Even more felt slippers!!

Hi Everyone!

Many thanks to Bad bird for her lovely post on my slippers!! you can see it here.

Here goes….. the final installment! Find the others here, here and here

You should have two boots, covered with two layers of fibers, so now you basically repeat the process I described in the last post, building up the layers until each boot has at least six (I find that adult boots need more)

Remember that every time you start to lay out fibers for a layer, they must be going in the opposite direction to the ones underneath.

The trick is, to try and remember which direction you’re fleece was heading, as once you have wet it it is difficult to tell.

You may want to work out some sort of system for remembering, such as standing the boot on a sheet of paper when you are not working on it with the toes pointing at the words either UP or ACROSS.

Also remember to keep sharing out the fleece evenly so if you take a bit from you’re stash for one boot put the same amount aside for the next.

(I hope that makes sense things always seem more complicated when they are written down!)

each time you finish a layer and have whetted it, give it a nice massage, put some love in there!

The last layer will obviously be the one you will see, so now you can get creative and have fun with your colours, add patterns, shapes or pictures I often trap sparkly threads under a few fibers or you could add some raw silk, the possibilities are surely endless for all you talented creative folk who are reading this.

By this time I’m guessing you and you’re entire kitchen is soapy and soaking wet, there is fleece, tule, towels and bubble wrap every where and people have started wondering where dinner is!

Don’t dispare help is at hand! the wonders of modern technology have given us……

The washing machine!

Now, there are two ways you could go here many people may be horrified at the thought of sticking their wellies in the washer, it is a bit more risky(for the slippers) as you can’t see what’s happened till the end of the cycle(at least in my washer anyway)

So if you don’t want to take the short cut just continue to rub and rub and rub and rub and rub…………………until the boots look well felted enough to take of the welly mold

But if like me, you want a break and need to get the tea on, then wrap the boots up individually in their tule sheets tying the tops (I also put a rubber band round to hold the tule close to the boot but don’t have it too tight or it will leave a mark) Then say a little slipper prayer and put them in the washing machine with the wet towels from the floor, it’s good to have some other stuff in there with the slippers but not a full load. I stick them on a 60 degree wash and then have a cup of tea!

the rest of you just keep on rubbing…and rubbing….: )

When the cycle has finished, say another little slipper prayer and then get them out and unwrap them. Sometimes the tule has begun to integrate a little, if it has just prize it off gently holding the felt down with you’re thumb as you go.

If you managed to lay out the fibers fairly evenly as in the same amount for each boot then they should have shrunk to pretty much the same size, the shoe part obviously can’t shrink any smaller than the boot so it’s really just the ankle bit which may be different heights. Don’t worry if it is because you can cut them so they are even. occasionally a pair has come out not so well felted, I think this is when I put too much other stuff in the washer with them. If this happens you may need to rub them with hot soapy water for a bit until they are stable enough to come off the mold.

Now to take them off the welly molds just hold the ankle of the welly in one hand and firmly push down the back of the slipper until it slips over the heel of the welly then prize the rest off. It will come off as wellies are nice and flexible.

Now you should have something like this

They look lovely, cute and fluffy and you will be tempted to leave them like that, but they do need more felting by hand. So grab you’re hot soapy water again and give’m some love!

Now you can control how much they shrink, basically the more you rub them the more they felt and the more they felt the more they shrink. It’s best to work evenly at this point do a bit on one then swap over to the other keep comparing the size and shape.

When it is the right size for you, rinse out all the soap with cold water and mold them into their final shape.

Now they are ready to dry. let them dry in the shape you have molded them to because however they dry that’s the shape they will be.

Well done!!!!!

Some final notes:

For adult or bigger kid’s boots adding a sole, either soft leather or cutting one from another piece of thick felt, is a must or they will wear through really quickly. You can use a blanket stitch to attach this and also to finish off the top.

If you don’t know how to do a blanket stitch, here is a little clip to show you how (with soothing music too!)

To make the felt balls you simply gather some fibers in the palm of you’re hand wet them a little with hot soapy water and roll, gently at first, until it has felted into a ball.

I can’t wait to see the results so please post them up on you’re blog if you do make some and let me know so I can add a link

Pheewww!

I’m off to bed!! : )

Cx

P.S.

If you don’t fancy making you’re own check out my etsy shop!

Tags: craft, craft tutorial, felt, felt balls, felting, kid's slippers, making felt slippers