Felting Tutorial - How to Make a Wet Felted Pod / Vessel using a resist

Hello!

This tutorial has been updated (as of April 2013)

Please click here for the new version

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This tutorial will show you how to make a 3D felted pod using a resist.  A resist is usually a piece of thin plastic and is put between two layers of wool to prevent them from felting together.

If you haven’t made felt before, please take a look at our ‘how to make flat felt' tutorial as this pod tutorial presumes a little knowledge of basic wet felt making and the simple materials you will need.

The resist we are using is a circle 17cms in diameter cut from a roll of laminate flooring underlay, but you can use any thin plastic to make your resist.

Place your resist on a piece of bubble wrap on a suitable work surface.

Start laying wool, half on and half off, around the edge of the resist, like sun-rays
(bear in mind that the colour of the wool you use first will be the inside of your pod).

Continue until you have covered the edge right around.

Fill in the middle, laying the fibres horizontally.

Cover with net and sprinkle with tepid soapy water, just enough to make the wool wet, if you over-wet, mop up the excess with a sponge.
Without disturbing the fibres under the net, rub a bit of soap over the surface...

 

...then agitate gently in a circular motion with your fingertips for a minute (only rub the wool on the resist).

 

Carefully remove the net, releasing any trapped fibres, then cover the resist and wool with bubble wrap, bubble side to the wool.  Gently push down to get a bit of ‘seal’, firmly grip the right-hand side of the bubble wrap and wool ‘sandwich’ and flip it over east to west, so that the resist is now upside down.
Carefully remove the bubble wrap, releasing any trapped fibres.

With wet, soapy fingers, wrap the wool ‘fringe’ onto the resist.

As before, lay wool, half on and half off, around the edge of the resist, like sun-rays.

As before, fill in the middle, laying the fibres horizontally.

Cover with net and sprinkle with tepid soapy water, just enough to make the wool wet, if you over-wet, mop up the excess with a sponge.
Without disturbing the fibres under the net, rub a bit of soap over the surface
then agitate gently in a circular motion with your fingertips for a minute (only rub the wool on the resist).
Carefully remove the net, releasing any trapped fibres, then cover the resist and wool with bubble wrap, bubble side to the wool.  Gently push down to get a bit of ‘seal’, firmly grip the right-hand side of the bubble wrap and wool ‘sandwich’ and flip it over east to west.
Carefully remove the bubble wrap, releasing any trapped fibres.

As before, with wet, soapy fingers, wrap the wool ‘fringe’ onto the resist
You now have a resist with one covering of wool on each side.

Now repeat the steps detailed above so that you get two layers of wool on both sides of the resist
BUT
this time fill in the middle so that the fibres run vertically.

The next two layers will form the outside of the pod. 
There are many ways to add decoration and this is just one idea.

Choose 3 or 4 colours that you like

then pull off tufts of each colour and blend them together - lay the tufts one on top the other, grip both ends one in each hand and pull apart.  Lay the tufts back together and repeat the pulling apart until you are happy with the mix.

Using the blended wool, make four more layers (2 each side) in the same way as before
BUT
When you get to do the last layer on the last side, do not lay out a fringe of wool to be wrapped around – just cover the circle with wool.

This is what you have now – 4 layers of wool on each side of the resist.

This is the time to add anything else you want, for instance, you may want to incorporate Wensleydale curls or silk top.

We put a little white silk top on this pod, but it doesn’t show in the photo as it becomes transparent when wet.

Put bubble wrap underneath and on top and push together gently.
Sprinkle a little soapy water on top of the bubble wrap (to stop your skin sticking to it) then make small, gentle circles all over the wool, cupping your hands around the edges to get friction to the sides as well.  After five minutes, turn the whole thing over and rub the other side for five minutes.

Repeat once more, five minutes on each side, re-positioning the bubble wrap each time so that the bubbles are in a different place.

Still keeping your pod between the sheets of bubble wrap, roll it up in a bamboo blind (or, if you prefer, around a pool noodle). 
When it’s wrapped and looks like a swiss roll, upend it over a sink to drain away any surplus water.

Time to roll it – roll it gently 30 times, unwrap it, turn it a quarter turn, re-wrap it and roll gently 30 times.
Repeat until it’s been rolled and turned four times.

Turn it over and repeat the rolling four times, turning a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the rolling (gradually increasing the pressure) until the resist starts to buckle.

How you cut the resist out will determine the shape of your pod, but for this tutorial, we cut a hole in the centre of one side (taking care not to cut through the resist and the other side of the pod!)

Carefully remove the resist, and using soapy fingers, rub inside the pod and around the cut edge.

Put the pod back between the sheets of bubble wrap and roll again, 30 times each quarter turn.
Run your fingers around inside the pod to make sure there are no stray fibres felting together then turn the pod over and repeat the rolling.

Now it’s time for the shaping and fulling which can be done with just your hands or with the aid of a tool – here are some that we use:
Baby’s rattle, metal spoon and the plastic ball that measures washing liquid.

Put a sheet of bubble wrap down and make it slippery with soap.

Place your pod on the bubble wrap and ‘work’ it into the shape you want.
The edge (where the wool was wrapped around the resist) will need special attention to shrink the wrinkles. 

One way to work specific areas of the pod is get your hands really soapy, then use two or three fingers inside the pod against two or three fingers outside the pod.
Another way is to use your fingers or a tool against the inside of the pod and rub it against the bubble wrap on your work surface.

Just play around and you’ll soon discover the best way for you.

 

When you are happy with the shape, rinse the pod to remove all the soap and add a little white vinegar to the final rinse.

Squeeze the water from the pod - but do not wring it out – then re-shape it before putting it on a rack to dry naturally.

