Jane Quilter

Ok, so I bought an applique pattern and when I read the instructions it called for a lot of wool felt for many of the pieces. Hmmm.... So I go to stores on internet and lots of wool felt available from 100% wool to many with 20%nylon or other additives. There are many different thicknesses to choose from. I'm a iittle lost, no, a lot lost. Can anyone give me guidance here, I have never worked with wool felt. Thanks....Jane

Jane Quilter

oh, no....what about washing?

romanojg

Once the wool is felted it won't shrink any more, that's what felting does. It depends on the project and how much you want to spend. If you are unsure of the techniques I'd make the first one going with a less expensive felt. I get mine thru Amazon

PaperPrincess

you can also used recycled felt. For applique, I would go with women's blazers or suits, which yields a nice weight product. Look for 100% wool, dry clean only labels. Deconstruct the garment. If any of the sections have iron on interfacing, remove it You might have to experiment a bit with this. Use a press cloth and work on the interfacing side. start with a dry iron and if that doesn't work, go with steam. The heat will reactivate the glue and you should be able to pull it off in sections. Put the pieces in a lingerie bag, wash on highest heat and agitation. I usually dry flat. Lots of felt for not much money.

marymm

It might help to know whether your pattern is a wall hanging, table mat or full quilt. And does it mix wool felt with another fabric, cotton or flannel...? You might get the best advice from the company that sold the pattern.

Jane Quilter

here is the pattern: It is 75 x 75, thought I could use it on a bed.

https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/pat...e-quilt/211592

feline fanatic

You can use any kind of fabric you like for the applique, it doesn't have to be wool felt. The beauty of wool felt is that it doesn't fray so you can do raw edge applique with no fraying at all. If you used a cotton raw edge (with fusible) you may get a little bit of fray around the edges of the elements. You can also add a seam allowance to the applique and make it turned, if using a 100% cotton fabric. It is a cute quilt.

A great way to get a lot of small pieces of felted wool is to buy a scrap bag:
https://www.primitivegatherings.us/s...crap-bags.html

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=wool+felt+fabric+scrap

https://www.ericas.com/fabric/scrapbags_wool_felt.htm

If you are really lucky you may be able to find a white wool blazer or suit at a thrift store to felt yourself and dye (like PP suggested above). But I have had cases when the label said 100% wool and dry clean only the wool didn't felt for me with washing and drying.

Bree123

I do think felted wool is a really beautiful option. I buy mine from Primitive Gatherings, which is near me, but they also sell online.

That said, felted wool is quite pricey. It's great for little table decorations, but otherwise it's a pretty major investment. For the quilt in my avatar I bought the fake stuff at JAF. It's 100% plastic, made from recycled milk jugs. It washes quite well & holds up to the beating my 2-year old nephew has put it through (I made it for him when he was born -- it's been used for tummy time, forts, cozying up with Mommy & otherwise just dragged around the house and frequently washed). You can do all the same things with plastic felt as with felted wool. It doesn't look quite as rich & luxurious, but it's still pretty nice.

marymm

I agree with Feline Fanatic. I love to work with felted wool but as Bree123 said, it could get a bit pricy. But if you're already committed to the pattern, you might try one of the blocks with wool felt and see if you like it. (Pick a block you like that you could gift to some else if you decide you want to use cotton instead! I'm sure it would be pretty!)

ube quilting

Can you tell or show us what your pattern is. I have used cotton in place of felted wool for wall hangings . Tell us more and we can answer more specifically.
peace

EDIT: Sorry I missed the pattern post. I see no reason why this couldn't be done with all cotton fabrics if you are into doing applique/ fused applique and buttonhole stitching which is what you would do with felted wool.

A great pattern.