DIY "boxfelting" the easiest felting method!

[@Evan-yi7in]

I would like to echo other comments and sincerely thank you for this work. I have no doubt in my mind that you're rediscovering original skills here that have been either lost or covered. As more people turn to some variation of homesteading, communal living, or what your are doing; being able to learn from others is so, so important. So again, thank you very much for your work!

[@brycerobinson880]

So cool to watch this skill being demonstrated!

[@vikkicaldwell4590]

beautiful work. the hobbyist felters all seem to be obsessed with really hot water and soap, very interesting to see the benefits of lanolin being left in.

[@KiAirah87]

Thank you for sharing you experienced technique. This is very interesting and feels like it might be an insight into how other people in history may have also done it. We have so many ways of figuring things out, everybody always tries to reinvent the wheel.

[@branni6538]

It keeps the fibres soft on the skin. Its rough as hell washed.

[@KKIcons]

The old aran sweaters left the lanolin in. It had waterproof qualities and protected the fishermen out there on the water from the harsh climate. I am looking for one of those atm.

[@sn1peron33]

Agreed,with weather patterns,it's an asset for self made waterproof clothing.

[@SindyJ37]

Yes i agree i wasn't aware of the benefits of leaving the lanolin in very interesting and glad to have learned about it

[@rachel_Cochran]

I'm so glad I've found your channel. I can't describe the emotion it makes me feel

[@RomaniKiwi]

LOVE your videos! I do a lot of (needle)felting myself and have learned many ways of making beautiful felt over the years. You have just added a few fresh and unique ideas into the mix! You're an inspiration, the way you live, gather and make your food, your clothes... You have the smallest possible footprint on this planet, which is undoubtedly what you're going for! Taking off my felted woollen hat to you, my man!

[@earthborn8385]

“The Love we withhold, is the pain that we carry” good looking out, brother

[@journeybrook9357]

Now I see where the sheep herders got their sheep vests. In old pictures and movies you will see the felt vests that kept them warm while they working with the flock. 👍Cool. I believe wool felt was used in making so many other products.

[@margaretdora9127]

Love the updates on your animal family and your lifestyle with them.

[@watsonspuzzle]

I'm in love with that hooded vest.

[@lisadixon2494]

this is incredible, such amazing knowledge you hold Sir. I found your channel through Kirsten Dirksen's visit to you. I have used a more conventional method in the past, can't wait to try this with my sisters sheep wool. Thank you for sharing this.

[@Cyara248]

I found your channel the same way. It's amazing how creatively you live. I've learned so much from you.

[@pamic1211]

me too! that's how i found the channel. i suspect it might lead to much higher number of views and subscribers! i hope so. quite soothing to watch this when so many of us lead such complicated lives!

[@Ramcharger2Travel]

Aaron , thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I've seen videos of felting from retired wool sweaters but never from unprocessed wool. My Dad's neighbor has sheep I'm going to try it out with my son. God Bless you and Protect you.

[@SindyJ37]

I love your comment and i hope you and yoir son enjoyed doing your wool project together what a nice activity to enjoy together ❤

[@Time.and.Spoons]

I do a similar method but I use a tarp or plastic and a wooden pole. I roll from fingertips to elbows Turning the felt 90 degrees after 10 mins of rolling makes it very strong

[@Cyara248]

Interesting. Do you have a video of this?

[@123Homefree]

If you dont need a box to buildup your layers then you arent breaking up the fibers as much so they wont be able to work into eachother as deeply and your final felt wont be as abrasion/snag resistant or have as much sheer/pulling strength.

[@MonikaMundell]

I loved this video when I watched it a couple of years ago, and now I'm finally ready to felt my first piece. I had to clean all the burs and prickles from the wool first, which took a while. 😂 Here in outback Australia we don't have paddocks of green grasses. Making myself a mat to take bush as a barrier for my sleeping bag. Then I'll make a hooded vest for winter. Aaron, I'm so grateful for your channel. You inspired me to do this. Thank you.

[@ericbruskotter3207]

this box method reminds me of the felting for giant yurt covers in Tibetan nomadic cultures with the tubular rolling

[@ericbruskotter3207]

blessings to you for your truly democratic sharing of knowledge, know-how and inspiration. all you have offered to the web is truly a gift. I feel enriched , like I have been in a great classroom.

