How to upcycle (AKA felt/full) a wool sweater

I'm sure if you've owned at least one wool sweater, you (or someone else) have mistakenly thrown it into the washer, and when it was done your once adult sized sweater was shrunken down to kid size. THAT, my friend is the art of felting, or more correctly "fulling" (all though I see the word felting used more often, or the two words used interchangeably). The fibers of wool have puffed up (or fulled) and the individual fibers ends stick out and become entwined with the fiber next to it, so once the fabric (a sweater in this case) is dried and shrunken it's hard to even see the individual stitches of the knitting or crocheting, and IMPOSSIBLE to unravel, making it just like a piece of fabric ready to cut and sew.  I've given several of these sweaters to Goodwill over the years, and now I'm shopping at thrift stores to find wool sweaters to purposely shrink/felt/full, to use for MANY upcycled projects.  I use the whole sweater. I use the sleeves for wine or bottle bags, the cuffs for beer koozies, or for mug/cup sleeves, and the body of the sweater for pillows, or purses/bags

Here's how to do it yourself

Step 1 Step 1

Look through your closet, or shop your local thrift store for a sweater that is at least 50% wool. I have never paid more than $3.89 for a sweater....even less in the summer!

Comments

[MissPennyFarthing]

Thanks for posting this as I've been looking for nice, clear instructions for a while. :-)

I've recently tried felting a 100% cashmere sweater I bought at a thrift store, and it just won't work. I've run it through the machine twice, and I've even tried doing it by hand in the sink (I thought being able to give it a good scrub by hand might work better than my front loader), but it hasn't even started to felt and simply looks a little fluffier than before. The washing label says it's a 40 wash, so do you think that it may have been pre-treated to make it shrink resistant? If so, is there any way I can felt it, or will I simply have to bind the edges when I cut it?

I haven't felted anything before, so any help would be much appreciated.

[MaryT8M]

My guess is that it is a "superwash".....that is the term they give "washable" wool.......I bought a beautiful sweater that was a burnt orange color......just what I had been looking for, and I saw the tag saying 100% wool, but not the tiny tag down on the inside saying you could machine wash it. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to felt! I'm guessing it will be the same with yours :-(

I'm not sure you will even have to bind the edges.......I haven't cut mine yet. What are you planning on making with your sweater?

[MissPennyFarthing]

Oh no, that is depressing - I bought it specifically to felt it too. :-(

I'm hoping to turn it into a cardigan, so I'd be cutting up the front, and probably making it a little shorter too. It's a very fine knit - not even as thick as 6-strand embroidery thread.

Thanks for you help! :-)

[MaryT8M]

How many times did you wash your sweater on HOT? I read elsewhere that cashmere takes longer to felt than regular wool. It said it can take 3 or more times through the HOT wash cycle to felt.

IF you've only tried once maybe try again, especially if the tag says dry clean only, or hand wash. Be sure to add something heavier to wash with it, for the aggitation....I add a pair of jean, and a heavy bath towel, AND an old tennis shoe. Maybe try without any soap or just a very tiny amount. Wash on HOT and the longest cycle....I reset the cycle before it has a chance to drain the water, to make the cycle even longer

THEN put all the stuff from the washer into the dryer and dry on high heat.

Let me know how it comes out for you