I found that using the washing machine shortened the process and made a more compact 1-inch heart.
Click"Read more" for the tutorial
supplies needed
felt roving
2 feet of felt roving per heart, divided in half- I used the Martha Stewart Brand which is more yarn-like in texture. you may need less if you use another brand
old pantyhose
detergent & washing machine (top loading is best, but my front loader worked fine)
felting needle
felt sheet, folded into eighths, to use as felting pad
felt sheet, folded into eighths, to use as felting pad
heart mold (optional)
Cut off the legs from a panty hose...
Cut 12 inches of felt roving and roughly roll into a ball.
This will eventually become half of a heart...
Tie the toe of the panty hose and place in your first felt ball...
Then knot it off and place in another felt ball.
Continue until you are at the end and/or have the desired amount.
Remember that this makes 1/2 a heart, so you'll want an even amount.
i have an odd amount... learn from my mistakes! ;)
Throw this lovely pantyhose contraption into the washing machine.
(I don't like to waste energy/water so I ran it with a few towels).
Run it on Hot and throw in some detergent.
When the load is done, cut pantyhose below each knot,
and peel out the wool ball...
Not so pretty yet, but here are the heart-halves...
Configure the two halves into a heart and get out your felting needle.
With the felting needle, start shaping it into a heart shape...
Use your felting pad (felt sheet folded into eighths) to really compact the fibers and meld the 2 halves together.
my results: tighter weave and less fuzz than my needle felted hearts... although a bit harder on the needle-- I broke a couple! I also had to double up on the amount of roving per heart since the result is more dense than the needle felting method.
There are other ways to do this. Here are a few other washing machine felting tutorials with photos-- [1] [2] [3].
Alright, I'm done with felt roving for now. I still need to figure out what I'm going to do with all of these felted hearts though... Maybe a garland? We'll see.
Have a good one!
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