[@123Homefree]

Thank you for letting me know youre benefiting from this stuff! Ive done the mongolian yurt felt cover method several times where but they whip the pile of raw wool instead of picking it apart like this and their final product is not nearly as durable or consistently dense for clothing use it has thinspot problems when done any thinner than their thickass feltroofs. But i have ti say that method makes the most beautiful looking felt imo, it looks like "marbled" sheep dreads with a tiedyed-like texture. This box felting method makes the warmest garments of all felting methods though!

[@wisegentle7859]

Aaron you have integrity I respect your work and life as do many others. Blessings Brother.

[@GlomusIridescens]

It's pretty fantastic that you came up with this... I've heard you mention it in other videos, but had no idea it was this simple, yet elegant. It would be interesting to see if unwashed wool would take on the pigments of indigo, or yellow from Oregon grape root... tyedye felt swatches is an aesthetic I didn't know that I needed in my life, but this process did inspire both the question itself, and a vision of a music studio lined wall to wall with heady wool

[@kayewilson8391]

So happy to find this channel. I have a large amount of raw wool that I just knew there was someone out there could show me what to do with. It is really beautiful stuff. Amazing.

[@281covfefe5]

Amazing !! Simple Effective !! That vest is awesome ! Thnxs for uploading and sharing this !

[@jeanetteharris7000]

Very cool. Way into the self sufficient fiber arts

[@joea104]

Thank you so much im thinking of getting some sheep an i would love to do this one day. You have taught me something for life. I appreciate all you do. Your an amazing soul.

[@rainh2o958]

I love this! I've just gotten into raising wool sheep and wanted to learn felting. I've watched numerous videos but this method is the one I'm going to try first! This makes more sense to leave in the lanolin so it remains waterproof. Thank you for sharing 😊

[@kellypepin8029]

Very cool! I love the clothing you make from this raw fiber.

[@tomcooks3451]

Great vid as usual Painting the bottom of the box bright red/yellow will help you see if you missed a spot, also reflective material such as tinfoil would work if you shine a light on it

[@123Homefree]

Tom Cooks yes that would help but its not necessary if you just have a flashlight

[@branni6538]

This is a genius idea fella! I've made felt and it was a nut ache. This way is the way forward!!! It's exactly like the Mongolian natives method of making felt but they use yak piss or milk instead of just water. They also thrash the fibres with a stick before rolling. Your method is the way forward! Thanks dude!

[@What2B]

Thank you kindly Aaron for teaching me about box felting and other valuable life skills. 🐑🐑🤠🐑🐑

[@antsatlas4855]

I really want to get a hold of some raw wool now. Thanks soooo much.

[@spunstricken9065]

Very nice method and items you have made. Thank you for sharing your method.

[@clayguinard3651]

Do you make vests to sell...

[@t.n.9720]

This is so much fun to watch, and i learned alot! I work a tiny bit with wool and make presents, and I don't have those tools they write about in books, this was so much easier!

[@deepbludude4697]

Dude! I wish I knew this 30 years ago, I lived on a island in the middle of the ocean, all the sheep had gone feral, Id collect wool off of all the acacia trees whee they would graze course it was warm and I didnt need wool clothes...

[@lisahartsook]

what a man what a man what a man. you are just awesome i have nothing to give but my thank you's and prayer. So thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@ChanninSmith]

Ditto. But I did send him $5 through his PayPal. Well worth it for the knowledge he freely gives.

[@estherkwok6492]

Your hand can tell how work hard of you ❤, great video

[@Cyara248]

So interesting. Very creative way of providing for yourself. Thanks for the video.

[@castleofcostamesa8291]

Thank you for being so generous and creative! I learned something new. Blessings to you!

[@2000madi2000]

Thinking you could maybe coat the bottoms of your wooly boots with lanolin - just a thought. Wool under a microscope looks like spirals I believe.

[@frankie7084]

Thank you so much for sharing this method. I have access to sheep in my job and have been collecting wool to start felting. ❤

[@suchandradasi]

Thank you so much! I've been stressing about making stuff with my wool for a couple years now! I don't like how everyone makes it so complicated. I love how you keep the lanolin which is the magic part and your black and white east friesian is so cool looking! I WONDER ...Are the little fibers that didn't lock in because of the wool coming from a sheep that has a little bit of hair sheep mixed in? I have a merinoxdorper mixed black lamb and I really am excited to see what I can do with her wool. There is a lot of hair in it though. If her's doesn't turn out good, Hopefully, she'll get a few black lambs when I cross her with one of my clun forest rams who carries black wool genes.