Comments

[Christen McKinnon]

I've been trying to figure out how to do that for aaaaages! Thank you for a lovely, clear tutorial xx

[Annie and Lyn]

Thank you for the feedback Bonnie - you'll be pleased to see the re-vamped tutorial with loads of photos.

[Bonnie Redish]

I'm sorry but I don't understand the bit about cutting out the resist. I'm very visual and there wasn't a pic about this part.
If the resist was initially felted in by encasing it with roving on both sides, then what I think is supposed to be done is this....
cut out your hole going only until the scissors encounter the plastic resist. ( guess you can guage when you come to it by the feel of resistance to the scissors) So you are cutting through the fibers till on the one side of the resist till the plastic is exposed.
What I'm also not clear on how the plastic is drawn out of the hole since it's still trapped by fibers on the inside of the flat circle since the hole is so much smaller than the outside perimeter.
This is a case where a picture would indeed be worth a thousand words!

[Annie and Lyn]

Thank you Ashley - anywhere between 250-350 grams of wool, but it really depends on how thick you want to make the cave and what kind of wool you use. A coarse wool will produce a firmer cave.

[Ashley]

Great Tutorial! I want to make a cat cave for my cat. How much wool would I need for a pod roughly 18" in diameter?

[Annie and Lyn]

Hello Gwenn
Thank you for the question - the laminate flooring underlay we have is 3mm thick (one eighth of an inch). Happy felting!

[Gwenn Volkert]

Wow - what a great tutorial. I do have a question though, how thick is the piece of laminate flooring underlay? I'm in the US and it seems to come in several sizes. Any suggestions?

[Annie and Lyn]

Hello Denise
Sorry to hear that your pod is slightly flattening out - we think that either (a) the pod wasn't fulled completely, or (b) you may have had more weight of wool on one side of the resist than the other, or (c) it's become too damp where it's been put.

(a) When a felt pod is fulled completely (fulling is the process of hardening and shrinking) it should keep its shape once it's dry.

(b) When putting wool on the resist, it might help to weigh out the wool to ensure that the same amount is put on each side because a heavy top won't be supported by a lighter bottom.

(c) If the felt takes up a lot of moisture it can become heavy and may need re-shaping before re-drying.

We hope this helps.

[Denise]

Thanks for the tutorial. Just a question though. This was my first try at felting something that wasn't flat. I made one two weeks ago, but its slowly losing shape and slightly flattening out. What might I have done wrong?

[Deborah Walker]

That's such a clear and helpful tutorial! Thank you. I made a little "pot" to put some felted acorns in. http://afeltdesire.blogspot.be/2012/11/from-little-acorns.html
Deborah

[Leonie]

Hi Annie and Lynn, thanks for visiting my blog. Yours looks great! Very inspiring. I feel like trying to make felt items myself as well :)!

[Annie and Lyn]

Thank you for your feedback Amanda - glad to have helped clear the fog!

[Amanda Broad]

Thank you for such an amazing tutorial :-))) it has been about five years since I did a course n wet felting and my brain had gone a bit foggy. Your tutorial cleared the fog xx

[Nirma Elizabeth]

Me encantaron los tutoriales, excelente y detallada explicacion! puedo preguntarles si en algun momento pueden enseñarme a hacer volados? si bien he experimentado, me han quedado algo flojos y finitos. Desde ya agradecidisima desde Argentina. Les invito a visitar mi trabajo en http://artesaniasnirma.wordpress.com/
Cariños, Nirma

[Annie and Lyn]

Thanks Laura - If you make a pear-shaped resist and cut the hole in the wide part, then snip the narrow top off, you have a chiminea type pod. Use bright wool for the inside and dark wool for the outside for a good effect when the light shines down from the top.
You can also make bird-nest pods with a pear-shaped resist.
When you cut the hole, don't just stick with round. Experiment with cutting pointy crenulations etc.
Have fun and see how many variations you can find!

[laura mcnulty]

loved the felt pod tutorial. i wonder if you have had any success with other shapes? Or have you cut the hole in a different place and had it look good? Afraid to ruin my precious wool by experimenting, and wonder if you can give any pointers first? thanking you, laura

[Marina]

I made a larger one for my cats using almost 10 oz of wool, I would suggest making the hole very small as it stretches a lot. You can always make the hole bigger but not smaller.

[Jain Kidsley]

Thank you for pointing me in the direction of these great tutorials.

[Annie and Lyn]

Hello Cindy - if you've never felted before, please try our 'how to make flat felt' first, because the pod tutorial presumes a little experience.
The pod for this tutorial is small (we thought it would be easier for a beginner to handle) and took 30g of wool to make.
The finished size is approx 7cms tall and widest part is approx 11.5cms.
To make a larger pod, increase the size of the resist.
Happy felting!

[Cindy]

I can't wait to try this! How big is this pod and how much wool would I need? I'm new to felting and buying wool, and have no idea how much to buy!

[helen]

Thank you, thank you, thank you - followed your tutorial and made my first pod - wish I could send a photo of it as it worked great. For shaping I inserted a plastic bag and then filled it with rice as I'd made the hole very small and it gave me a nice symmetrical shape.

[Dina Newton-Edwards]

Thank you for your wonderful tutorials. They are so well presented: clear and easy to follow.

[Beverly]

Did a one day workshop on felting last year and was looking for a reminder of what to do - this is great! I want to try and make cases for iPods, iPads and Kindles. trying to work out what shrinkage factor I'd need to use for the resist - any tips??

[Carol]

when you roll it do you use a rolling pin or do you just roll up the felt?

[Annie and Lyn]

Glad you liked it Jennifer! No, you can't use water solvable paper or art paper. You need to use a material that won't disintegrate when it gets wet and rubbed around. You also need something thick enough to feel under the wool and to be able to wrap the wool over.