Making Felted Soap
I bought a felting kit from another soaper several months ago when I found out how “easy” it was to make felted soap. The beauty of felted soap is that it not only covers ugly soap, but it works as a washcloth and soap in one. The wool will continue to shrink as you use the soap. Since I had some ugly peanut butter and jelly soap that smells just fine, last night I decided it was time to try it out!
I really didn’t have any idea how much wool to use for each bar of soap.
For my first attempt, I thought I used a bit too much wool, and it didn’t want to wrap very smoothly. I received these instructions from Mielke’s Farm when I bought the felting kit, and I’m pretty sure this is where the supplies for the kit originally came from as well.
Here are the basics:
1. Loosely wrap soap with wool.
2. Add little bits of water until wool sticks together.
3. Rub and squeeze wool until formed to soap.
4. Rinse with cold water.
5. Pat dry with towel.
6. Repeat over and over until your hands are completely pruney! (I added this last step because once I got started, it was just too much fun! )
You might be able to see some soaps that aren’t quite covered (not enough wool), and now that they are all dried, you can see that some of them still have some fluffy parts:
These will be for our family’s use for now. I’ll keep practicing – in my spare time! I had also recently bookmarked these instructions for felting soap. I would have to invest in a few more tools to create designs in the wool like they did…
Would you use a felted soap? Why or why not?
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Probably not… I’m allergic to wool! But the idea sounds really cool!
They look good!
.-= Holly´s last blog post ..Small but Mighty =-.
Hmmm. Very intrigued by this post. Is it soft? Scratchy? Does the wool wash away or do you throw it away when there is no soap left? I definitely want an update on this!
That is so cool! I’ve never used a felted soap. Is it itchy at all? that would be my only issue with using is possibly breaking out. I’m not allergic to wool, just a little sensitive.
.-= Crystal Martin´s last blog post ..Has anyone seen my mind? Oh there it is! I think =-.
I love it! You did a great job!! See how easy that was. Plus, people love them. I know I do 🙂
thoses are so cool and fun!! Is the wool scratchy?
.-= Jessica´s last blog post ..One of our family traditions =-.
Looks cool.
If it costs more I’d say I would not buy felted soap. It’s not a NEED. And if it doesn’t cost more what’s the point for you? Oh wait, you said to cover the color fails. So, if its the same price as the other soaps it would probably sell – and you get to use a soap that you weren’t happy with the colors. Maybe you should give it a test run and see what happens.
And I too am curious if its itchy.
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Looks like quite a bit of work, but fun. Very pretty.
.-= Sharon´s last blog post ..My week of fun making goodies =-.
I’m also curious about how the felt feels against skin. And what you do with the wool after? Can it be reused somehow? I think I’d avoid it if it can’t be reused; I don’t like throwing things away. But if there’s a reuse for it and if the wool isn’t itchy to the skin, I’d consider it.
.-= Kim´s last blog post ..Last Giveaway of 2009! =-.
It looks like you have had lots of fun making these soaps!
Depending on the wool used, a felted wool soap can be scratchy, but it can also be soft. I’m personally fond of using Merino wool.
The wool can be used as a washcloth pad after the soap is all gone, but it will be very small. Most people just throw away the wool.
Andee
blog.thesage.com
PS. There were directions in last month’s issue of Family Fun Magazine, too.
.-= Tricia Richner´s last blog post ..Felted Soap =-.
I just finished felting two bars of soap Sunday night. The first bar turned out fine, but the second needed more attention. I was not sure if I could wet it down again and continue working the wool, but I tried and it worked. The wool is tighter now and smoother all around.
I bought my wool roving from Overstock.com, it was very reasonably priced and I was able to get many colors.
http://www.grandmaandmesoaps.com
<a href=www.grandmaandmesoaps.com/Products.htnl<Felting Soap
When i worked in my family’s goat milk soap business in Oregon we used to sell felted soaps. My sister in law used to do the felting. at one point her husband rigged up a 5 gallon pail with a lid on it .. she would wrap the bar with the roving and get it started with a bit of water .. stick it in a zip lock bag and get several soaps started that way .. stick them in the 5 gallon bucket and secure the bucket with rope that was attached to the bottom and top of the pail to the treadmill, she would turn the treadmill on and let the soap tumble around in the bucket in their individual zip lock bags .. thereby simplifying the amount of time she had to spend hand felting them, alternately felting them in the zip lock baggie by hand prevents pruning of the fingers *grin*
If you’re allergic to wool, try alpaca fiber. It works the same and doesn’t have lanolin, which is what people tend to be allergic to in sheep wool. Alpaca wool, or fiber, as it is called in the industry, is warmer than wool and softer tnen cashmere. It feels great on the skin. Give it a try. I just happen to have some for sale if you like. 🙂