This is the third post in a seven post series on wool rug braiding. Other posts includeSupplies & Wool Basics, Planning Your Braided Wool Rug, Stripping, Stitching, & Spooling, Starting Your Braided Wool Rug, Lacing Your Braided Wool Rug, and Finishing & Care.
So you read the guidelines for acquiring wool. You asked your friends. You asked your family. You went shopping. And now you have a heap of wool clothes in all shapes, sizes, and styles sitting in front of you. Now what?
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Well friend, this is where the fun begins! This may be my favorite part of the process, as it can be SO therapeutic. Grab your stitch ripper and start busting seams! Seriously, pop those buttons off and throw them in your button jar. Rip the lining out of those coats like you’ve turned from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde!
For real, as long as you don’t rip valuable real estate on your pieces, just get them disassembled. Here are a few tips:
Every piece is composed a bit differently
As you start to disassemble your items, you’ll notice how each piece is a little different. Some have tight, short stitches, some are loose and long. Some you can take apart in minutes, others may take an hour. Some are lined, some have stabilizer, some have collars, breast pockets, button holes, or belt loops. While I can’t offer any across-the-board ways on addressing these, I can provide some guidance.
Lining: Remove and discard or donate for fabrics recycling.
Stabilizer: If you can easily peel it off, do so. If not, try again after felting; and if that doesn’t work, leave it.
Collars/breast pockets/belt loops: These offer very little reward for the work they take to remove. If you don’t enjoy removing them, put them aside. Don’t throw them away until after you’re done using all the material in your rug though. You never know if you’ll need them down the road for those last few inches of material.
Button holes: These are no fun either. If possible, use a stitch ripper to open them up, but if it’s too cumbersome, you can cut them open or remove them with a scissors.
Felting
After you have everything disassembled, it’s time to felt your wool! Felting is the process by which you agitate the wool to create a tighter bond between the threads. We do this by washing our material in warm water with detergent and then drying on medium. I’m quite certain everyone’s shrunk an article or two of clothing in their lives — now we’re doing it on purpose to create a heartier, more durable material.
Washing
When washing, be sure to sort by color, as you can lose a lot of dye in the wash and easily end up with dingy or pinkish neutrals. You may want to wash vibrant colors twice if you plan to put the rug on a carpeted area to prevent any dye from wearing off. Do not use fabric softener.
If your washing machine drains into a sink, be aware that some pieces lose quite a bit during the felting process and that you should keep an eye on the tub as it rinses. Perhaps keep a bucket or empty garbage pail under the edge of the sink in case it overflows.
Drying
Dry on medium and dry your pieces fully. Do not use dryer sheets. When you remove them from the dryer, try to remove any stabilizer that you were unable to remove before washing, then promptly fold the pieces. If you’re unable to remove the stabilizer, don’t fret, you can work with it still in place.
Like with washing, some pieces can lose quite a bit during the dry cycle and you’ll want to keep an eye on the lint screen. I usually check it after 15 minutes.
Now sit back and admire your work so far! If you take to braiding, you may find that you’ll sometimes just buy pieces, disassemble, and felt them for use down the line. It’s nice to have these steps out of the way when you want to start a new piece. You may also find the material good to use for other projects. 🙂
I’d love to hear about your favorite part so far! Was it shopping, disassembling, or admiring your tidy piles of clean, felted wool? Comment below!
— Funky Crunchy Mama
