As someone who has a passion for felted fabric, I remember how daunting my first experience of felting was. I also remember how hard it was to find information of how to felt a project using a front loading washing machine. As a member of the UK knitting community I can assure you there aren't many of us who have a top loading washing machine, and most felting books seem to be written for the US market.
To help out anyone planning their first felting project, here a few tips on how to felt using a front loading washing machine. This is not a definitive guide, on how to felt using this method, as each machine is different, as is each type of yarn. These are just guidelines to help get you started.
Before you Start
- Remember each yarn felts differently - even different colours of the same type of yarn. This is because dyes can affect the structure of the fibre, and why white yarn, which is often bleached, sometimes doesn't felt very well.
- Fabric knit in stocking stitch will felt differently from fabric knitted in garter stitch. Fabric also tends to shrink more length-ways, than width-ways.
- Always try and knit a swatch of your yarn and test felt it. You can do this by simply washing your swatch in a normal load of washing (providing you know the yarn is colour fast), or adding your swatch to another felting load.
- When you are sure your yarn felts, and that any yarn used in your project felts at similar rates, you can make your project.
- Remember that the edges of stocking stitch knitting, in a felted project, will curl over, or stretch out of shape. Methods of correcting this include knitting a couple of rows of garter stitch at the edge, using an i-cord cast off, or applying an i-cord, or knitting a few rows extra in an acrylic non-felting yarn. If you use this last option, the acrylic yarn can then be removed after felting to give a crisp, undistorted edge.
Ready to Felt
In order to produce felt, you need to apply three things to your yarn; warm water, soap and friction. You can felt by hand in a sink, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are strong and don't get bored easily. This is where your washing machine comes in!
- Try and find your washing machine manual and read it.
- If you can't find your manual, don't panic you should be able to work out what to do.
- Unless you have several large felting projects, select half-load and stick your project in the washing machine.
- If you have laundry washing liquid (this is the only type I have used so I can't advise on any other substance) place a SMALL amount in the plastic ball, or drawer, around 10ml. You don't want fabric softener as this protects the fibres, and that isn't going to help you felt. I have heard that some people use liquid soap or soap flakes, but I have always just used laundry washing liquid.
- You need to add items, other than your project, to the wash, to produce the friction that meshes the fibres together. I have a pair of old flip flops I keep for this purpose. I also add an old bath sheet or pair of jeans and laundry balls, which helps stop it sounding like I am washing rocks.
- Next you need to select the cycle on your washing machine. You shouldn't need a wash hotter than 40°C. If something is taking a while to felt, don't make the water hotter, just add more friction or just keep going for longer. Try to pick a cycle that doesn't spin at a high speed as this can put creases in your fabric, which can be difficult to remove.
- Press go.
- After around 10-15 minutes, go and have a look at how your project is doing. It is preferable that you don't get the project out, unless you think it is probably done. One advantage of front loading machine is the glass door, so hopefully you will be able to tell through the glass. If you really can't tell, you may have to bite the bullet and drain the machine. This is the disadvantage of a front loader. You can't just fish out the project and put it back in again, without serious faffing.
- If your project needs more time, after the door has been opened, you need to start the cycle again, but you don't need more laundry washing liquid. If the cycle didn't get to rinse it, the detergent is still in the fabric. If you didn't open the door, just let the cycle continue.
- Keep checking your project, until the felted fabric has no visible stitches. Sometimes a project can take up to 40 minutes, so be patient. At this point you can take your project out of the washing machine. The amount of checking you need to do is something you learn to gauge with experience. But, no matter how experienced you get, you will still have examples of things over-felting, because the felting process can change in a matter of minutes. When this happens there is nothing else to do but try and stretch your project as much as possible, while it is still wet.
- I rinse my projects by hand in a sink, and then lay them flat on top of a folded up towel. I then roll up the project in the towel and gently apply pressure, to squeeze as much water out as possible.
Once you have your felted item, you can block it as desired, or as instructed by your pattern. If you want your fabric to be smooth, you need to ensure it is stretched taut while it dries, in the shape you want the item to be. Again, blocking techniques are something that you will improve over time. Felting is very difficult to teach, because each project is different. You will learn something from every project, which is the same with every craft.
If you have access to Ravelry, there are several felting groups that can help, including Felters Anon and Felting is my Bag, groups I am a member of. Ravelry can also help you track down other crafter's experiences of felting various yarns or projects, which can help you decide which yarn to use.
I hope these guidelines help give you confidence to try felting as it is a craft I have grown to love. If you need any more help or just want to bounce ideas around, I am more than happy to help. I can be contacted via the website or by emailing me at mail@craftycripple.com. Please remember that I can only offer my opinion as each machine, yarn and project is different.