This is the second in a series of three articles looking at the technique of Felting.

When felting your crochet - simply think of all the things you would not to do that lovely hand-crocheted pure new wool top and then do it to the item you want to felt!! If you are like me then you will know how it feels when, flying against all advice, you pop your sweater into the washing machine saying 'oh it will be ok' and it comes out the size of an egg cosy! This is because the fibers have shrunk and locked together which is part of the felting or fulling process.

Putting your woolen items into the washing machine gives all the elements required to full or felt your garment. The elements that are required are heat, water, agitation and detergent or soap which turns the water alkaline and helps the process.

It is possible to felt or full your work manually - but laying the item over bubble wrap or a cane blind, wetting it with hot water and rubbing soap or detergent into the item then rolling it up and 'kneading' the bundle to agitate it. Keep unrolling and turning the work so it felts evenly and this also allows you to keep an eye on how the process is going. Heat the item up when it gets cold by pouring hot water over it - or even popping it in the microwave for a quick blast! Whereas it is much more time consuming manually felting or fulling your item, it does give you greater control over putting it in the washing machine which is really a case of keeping your fingers crossed as when it has started there is nothing you can do until it has stopped!

Felted or fulled fabric can be spun in a spin dryer to remove much of the water � however do not put in the tumble dryer as this continues the felting or fulling process! The spin dryer is fine as the centrifugal force means that the item is kept firm against the side of the drum and doesn't get agitated further.

Any wool will felt or full as long as it is not pre-shrunk ie wool which is sold suitable for machine washing (ie Superwash). Acrylic and manmade yarns won't shrink or felt, neither will silk, however blends of wool and other fibers will felt - but not to the same extent as pure wool. Pure wool is likely to shrink by over 50% so it is important to do a sample first if size is critical!

The difference in felting qualities of different fibers lends itself to creative work. For instance silk won�t felt or shrink therefore rows of silk combined with rows of pure wool once felted or fulled will give a textured finish.

The first article in the 'Felting' series can be found here Felting - Technique

The third article in the �Felting� series can be found here Felting - Tips for felting Crochet