Knitted Felt in Seven Easy Steps

1/ Toss the items (safely zipped in a mesh lingerie bag) into the washer.

2/. Add enough laundry detergent or no-rinse wool soap for a small washload.

3/. Set the cycle to the smallest size load and Hot Wash.

4/. Close the lid and turn the machine on.

5/. Check the felting process every few minutes, especially the first time you felt a new yarn. To check the process, simply open the washer, stop the agitator, reach in (wearing rubber gloves if you want, since the water will be very hot), pull the lingerie bag from the soapy water, and look at the items. If they are as small as you want them to be, remove the bag from the washer. If the items are not fully felted, put them back in the water and set the machine to begin the agitator again.

6/. When the desired amount of felting has occurred, gently hand rinse the items. To minimise the risk of further shrinkage, use rinse water that is no colder than the wash water.

7/. Remove excess water by spinning the item briefly in the washer for no more than a minute or two, and/or rolling it in a bath towel.