Wet Felting! Needle Felting! Hat on a Ball!

In this Tutorial I incorporated three simple methods to make the felting process easier for beginners.

These are Needle Felting, Wet Felting and Hat on a Ball techniques.

Used together they can help speed up the whole process of felt making without compromising on the beauty of the finished product.

Rubbing and rolling the wool can be tedious at times so the use of a tumble dryer takes away the effort required to make felt.

The first step is to make a hat block using a plastic lined metal wastepaper bin and a spray can of Big Gap Insulating Foam Sealant. The foam expands rapidly and when dry it can even be cut or shaped with a sharp knife if necessary.

The complete hat last is not a thing of great beauty but I can attest to the fact that it functions perfectly and is still working very well even after many hours of use!

• 1 Handcrafted Hat Block which can be made using Big GAP Filler Insulating Foam Sealant sprayed into a Metal Waste Paper Basket and shaped to the desired shape and size.
• Metal Waste Paper Basket
• Cling Wrap
• Oven Spray
• A Sharp Knife
• A quantity of Merino Wool Roving
• A Gertie Ball (I purchase these balls from Amazon) They are perfect for using in the Tumble Dryer. The have a soft and squishy texture with a nice surface for the fibers to cling onto. They also come with a little tube which allows for easy inflation and deflation. These balls can be used over and over again.
• Hot Soapy Water (Dish Washing Liquid or Olive Oil Soap Grated in Hot Water
• Wooden Handled Needle Felting Toil
• Tights or Stockings

• Line a metal waste paper similar to the one shown below. I used some plastic sandwich wrap to line the sides and then sprayed it lightly with cooking spray.
• Spray the foam into the basket until it is three-quarters full. The foam will continue to expand for a while after you have filled the basket. By the time it has fully expanded it should reach the top of the basket.
• Leave it to stand in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside and under cover until it is completely dry.
• Remove the polystyrene block from the basket and peel off the plastic.
• The block can be shaped and carved to the desired shape with a long sharp carving knife if desired.

As can be seen in the image below, the foam expands far more than one might expect. In this case. it was useful as I was able to turn the hat block upside down and benefit from its ice-cream shape. In fact it made it easier as I had a good base to work with.

Begin by adding slivers of wool roving to the lowest edge of the hat block.

Wrap this piece of wool roving around the hat block and then fold the previously placed Fibres over the long piece to neaten the edge.

As can be seen in the image below the felt can sometimes attach itself to the hat block especially if it is needle felted in too securely.

The idea is not to felt the wool in so deep that you have to tug the wool away from the hat block.

You have 3 choices here The hat can be shaped in 3 ways.

Wet the hat in very hot water and wring out and then shape the hat to fit by putting it back onto the same last or onto a different shape hat block or even a bowl or even your own head.

If it on the large side you can add folds and even turn up the edges up form a brim. Felt is very malleable and can be shaped and shrunk to whatever shape you desire.

Alternatively, you can Wet the Project and put a Gertie Ball into the cavity and tie it up into a pair of tights and shrink it down again in the tumble dryer so that it forms a skull type hat as is shown above.

• There were a few things I learned from my having combined these three processes. It may take longer to lay out the Fibres, but it can be done in your spare time!
• It really does allow for a less haphazard design on the felt though sometimes the conventional way throws up a few nice surprises! The felting process done this way is really quick in the tumble dryer.
• Though the tumble dryer makes short work of the felting process it may not be the most eco-friendly method but it sure saves your neck from all that rubbing and rolling!
• It is possible to overwork the felt in a tumble dryer and it can sometimes leave you with a much denser felt.
• It seems then that there really is no right or wrong way to make felt. It is such a forgiving process!
• My best advice to you is to find a method which works for you.
• How you get to your end result really does not really matter at all.
• Experiment a lot and have lots of fun doing it!

The end result was a hat which fitted beautifully and I was well pleased with the result. I hope you will be too!

My favorite felting video of all time. Make a hat on a Ball - a simple method for Children and Adults alike.