[@kayceegreer4418]

I think it is so wonderful that you are sharing all this knowledge with us

[@wildgeese5707]

Man thank you. I just bought five unwashed fleeces for felting and it has been so frustrating trying to figure out how to wet felt without a big drum carder to arrange all the fibers in the same direction. You just showed me how to wet felt with chaotically arranged fibers. Thank you thank you

[@123Homefree]

Search “123homefree box felting” and “123homefree finger carding” for my other howtoo videos oh and “spinning too

[@sandd286]

You are Awesome. God bless and keep you safe 🙏.

[@ericaepperson8928]

I want to try this soon! My first felting experience was so tedious and complicated.

[@janepipkin8139]

now that's just wonderful info! love that you're not washing all the good stuff (lanolin) out of it. thank you!

[@daniellemroz8548]

Thank you for showing some felting. I have been trying to figure out a simple easy way to accomplish this.❤❤

[@ddanna58]

Wow... amazing simplicity. Blessings

[@123HunterHead]

like painting. comes out with all kinds of pattern or colours for sheep wool

[@elshummel6720]

Thank you much for this great video, I was realy looking for something like this and this makes me feel happy. Tomorrow I start trying a simple thing a when i get better I want to make such a nice vest like you did. Keep on going

[@Crystalspanda]

Awesome, I be done this, different tools, and I have a little colorful dashboard cover. My sister is a fiber arts master... Dies all the time... Her own line of Alaskan yarns. I was always able to learn from her. I like needle felting,, Cuz this is HARD WORK on the muscles... Great workout¿!!!😃

[@secretgardentribe9220]

Thank you so much for this video that has made the mystery of felting accessible to me. I can't wait try to copy what you have shown and see what comes out. Thank you very much.

[@InnerAlchemy7944]

whoa absolutely beautiful! Well done Lad, loving the content

[@SindyJ37]

Thank you for sharing this video Aaron!! You are so skilled and talented

[@leannarandall]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and taking the time and effort to do so.

[@brodingrimstone2807]

pretty amazing, thanks for sharing, makes me want to get some sheep

[@briannemorna4268]

I love this method and I love your vest.

[@SimonAlan-sm6vv]

Thanks I really enjoyed watching this and learning. Initially I have always wondered how felt was made, and can now see that it is an alternative to weaving for making flat cloth. I love your dedication and research - Thanks You! Working with the pure raw wool like that is amazing - it retains all of the best properties. I also like what you said at the end in your comment "The love we withhold is the pain that we carry"

[@130Gabby]

I appreciate this so much. Beautiful work. I was curious on what method you use to add the pattern pieces of wool together to make clothing. Do you felt them together or sew them?

[@123Homefree]

Sew

[@pegz.3959]

Probably others have stated that using the method you are showing is simply the oldest method that was used. When you lay the wool out in the fashion that you do, you are taking a greater chance of having very thin spots on your piece......thus, you end up using a larger amount of wool to achieve desired results. The "bull****" methods that you mention are people developing ways to make very thin, flowy felt works. They are wanting them to be thin and for them to be a fabric that drapes and flows gracefully. There is certainly nothing wrong with how you do it and for utilitarian reasons this works quite well and will make very nice outer garments that are rain resistant and very warm. When you use fine wools for outer garments to wool often "pills" due to heavy wear and can be a bit unsightly so these outer garments usually use much more coarse wool for durability purposed. Thank you for bringing to the forefront this very old and certainly even ancient way of making felt. It is nice to go back to the roots from time to time.

[@123Homefree]

Not quite, the ancient method wasnt able to pull the locks apart into individual fibers because they’d blow away so they would rip locks up roughly or beat them with sticks that on the upswing would rip the locks apart but the final product is always shabby and not at all abrasion resistant. When you break the fibers up more then bring them back together into one felt its denser and the ends are tied in better no loose ends. The modern carders rip fibers in half lengthwise doubling and even tripling the number of exposed fiber ends on the surface of the garment thst pull out easier than my felt because the fibers are much shodter being ripped in half by carders. Watch my “they love me or they hate me video” beginning has a very thin boxfelted scarf all you hace ti do is use a flashlight to check the consistency if density like in this here felting video.

