Template for Quick and Easy Wet Felted Coin Purses

This tutorial is aimed at those crafters who want to reduce the amount of time it takes for them to produce small felted items to sell. We all know how long it takes to make just one item! It makes sense then to make purses, small vessels, booties, and flowers in bulk since rolling one item takes just about the same amount of time as it will six or 10.

You can increase the profitability of these little coin purses by purchasing Botany Lap Waste fibre for this project instead of pure Merino Wool Roving. The cost of buying 500 grams is just £9 with postage added on top. I buy 1 kilo or more at a time! Most of the fibre included in the package is Merino Wool but there may be some fibres added which will not felt quite as well. However, they can be blended together to create a rich beautiful mix suitable for both felting or spinning. I love that feeling of anticipation I get when I am waiting 'impatiently' for my next 'lucky dip' to arrive.

Coin purse frames can be purchased from E-Bay or Amazon. Some may be of poor quality and some take a long time to arrive but the sew in purse frames which I recently purchased from Oriental Direct surpassed all of my expectations. Not only were they delivered in 2 days but they look as good as they feel, just the sort of frame which I enjoy working with. Sometimes cheap frames can rust if the wool is not completely dry when you sew the frame on. To avoid disappointment, choose good quality frames. It seems a shame to spend so many hours on a project only to risk such a calamity.

• Underfloor laminate for tracing the templates on. This can be bought at your local hardware store.
• 6 -10 Sew in Coin Purse Frames -10 Count - Silver - 8.5cm from (E-Bay)
• Botany lap waste fibres which can be purchased in quantities of 500 grams or more from World of Wool or Amazon.
• Olive oil soap grated and diluted in warm water) Alternatively you might like to use dishwashing liquid diluted with warm water
• A small squeeze Bottle filled with hot soapy water.
• Bubble-wrap
• A small pair of sharp scissors
• 1 Polystyrene ball with a circumference of 8"
• 1 Polystyrene ball with a circumference of 10"
• A heavy- duty bamboo blind (Bubble-wrap) may be substituted.
• A large sheet of bubble-wrap
• A sewing needle which has a large but narrow eye which can easily be threaded and pushed through the holes in the coin purse frames using 3 strands of embroidery thread.
• Embroidery thread to match or contrast with each coin purse
• A thin knitting needle (to help push the cut edges of the felt up into the frame when completing the purse.

• Draw or trace 6 - 10 templates as shown above onto a sheet of underfloor laminate.
• Cut out the templates.

• The layer should not be too thin but then neither should it be too thick.
• You should not be able to see the template through the wool.
• The wool should extend just a little over the edges of the template.
• Gaps in the wool roving should always be filled so that you cannot see the template below.
• Uneven layers always result in holes or thin spots!

• Wet the wool roving with soapy water.

• Wet the surface of the bubble-wrap. This will allow your fingers to glide easily over the top.
• Push down on the wool and press the soapy water through the wool.
• Rub until all the wool beneath the bubble-wrap lay flat.

• Gently lift the bubble-wrap from the fibres once they have flattened out.

• Turn the Template template over onto the other side and neaten the edges by folding them over with a little warm soapy water.

• Wet and smooth out the folded over fibres using some of the warm soapy water.

• Cover Side 2 of the template with an even layer of fibres.
• Cover, wet the surface and neaten off the edges as before.

• Repeat steps 2 - 8.
• Cover both sides of the template again with another layer of wool roving.
• You may use the same colour as shown here or choose a different colour for the middle layer.
• This layer will be sandwiched between the top and bottom layers.

• This is the top layer of the purse.
• Cover the previous layer with another even layer of decorative fibres as shown.

• Neaten the Edges and smooth using a little soapy water.

• Cover the (final layer) with a layer of decorative fibres.
• Wet and cover with bubble-wrap.
• Wet the bubble-wrap and rub well.
• Flip the project over and neaten the edges.

• Cover the prepared templates with wool as in the first example.
• The same wool may be used for each one or you can ring the changes for a varied appearance.
• You may add curly wool, pieces of silk or any other fibres of your choice for decoration.
• Please see images below.

• Put the templates onto half a sheet of bubble-wrap.
• Fold the other half over the purses to form a package, bubbles should be facing the wool covered templates, the smooth side should be on top.
• Put the folded package on the large bamboo blind as shown.
• Roll the purses gently at first and slowly add pressure.
• Keep on opening up the blind and rotating the purses inside the bubble-wrap so that they shrink in all directions.
• Roll until the templates start to curl at the edges. This should take about 15 minutes.
• Please see image below.

• Cut the openings on the purses along the edge using a small pair of very sharp scissors.
• Use the coin purse frame as an estimate to see how long the opening should be cut.
• Cut the opening only enough to allow the largest polystyrene ball to fit snugly through the opening.
• It is better to underestimate the length of the cut than it is to make it too large.
• The opening can always be made larger later if necessary.
• Be gentle with the opening at this stage.
• Put the purses back into the bamboo blind and roll the edges to make sure that they are sealed properly.

• Cut all the purse openings as shown below.
• Place them on the bamboo mat and roll for a few minutes.
• This will seal the cut edge and make them stronger.

• Take the purse with the balls to the kitchen sink.

• Remove the ball from the cavity and put the little pocket into the palm of your hand.
• Let hot water gently flow onto the wool.
• The purse is still a little fragile at this stage so treat it gently!
• As you introduce the water massage the wool in the palm of your hand.
• Switch to the cold tap and continue squeezing and massaging the purse.
• The wool will soon start to shrink under your fingers.
• Do this a few times and then rinse the soap from the purse.
• Squeeze any excess water from the purse and flatten out the purse.
• Hold the purse by first one end and then the other.
• Gently hit the surface of the kitchen counter with the purse and as it shrinks hit it down harder.
• It purse will quickly shrink to the required size.
• Put the larger ball back into the purse and shape the purse over the ball under the running water.
• Don't shrink the area near the opening completely as you will need to remove the ball afterwards.
• Please see images.

• Put the small ball into a plastic bag. A supermarket bag will do.
• The plastic bag adds a little 'stuffing' to the purse and also makes it easy for you to extract the ball from the cavity.
• Insert the small ball into the opening with the long ends of the plastic bag dangling.
• Shape the purse over the small bag and plastic bag with your fingers.
• Sometimes I put the ball into the tumble dryer for a couple of minutes to shrink the ball slightly but this may not be necessary.
• Remove the ball from the purse.
• Pull it out using the plastic bag and leave the purse to dry a little as you continue covering the rest of the purses with fibre.

• Place one purse frame on each of the prepared coin purses.
• The frame should match the opening but leave a little felt to extend beyond the opening as shown.
• The felt which extends beyond the end of the purse frame should be cut off level after you have sewn on the purse frame.
• I prefer to sew the purses while the wool is still damp.
• If you use a purse frame which is of poor quality it may rust if sewn on while the purse is still damp.
• Poor quality frames should only be used if the purse is completely dry or not at all.
• Damp felt is much easier to push up into the frame with a knitting needle or sharp pair of scissors.

• Sew the purse frames on with embroidery thread.
• Use a needle which can be easily threaded but is thin enough to push through the holes on the metal frame.
• Start at the second hole from the end and double back to the first hole.
• Continue in the same manner all the way around the purse.
• Trim off the excess felt level with the top of the purse frame only after you have sewn on the purse frame/
• The remaining felt should be pushed up into the frame.
• Use a small pair of scissors or a knitting needle to help you push the felt into the frame and then run it along the cavity it is being pushed into.

Vessels, purses, booties and flowers are ideal projects for crafters as all of these items can easily be rolled at one time inside a bamboo blind.