How to Make Wet Felted Strands: Easy Wool Felting Tutorial
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Wet felted strands are very easy to make- a simple, beautiful wool-felting project you can use in many creative ways. They are soft, textured, and easy to make using just wool roving, warm water, and a little soap. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to make wet-felted strands, from preparing the wool to rolling and felting it into long, flexible strands. This is a lovely beginner-friendly wet felting project and a wonderful way to explore the natural beauty of wool.
What is wool felting?
The process of wet felting involves creating friction between the wool roving and warm, soapy water and your hands to get the wool fibres to bind together to create a piece of cloth or fabric. You can make different shapes by applying more friction in different parts of your felt to shrink it and shape it.
What you need:
- Different colours of wool roving
- A bar of natural soap (or liquid soap)
- A bowl with warm water
- A whisk
How to make them:
Step 1:
Pull long strips of felt.
Depending on what you want to make, use three strips of wool for a braid, or, if you’re going to make a snake, make the strip thicker.
Step 2:
Mix the grated soap in warm water until you get loads of soap suds.
Step 3:
Put some soap suds on the wool strip until it is fully covered.
Step 4:
Then start rubbing the wet wool strip between your hands. Gently at first, and then increase.
If your child finds it difficult, they can rub it on an old towel from time to time.
Let them dry.
You can braid the wool and sew an elastic to make a headband.
You can also sew the braids in a spiral shape to make a lovely felt braided roving trivet (place mat).
Or a felt Snake!
