Thursday, January 29, 2009

Felted Soap


Felted soap is a pretty cool idea. Although it's certainly not new, many people have never seen it and those that have, don't quite understand it.

Basically, it's a bar of soap with a washcloth adhered to it. Bathe with it, rinse it and put it aside to use again and again. The soap shrinks inside, leaving you with a nice piece of felt.
Wool is wrapped over the soap, hot water is applied and the wool is rubbed until it shrinks and becomes tight around the bar. You know what happens when a wool hat accidentally goes through the laundry, right? Same principal.
The technique has been around for a long time and I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to achieve the perfect felted bar. It can be tricky to get a nice, even felted layer without clumping, bare spots or stray wool fibers sticking out. And it's so time consuming!
I spotted a soap felting tutorial on a blog from a fellow Etsy seller. Her soaps are gorgeous, the instructions clear and precise... I had to try one more time.
Success!
Thank you, BeckyRose for your generous contribution. My felted soap turned out just right. It's also a great way for soapmakers to turn a not-so-perfect looking bars into something beautiful.
Check out Becky's tutorial here:

1 comment:

  1. They look awesome!!! I'm glad my tutorial was helpful :) I particularly like the orange and green one, the stripes are really neat looking!

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