i heat my water in a tea kettle- and add it to the washer===it needs to be HOT HOT HOT---lots of agitation- i keep an eye on it and reset the agitation before it has a chance to drain- sometimes 3-4 times (up to an hour of agitation- adding hot water as it cools down- with small amount of detergent- you need to check the item once in a while- when it is felted to the point you want it then drain- spin out- rinse in COLD water- then dry in hot dryer-
i was so excited to take 2 first place ribbons this year of 2 felted items- i love working with wool!
the key is hot hot water- detergent- lots of agitation
rinse in cold- dry in hot....and regardless of how expensive the wool yarn is---if it is white- it might not felt well- for some reason white is the most difficult to felt...i've been doing it for almost 10 years now- and no one has given me a good reason for this- i tend to just avoid white yarns....it may have something to do with the bleaching process.