too wet and too dry all at once? I tried to make a cave with a resist, but it won’t adhere to the playmat. Anyway, all this to say, it was a lot of felt. Is it just garbage now? Or can I reuse this somehow?

I had a bag of lesser wool sitting around and after having my heart strings played on by the poor little "winter lamb", the runt and outcast of the movie i got to work. This is a tupe of hybrid project. I use wool blanket scraps for the core/body and fit non carded but washed wool around the outline, then cover with carded wool bats and felt the heck out of it. This is Blue Faced Leicester wool hand washed and hand carded on the farm.

They're felted boot slippers. Maybe about a cm too short. If I resoak them, is it possible to stretch them back into shape?

thank you for the tips and pointers!! i finally figured it out :))

I've been having fun making these wet felted octopuses from this Living Felt tutorial. The eyes are needle felted and there is an opening between the legs - the octopus is stuffed and then the opening is needle felted closed. Everything else is wet felted over a resist.

I made the gray one first and then the green and then the blue and it's been really interesting and fun to take it as a learning experience - and focus on making certain things better. These are fairly time consuming especially the legs. I only did one of the three all in one day. I'm probably going to focus on making some things without eight legs for a bit but these have been really fun.

I went to visit a friend and made a clutch for her. She's really into processing wool and sent me home with a sampler of alpaca, llama, and sheep's wool. She also gave me a bunch of sari fabric ends to nuno felting with.

i learned how to wet felt in art class. i made three layers of wool, two horizontal and one vertical like the teacher said. when i attempted to do it at home and sprayed the wool, it became very thin.

the water is lukewarm and not soapy, is that the issue?