Long-time knitters and crocheters have many tips to share when it comes to felting. Their collection of recommendations are for all, whether newbie or veteran.
Felters have experimented greatly with knitted felt in recent decades. These knitters and crocheters have many tips to share for beginners and veterans alike; they also provide the best instructions on how to felt.
How to Felt in Knit & Crochet
- Work and felt a swatch, recording sizes and stitch gauge before and after felting if size is critical.
- Bury all ends and sew all seams prior to felting.
- Tie a piece of nylon, cotton ribbon or heavy yarn through any eyelets that need to be kept open so they can easily be found later.
- Turn item inside out to protect the surface during felting. Place in a zippered pillowcase to keep lint out of the washing machine.
- Into any machine whose cycle can be interrupted, (keep in mind that some front loaders cannot be interrupted) place the filled pillowcase and some jeans or old towels. Select hottest wash and coldest rinse and heavy duty cycle for added agitation. Add a capful of any liquid laundry detergent to raise the ph and encourage entanglement.
- Stop machine after wash and rinse, before final spin. Remove item and check size and shape. Stretch any areas that are shrinking too much; stretch hard if need be because this is the only chance to get it right.
- Repeat as necessary. Some wools and machines produce excellent felt after one cycle—others may require four or five cycles.
- Any areas that are not felted thoroughly can be spot felted. This often happens with straps or flaps. With rubber gloves and extremely hot water, wet the felt, add some detergent, and rub and squeeze any problem areas until they draw in.
- Most knitters suggest not allowing a full spin cycle as creases might be forced into the fabric that can be difficult to remove. However, it is possible to use the final cycle to spin out excess water; the knitter must be sure to use the gentle cycle and remove items immediately. Stretch and pat into shape, block them, and press any desired creases into shape.
- Double strands make thicker felt.
- 100% wool yarns should be knit fairly loosely to encourage more directional movement between strands; the felt will retain more hints of vertical lines.
- Generally, felting works best when knitting at a gauge of about 5 stitches to an inch.
- Higher alkaline water encourages felting.
- High wool content yarns work best; super wash wools do not work well at all.
- Yarn should be knitted fairly loosely—#11 needles work well for single strands, #15 needles work well for double strands.
- Simple stitches felt best. (Intarsia, stripes, modules, and entrelac with different colors will all maintain their look very well; large cables will read to some degree when felted).
- When thoroughly dry, steam press any uneven areas, and steam creases sharply at this point. Trim off stray ends and any errant fuzz from the surface. Make and apply any desired lining. Plastic needlepoint canvas makes a great stiffener for the bottom of a bag—cover it with lining material and tack in place. Add zippers, buttons, or other desired embellishments after the felting is completed.
The copyright of the article How to Felt in Knit & Crochet in Knitting & Crochet is owned by Renee Blixt. Permission to republish How to Felt in Knit & Crochet in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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