What is Wet Felting?

by Zee Kesler February 7, 2023

Wet felting is a form of felting that uses soap water rolling, rubbing an agitation to create 2D flat felt sheets.

Here is a short rough video of the process and how it works to create a felted sheet. We plan to update this video with a better quality one soon!

First layer pieces of wool in rows facing the same direction until the bag is full.
Next add a second layer of wool in the opposite directions.
The video shows only 3 showers, and you can get away with this. Ideally though, you'd add a few more alternating layers. This helps ensures wool fibres properly mattes.
When all pieces of wool are in place, use a spray bottle to add dish soap and water.
Zip the bag closed and use your hands to agitates the wool by rubbing or rolling the bag. This causes wool starts to matt into a solid piece of 'felt'. (Make sure you don't use your nails or your bag will rip!)
Repeat this process for 10-20 minutes. When your wool mattes enough, slowly and gently try to remove it from your ziplock bag. Make sure the wool layers don't fall apart when you do this. If they do, you need to rub and agitate your wool longer.
Once you remove your wool from the bag, you can either lay it to dry on a towel, or rinse it under cold water. If you plan to wear the wool as a scarf or use it against your skin, make sure you rinse it or the wool will irritate your skin.

Need ideas for your First Project?