Sew with Me Sunday 8 - Making Wool Batting from Scratch

[@EmilyGS31]

I really wish you explained each step and why- that would have been very helpful to understand the process! At the very least in the description.

[@thesustainablequilter]

This was done several years ago. I was just learning about vids and tutorials. Thanks for the feedback, I’ll add some more detail in the description. ♥️

[@citytrees1752]

@@thesustainablequilter detail? what are you grating onto the batting?

[@ameliagfawkes512]

I'm here because I'm keeping my husband's religious (holey ...) M&S, machine washable fine wool jumpers to use as "batting" for a quilt. Three of us can't wear wool, so I'll encase the wool in cotton. I'm now hoping he wears through them faster. First the elbows go and I patch them with suede. Then other areas wear and under the arms start to go. There's plenty of really nice wool fabric left. The suede patches are saved for the next jumper. This video just shows what we could all be doing with fleece, which is massively undervalued. I believe it's also good for insulation.

[@danielledunham9925]

I feel like this should go viral. So interesting!

[@cs9236]

fascinating couldn't take my eyes away from watching this video

[@briteddy9759]

Wow! What a fascinating video. This is one of the most interesting and fun videos I have seen in a long time! Now I will have to research what you used for the felting. What did you shave and sprinkle on the wool? Also, did the feed wool get stiff when dry? Thank you for sharing.

[@thesustainablequilter]

Thanks Brit! I shaved bar soap on the rolags(combed wool) and the felted wool is so soft, just like batting!

[@Melissa0774]

Is the water supposed to be hot or cold? Any particular temperature that works best? Will this technique also work for cotton or poly blend stuffing that you buy in fabric stores?

[@thesustainablequilter]

The water is hot when felting. When rinsing at the end, I use cold water to close the fibres. Felting is usually best with wool fibre products, that said, I've never used the others. I know other fibres can be layered in as embellishments, but need the hooked or barbed fibres to felt.

[@sewobsessedmama8851]

Thanks so much for this video - I'm going to try this

[@vault7137]

That'll give your arms a workout!

[@vlkvlk7290]

Hi, beautiful work, I wanted to ask what breed (sort) of sheep it is, is it from merino sheep? Thank you.

[@thesustainablequilter]

These are a blend of sheep breeds. They are not bred for their wool and it is quite short stapled. But it works perfectly for felting like this.

[@jenniferrastley7337]

Approximately how long did it take to felt this particular piece? What was your approximate dry time? Do you know if this same felting process would work to make a wool blanket? Thank you so much for sharing

[@thesustainablequilter]

Thanks for asking! It was about a 4hour process to felt the whole thing. Dry time was about 24 hours I think. It was a while ago so I’m not 100% sure. I think it would be a similar process for a full blanket though often there’s a scrim(poly) worked into a large blanket for stability.

[@wileyumstead9236]

I have 3 videos on making cotton battens for blanket in Thailand. I took the videos as I asked these ladies about the number of generations they had been making these battens for the store owner and many other questions. If you would like to see and use these videos I can send them to you on telegram. I made these videos in 2014..

[@roorooadventures4771]

I will be learning how to make this. Are you making a wool blanket? What did you put on the blanket to make it stick together?

[@thesustainablequilter]

this is batting. The wool fibres lock together when felted with hot water and use soap to help facilitate the felting process.

[@natasha5937]

A few questions: Why did you choose to felt it on top of bubble wrap? Why did you agitate it while rolled up? How much did it shrink from it's original size? Any chance this technique could work to make cotton batting? Thanks!

[@thesustainablequilter]

The bubble wrap is a good textured surface for agitating the fibres and rolling it is another way of combining the fibres while felting. It shrank about 25% from the original size of laid out loose fibres. Cotton is not easily felted like this. It usually requires punch needling and a scrim on the surface, I’ve truthfully never tried it though, I don’t have cotton fibres available to me. Hope that helps!

[@natasha5937]

@@thesustainablequilter Perfect! Thanks!

[@lyndamiller6269]

Do you need to felt the wool to use it as quilt batting or could you use it just laid out with criss crossing rolags like before you started agitating?

[@thesustainablequilter]

if it's not felted it can clump together when washed and may felt into clumps then. I criss-cross the fibres and then add hot water and soap to work it.

[@gwenwier7187]

Just out of curiosity, would it be feasible to put the layers under pressure carefully through the wringer on and old washing machine as a final squeeze?

[@thesustainablequilter]

Sorry for the delayed reply, I think it would depend on how well felted of is. You would want to be careful about distorting the shape in some circumstances.

[@rebbiejaye]

And it’s hard to tell since the video is sped up, but how long did you spend felting it?

[@thesustainablequilter]

This took about 4 hours non-stop to felt :)

[@hollywinsman9464]

This is amazing.

[@thesustainablequilter]

Thank you!

[@morganpowser7162]

I have more questions now than before I watched this

[@tarakulis8273]

Could you use any type of Soap? and would you keep adding layer of wool to make the blanket thicker?

[@thesustainablequilter]

You can use any soap, it just can't be detergent. If you are wanting it thick, you would lay down your layers before you start felting. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@lonnycapps9945]

What were you using when you grated something on the material!?

[@thesustainablequilter]

I was grating soap onto the fibres

[@pandorabotica]

Hi! Did you use it to do a quilt? Is it washable? Thanks!

[@thesustainablequilter]

I did use it for a quilt, not a washable piece for that one. It was a thread painted art piece. It could be washable in a quilt, with cold water to avoid shrinkage

[@pandorabotica]

Thanks! I’m gonna try!

[@TheQHunter]

What was that stuff you shaved onto the wool??

[@TheQHunter]

Ohhh was it soap??

[@thesustainablequilter]

@@TheQHunter yes. It’s soap. It makes the felting process smoother. The fibres will bind together much more easily.

[@solb101]

Did you grate Parmesan over it? 😂

[@thesustainablequilter]

Yes, yes it was Parmesan 😆. Cheese quilts are my specialty lol. ( it’s soap).

[@rebbiejaye]

How much wool by weight did you use per square foot or so?

[@thesustainablequilter]

I don't actually know, I don't really work that way. I just lay down what I need and felt it. I'd have to do more to really get e a sense of that.

[@rebbiejaye]

Thanks for the replies!

[@moonnewsome3340]

How did you do this?

[@thesustainablequilter]

What part are you referring to?

[@moonnewsome3340]

@@thesustainablequilter what are you shaving onto the fleece? And are you just using water or soap to ?

[@thesustainablequilter]

It’s soap that I’m shaving onto the fleece and then I add hot water to work it in and felt the fibres.

[@moonnewsome3340]

@@thesustainablequilter ah I see thank you

[@Fatima-kgtf]

@@thesustainablequilter is this normal cotton??

[@joshuaperry4112]

Uhh, so wtf are you doing?

[@thesustainablequilter]

Felting!

[@bethbrady8230]

Yes, we are trying to learn and there is not enough explanation, just alot of activity. It gets disheartening to us if we don't understand but are expected to keep endlessly watching 😥

[@star.gir1]

can you use the wool as batting without felting it?

[@thesustainablequilter]

without felting it, it would clump when washed and felt into those clumps. You could needle felt it which is a dry process.