The Feisty Quilter: Wool Felt Appliqué

Most felt blankets were woven before they were felted. The classic army blanket is a prime example. Wool felt blankets with objects possibly needle punched into them to mend a hole predate cotton cloth and cotton quilts, but not linen. Adding wool felt appliqués to a cotton quilt may have evolved into using the shapes for needle turned appliqué. These shapes didn't change until the invention of fusible web.

You can buy felt and roving that is already dyed. Or, you make your own roving or felt and dye it. Why stop there? You can raise and shear your own sheep.

Babydoll sheep stand 18-24 inches at the shoulder. They're the perfect size to raise as a pet, 4-H project, hobby fiber animal or to graze in orchards and vineyards. Stone fruit, black walnut, Johnson grass, alfalfa, clover and copper (a mineral found in grain) is toxic to sheep. Really! They're not goats. All they need is pasture grass, water, a salt lick and a small amount of baking soda. They cost $250-350 each for unregistered lambs. The Babydoll Southdown Sheep Breeders Association has a membership directory so you can find a breeder near you. One is all you need for an unlimited supply of wool, but they do best in pairs. If you intend to work with a lot of felt, having your own sheep is the most cost effective option. One of these sheep can pay for itself with 2 small quilts or a single large one.

Wool carding combs are essentially dog brushes. They're used for combing raw wool into roving and for combining colors of dyed roving before felting. Get 2 large brushes on eBay for $9.38. Drum carders are very expensive and not worth the money unless you have a lot of wool to sell or want to make batting for quilts.

White roving is available here for $2.79. I recommend felting your wool into sheets before dyeing. You can cut out pieces before dyeing as well to minimize the amount of dye used.

Dyed wool roving is available on AliExpress for $8.34

A felting stone is used to press the fibers together. Get one from Dharma Trading for $18.50.

1 bamboo mat, the kind used to roll sushi

1 piece of voile fabric, about fat quarter size

Bath towel

Castile soap, textile detergent or Dawn dishwashing liquid

Quart size flip top bottle

The pool noodle and bubble wrap method is used for 24 x 36" pieces.

Wet Felting Instructions

Lay the towel on a hard surface. Lay the bamboo mat over the towel. Pull off pieces of roving and lay them on the mat, overlapping them. Only one layer is necessary for appliqué. More layers are necessary for thicker fabrics. The first layer should be vertical. Place a second layer horizontally overlapping the first layer. You can do this with carded batting as well. Separate the batting into two layers. Place one layer down vertically and place the second layer over it horizontally. Use as many colors as you want to create an ombré, mottled or landscape pattern.

Add 1 tsp of soap to the bottle and fill with hot tap water. Lay voile fabric over the roving. Carefully squeeze the soapy water over the fabric. Gently press the water into the wool until it's saturated. Wipe with a cloth to absorb excess water. Rub over the fabric for 10 minutes with a felting stone to create friction and help the fibers bind to each other. Lift up the fabric and check the wool to see if the fibers have all bonded together.

Roll the mat from the bottom up really tight. Roll the log back and forth 20 times.

Unroll it. Remove the felt from the mat. Turn the felt 90 degrees. Roll it up again. Roll it back and forth again another 20 times.

Unroll it. Remove the mesh fabric. Ball up the felt and squeeze it under hot tap water. Switch to cold and rinse it. Switch back and forth from hot to cold 4 times or until all the soap is out. The hot water opens the fibers and the cold water closes them. This helps the felt tighten up. Lay the felt on a dry towel and roll it up to absorb excess water. Unroll the towel. Remove the felt and lay it in the sun to dry.

After it's dry, you can needle punch object designs into it for decoration.

The wool can be dyed before or after felting. Natural dyes are brilliant on wool. You may want to take this route for a historic reproduction quilt. Get a kit from Dharma Trading for $53.95. I recommend pre-reduced indigo crystals because they're easier to use than natural indigo. Get them here.

The above kit uses potassium alum as a mordant. Cream of tartar (tartaric acid from wine making) is used as a fiber softener and to brighten red and yellow dye. These chemicals are used in the pre soak. The ancient Celts used urine to set the dye after it was removed from the dye vat and rinsed. I believe the method was learned from the ancient Britons via the Romans who used ammonia for centuries to set murex dye. Ammonia is used for linen or cotton; urea is used for wool. Uric acid is a vital missing component in the kit. If you don't want to pee in a bucket and let it ferment, you can purchase urea plant fertilizer at Ace Hardware or any gardening center for $11.99 per 4 lb bag. Mix 1 cup of urea per gallon of warm water for every pound of wet roving or yard of felt. It's reusable until it turns to ammonia.

Lanaset dye is the best for wool that you intend to wash after dyeing. Get it from Dharma Trading, price per 2 oz jar varies. Lanaset is quite expensive, but if you use the squeeze bottle application method on individual pieces, the dye will last a long time. Buy two mixable colors at a time like red and yellow so when they are applied, they will blend into a third color. This is the only reason I can see for synthetically dyeing your own wool because pre-dyed solid roving from China is so cheap.

Citric acid powder is the acid in acid dyeing. It's stronger than white vinegar and makes the dye more color fast. Get it from Dharma Trading for $4.25/lb.

You'll need textile detergent from Dharma Trading for $3.95 per pint.

Pre-soak

1 gallon warm water

6 Tbsp. Citric acid or 1-1/4 C. white vinegar

2 tsp. Textile detergent

Soak roving or felt for 45 minutes. Do not rinse. Ring out excess water and run through a salad spinner.

Dye Solution

1 C. Hot water

1/2 tsp. Dye powder for pale color

1 tsp. Dye powder for medium color.

2 tsp. Dye powder for dark color.

4 tsp. Dye powder for black.

Make the dye solution while the fiber is soaking. Mix dye in a disposable cup and set aside to cool. Pour into a squeeze bottle. Dye can be stored for 6 months.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer while your dyeing the wool. Wear gloves! Lay roving or felt onto plastic wrap or a sheet of acrylic. Apply a few drops of one color and let it bleed. Apply a few drops of another color at a distance and let it bleed. You can create an ombré or a mottled effect. Make sure the dye has seeped through to the plastic and the wool is saturated. Let it soak for a while. The fibers will only absorb so much dye. It's better to be patient rather than waste dye. Place the roving or felt into a ziplock bag.

Place the bag into the pot of simmering water for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, turn off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature. Remove the bag. Rinse the wool under cool water until it runs clear. Wash with textile detergent to remove excess dye. Tumble dry on low heat or air dry.

Dharma Trading has virgin wool felt for $19.69 per yard.

Weir Crafts is the best site for solid colored wool felt. There are 60 colors available. Each 8 x 12" piece is $2.35.

This 8 piece artisan dyed charm bundle is available on Amazon for $40.00.

Wool felt appliqué is the easiest kind you can make. Simply cut out pieces of felt and straight or blanket stitch them onto a foundation. The beauty of felt is that it doesn't fray when you cut it.