Felted Wool
 

I have wool and I don't know if it is felted. Can I felt it just to make sure or will it ruin the wool. Thanks

Sure. Once its been felted, it's OK to wash. You can usually tell by examining the cut edge. Felted wool will not easily fray, unfelted will.

Maybe someone could explain how to felt. I have an old coat lining that is wool and would like to use it felted.

Felting is very easy. I wash in hot water in washing machine with a small amount of detergent, then dry in hot dryer. Most items shrink considerably. Now you can cut your felt with no fraying. Occasionally it takes 2 washes.

I have a top loader, but one without an agitator. I cannot felt in it the way I used to in my old washer. Evidently the agitation is a big part of the process. The last project I did had to be felted in a pot on the stove using a potato masher to agitate. I won't be doing that again. Maybe I should have just put it into the dryer and dried it until it was the correct size. It was a hat, and I was afraid it would shrink too much.