making felt by boiling a wool jumper

Brighton_belle

I have an 100% old wool jumper that I wanted to use to try and make felt with for present making: as per internet instructions I boiled it with soap and was promised this would turn it to felt. But it hasn't.

Has anyone any experience that could help here and give me a clue why not?

Many thanks

Penelope_Penguin

Brighton_belle wrote: »

I have an 100% old wool jumper that I wanted to use to try and make felt with for present making: as per internet instructions I boiled it with soap and was promised this would turn it to felt. But it hasn't.

Has anyone any experience that could help here and give me a clue why not?

Many thanks

To clarify - you've boiled it and it hasn;t shrunk at all In that case it isn't wool, AFAIK

H F-W made felt and it needed lashings of urine :eek: :rotfl:

Penny. x

ChocClare

What causes felting is hot water AND agitation (not the only things those cause :rolleyes:).

If it is superwash wool, it will resist felting. You can wash it on a 90 degree wash in your washing machine, but just bringing it up to the boil won't necessarily start it felting. If you want to do it by hand then you have to mash it up and down continuously with eg a wooden spoon.

If it still resists then, as Penpen says, maybe it's not 100% wool after all.

sallypurple

To add to what has already been posted the agitation is the important thing - do it on the hottest wash in your machine with your jeans/tea towels to help it get bashed around.

HTH Sally xx

charliee_3

yes, you have to break the fibres down so just boiling wont do it.. i think i saw it on kids tv once...

valk_scot

Chuck it in the washing machine with a pair of old jeans or a couple of tennis balls. Wash it at 90'C. If it doesn't felt with that treatment it's superwash wool and will never felt.

For information, if anyone is buying charity shop jumpers for felting you need at least 70% wool and the label should say Hand Wash Only. If it says Superwash anywhere, or can be machine washed then it won't felt. It also won't felt if there's too high a proportion of other fibres unless the other fibres are angora, cashmere or mohair, in which case you can go up to a 50:50 mix. And even then, just occassionally a jumper won't felt in the machine and you have to do it by hand.

scotrae

Do you want to send it to me? I seem to have a knack of felting DH's best jumpers

Brighton_belle

Many thanks everyone - that was really helpful. Obviously agitation is the missing link for starters. But I have just checked the label and it isn't handwash only so looks like it won't work with this one anyway.
May chuck it is with next very hot wash on nothing to lose basis. But at least I know what to look out for in charity shops now.Great stuff.

And lol scotrae:D oh and thanks for handy tip PP -will speak to OH:D

Auntie_Noo

The other thing is needs is a sudden change in temperature - so bringing it to the boil wouldn't work but chucking it in already boiling water will. or alternating between cold and hot. Often when you dye wool you need to boil it to set the dye and it never felts - even on completely untreated fleece. One of those strange phenomenons!!