How long in washing machine to felt?

[Lost]

I just bought a some yarn for felting and put the swatch in the wash to see what would come out, but the swatch looks the same as when I just put it in. Am I suppose to wash it more than once? I also crocheted the swatch pretty tight so I don't know if that is the reason.

[Minathia]

make sure the yarn is the right type-some are made not to felt at all. also, from what i've read you're supposed to keep putting it through for 5 min at a time. -i haven't felted myself yet though- try havving a pair of jeans in there for added friction

 

and if none of that works, then there are some instructions online to hand-felt the item. good luck!

[JCB]

Try doing another swatch with a larger hook (I've been using a size L for WW ) and I like doing HDC. There are lots of variables... some yarns just felt faster than others. Also, if you don't keep your hot water tank really hot, you may need to pour in a teapot full of boiling water. Use a hot water wash/cold water rinse combination on your machine. Use either soap (I use Ivory Snow) or some baking soda. Also, throw in some things to help with agitation. I use a really old pair of jeans and a tennis ball... plain rubber flip flops would work too. Make sure it does not way 'superwash' on the label, or that the label does NOT say you can machine wash and dry. Feltable wool usually instructs you to hand wash in cool water and lay flat to dry. Sometimes you just have to run it through the washer several times. Which brand of yarn are you using?

 

Good luck with it!

 

Joan

[ggrose]

I crochet anything I want to felt with a K hook..the wool needs room to shrink. I put mine through a short cycle with some towels to balance about five minutes

[sherryzzz]

I too use an L hook and a hdc stitch. The fibers in the yarn need room during agitation to rub and twist up together. Also, since I like my felted items heavily felted to the point where you cannot see the stitches, I usually re-set the wash cycle back to the beginning (before it drains) at least once, maybe twice. I check at the end of each cycle to see how much the item has felted. I've read that the SWS wool felts much faster so you have to check it more often.

 

I also use about 1/4 cup of baking soda to change the ph balance and help the item felt better. You can also use laundry SOAP (not detergent). I put my felted items in a zippered pillow case, but add jeans to the load to help with the agitation. I don't use towels - I find that even enclosed in a zippered pillow case I still get towel lint embedded in my felted items.....