Soap Felting
Creating a felted wool soap cover not only allows for a fun and creative activity, but it also promotes a zero-waste lifestyle. The felted wool provides a perfect home for your soap, allowing you to use every last bit without wasting any small, unusable pieces. Once you've completed the process, the only thing left is a piece of wool that can be added to your compost bin. Here are the steps to create your own felted soap:
Materials
Wool roving
Bar of soap
Old nylon stockings (optional, but much easier for beginners and children)
Bowl of hot water
Bowl of cold water
Towels
Step 1: Begin with a length of roving to wrap around the bar of soap longways. Pull off enough roving to wrap around the soap 2-3 times. When you have enough, pull off the access roving gently, don’t cut it). Now, wrap the soap crosswise 2-3 times. Now your soap should be well covered and there should be no thin spots. If desired, add wisps of different colors for your own personal touch like I did in the picture above..
Step 2: Carefully put the wool-wrapped soap inside the nylon stocking and tie a knot close to the soap to hold it in place. While this step is not completely necessary, the stocking holds the roving in place while the wool is felting and is a perfect step to consider as a beginner.
Step 3: Dip the soap into the bowl of hot water to wet the wool and then into a bowl of cold water. Take it out and begin rubbing the soap gently up and down (longways). Every so often, dip the soap back into the hot water and then into the cold water again to felt the wool.
Step 4: Once the wool has begun to felt, it can be rubbed more vigorously. Be sure to rub all parts, including the corners and sides. When the wool feels like it has become firmer and is hugging onto the soap tightly, remove it from the stocking. If it requires more rubbing to finish up, keep doing so until the roving is fully felted and attached to the soap. At this point it's not really necessary to put it back in the stocking, just rub the wool directly.
Step 5: When the wool has finished felting, give it a good rinse under cold water to finish it off. Pat the felted soap with a towel to remove excess water. Let sit for dry full. Enjoy your zero-waste and eco-friendly felted soap.
