FELTING - Soaps
When visiting my aunt in Oregon last summer, she taught me how to felt soaps. It is easy and a lot of fun! It also makes a perfect gift. My sisters came to visit this past fall so I made them each a bar as a welcome gift. The third bar is for my mum who was just here last week!
MATERIALS: Wool, soap, and netting or an old stocking.
DIRECTIONS: Cover your soap with the wool. Be sure it is covered well enough that you cannot see the soap beneath the wool. Also, try and cover it as tightly as you can so the wool moves as little as possible- that was the hardest part for me. Place your wool covered soap in the netting or stocking and hold it so the soap does not move around at all. Place under hot water and let it soak for a minute. Pull the soap out from the water and start agitating the wool by rubbing it. The soap should begin frothing at this point. Periodically rinse the suds off under hot water and continue agitating the soap. After about 10 minutes the wool should have felted and shrunken tightly around the soap. Set it out to dry.
When using a bar of felted soap in the shower, simply soak it with water and lather. It should foam up easily like it did when felting. Be sure to set it out to dry between uses to prevent any mold or nastiness.
Have fun!
_Puku_