[@awalkthroughtorah6897]

Just got a ewe and ram lamb. My ewe is a wool sheep. So I will be trying this next spring. Thanks!

[@DiogenesWasRight90]

Immediately stuck on your channel watching all of your stuff. I would like to meet you someday soon.

[@terisaisherwood3006]

Amazing thank you for sharing!

[@LeonaFraser1]

fantastic hands on simple crafting thank you so much

[@jaridkeen123]

I think more homeless people could be Shepherds. I wouldn't rule out a slightly larger wagon that could be pulled by 2 Rams

[@123Homefree]

No, wagons cant be any larger than this without inhibiting their safety and mobility on the side of the roads, sidewalks, getting through peoples fence gates to park in their yard overnight, maneuvering around and through street obstacles and trees while in the woods, etc. You also cant pull a bigger wagon by yourself in order to reposition it onto the flattest part of earth in the parked proximity. If your ram(s) got hurt or died youd be screwed.

[@gypsiemomm]

🤯Thank you for showing us how to think outside the box!!!🤯

[@chl170]

Do you make bedding as well?

[@noahbrown4388]

Bro, that is awesome! That was so meditative to watch. Now I want to try to make my own :) How itchy, or not, is felt made in this way?

[@roamingearth915]

This was an awesome video! Thank you for your time :) 🇨🇦

[@keenyn9081]

So awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m going to try with the sheep’s wool I just harvested from my sheep!

[@NewEarthHealingwithJennifer]

Many thanks Aaron!

[@cherylstar2272]

this was a very informative video! I was considering getting sheep for my small homestead, I now see much more value to woolie sheep instead of the hair sheep. Definitely want to try sheep milk- I've only ever had milk goats on my farm. Thank you!

[@tamaracoba]

This is soothing to watch.

[@katcre22]

This is so cool!!! I love what you are doing!!

[@MrGoatflakes]

1:40. Thanks! Just looking at you doing it unfucked the part of my brain that couldn't get over the "need" to card wool before spinning. Every thing else seemed doable literally with rocks and sticks... Carding was quite the friggin conundrum... I was imagining blacksmiths drawing wires through dies... I knew that was definitely wrong when it came to _The Simplest Way To Do It™_ because stone age people can make very fine textiles, but I couldn't picture it. But yeah watching you pull at it for a second made me see the error of my ways, before you even said finger carding. I need to stop watching and learning so much and start doing 😳I owe you a drink!

[@jackp492]

I was thinking recently, where I grew up there was a lot of sheep fields near me and the hawthorn always had whisps of wool on it, not enough to just harvest from the branch, maybe if your patient, but I was thinking recently, if you took some thorny twigs and lashed them together to make a square with the thorns all aligned upwards, you might well have there an effective hackle for fibres, not quite carding, but it’s better than nothing, I’m gona give it a go this summer, all the nettles near me have exploded so I’m gona try the fibres from those, I was planning on simply doing a 4 in 1 chainmail pattern of tying rings of fibres instead of spinning and weaving, as for a fabric it will at least drape, but that’s very time consuming, glad I found this felting video, instead of cardboard, could use the bark off a fallen willow or something similarly flexible, A trunk or branch will give you 3.14 times it’s diameter width piece of bark, Was also gona look into bark cloth, but I think for the labour involved it’s not actually a very useful material

[@grainnezanni]

Sooo brilliant! I always think its a waste to get rid of the lanolin. I'm definitely trying this as soon as i get a box! Thanks for the tips!😊

[@fionajane56]

This was awesome,!

[@dirkg7062]

Thanks for teaching us. Great job!

[@lavigneduroy6421]

Thank you for your great ideas !

[@agarvan]

How does he harvest the wool?

[@katherineblow1608]

Absolutely amazing I’m so glad I have found your channel 👍 am learning so much

[@tinamariedunkailo6847]

Thank You! I am going to do this!

[@sonofhibbs4425]

I’m new here, so please excuse me if this has been covered, but what type (breed) of wool sheep do you have? I love your sheepies!

[@d.k.dooley4709]

Excellent!

[@michelecraig9658]

Excellent video. Thanks for the teaching.

[@Washkeeton]

About how many pounds of wool do you need to make a vest the size of the white one that you have? and what about a blanket? or about how many lbs of wool do you have in the bike box, give or take. Thanks Awesome video by the way... Thanks for the instructions...

[@justinw1765]

Pretty awesome, thank you for sharing. Was wondering, do you think that the sheep would be ok with having their wool vacuumed while it was still on them, or would they be freaked out by the sound and/or sensation? Also, I was thinking that if you make an ultra sonic vibrator, and put it under a shallow tub of some kind, put and pressed the wool in, then poured some water to cover/saturate it some, the ultra sonic vibration might quickly vibrate the fibers to lock together? Actually, you probably wouldn't even need ultrasonic to get there. Just use something with a strong, relatively fast, and constant vibration might work. Same way that people clean parts by using a vibrating (orbital) sander and water contained in a tub. A metal container would probably work best to transmit the vibration.

[@سميةهادي-ذ8ظ]

Thank you. Can you make lanolin wool fat in a simple way? I don't know English please

[@spinderella3602]

Have you tried suinting (ferment cleaning) the wool before? My wool is way too dirty. I like how you've broken this down into a simple, more primitive method that can be used even if the lights go out and don't come back on.

[@SydEveratt]

I rarely leave comments. Thank you for this!

[@BJEdwards-l4f]

So cool! Thank you for sharing this!!!! Can't wait to try it out!

[@julielehman1921]

I JUST SUBSCRIBED. YOU AMAZE ME. REALLY ENJOYING YOUR SHOW. YOUR FOOD LOOKS SO GOOD! MY FAVORITE CHEESE IS FETA. YOUR A GOOD SHEPHERD. I WOULD LOVE TO BUY YOUR CHEESES.

[@delijahify]

Hey Mr. 123Homefree! Thanks a lot for your video! I've just finished my first felted piece today. Everything worked out well. I was just a bit shocked on how much that thing shrinked, haha. It shrank for sure about 50%. So for my body size i guess i need 3 or 4 pieces in order to sew a vest.

[@123Homefree]

Or just make something else with the current small panel and get a bigger box!

[@delijahify]

@@123Homefree hmmmm, good idea. i will check. that one was actually already quite big, but i might get something bigger. question: is it actually possible to cut the pieces in order to tailor some nicely fitting clothing? or is it not a good idea to cut them?

[@123Homefree]

@@delijahify you can cut them, thats the whole beauty of felt over woven textiles is that felt is most easily patched and sewn

[@delijahify]

@@123Homefree awesome. thank you! :)

[@hanzketchup859]

Wow , that is brilliant , you’re very resourceful . Is there any tools you might need that you don’t have ? Is there anything that might help you other than tools ?

[@pnwgracethroughfaith7915]

Would you ever be interested in making one and selling it? I would by it. I live in Washington state. But I’m going to look in to getting some wool and trying this for sure. Great work, God bless

[@Rahel8811]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@lizreyes4382]

Good video, like your stuff. Thanks

[@dagmargross6064]

Thank you for this info! One day I might do this too!

[@kaycarter492]

I spin wool never tried felting though. I love the smell of unwashed wool except for one delivery I had which smelt of ammonia

[@starshine8169]

great vid wondering if there is a scent to the unwashed wool ?

[@Platypus2012]

The old type wood slatted/carpet roll up window blinds from 1970s and 80s rvs might work well as a roller. Maybe with a sheet of cotton glued to one side. Or outdoor bamboo roll-up shades again with cotton canvas attached to one side. It would double as a shade or mat.

[@123Homefree]

Yes lashed mats of any kind work very well to felt but the strings endup breaking too often compared to the plastic cardboard

[@BeautifulTripsandPlaces]

Have to try this! Thank you!

[@Rootsandradicles]

Hi Aaron, great video - love the felting technique. I am trying to make my own felted waistcoat with buttons to 'do up' at the front. I just wondered how you did the front of yours? did you just felt one big piece and then cut it in half? If so did you do anything to strengthen where you cut the felt - i was thinking i could needle felt this area so it wasn't a weak point? Also did you sew the button loops into the felt? Thanks again for the video and the technique!

[@jasminflower3814]

Great video thank you, from Queensland Australia. :)

[@myriambressani7019]

I've been wondering how one could make comfortable mattresses using only local, affordable, homemade material. Apparently, just wool batting isn't comfortable enough, but I'm thinking combining layers of wool batting and wool felt might provide a nice balance. Have you tried using wool for mattresses?