I decided to try my hand at felting my handspun yarn. I read about it in one of the spinning books I have. Now that I have tried it, I really like it.

First, you spin the wool. The first time I tried it I just spun just a little bit and made it into a ball, which I then felted and unspun. After that I tried making full skeins and felting them. Below, you see a full skein that is ready for felting.

To felt a skein, you put it in hot water and full it, then take it out and with soap, you lather it up and agitate between your hands. I like to fold my skein so it doesn’t get too tangled and felt it as if it were a ball.

Below is a picture of the felted skein which has not yet been unspun.

After the first felting, the skein must be unspun by turning the spinning wheel backwards and gradually moving the yarn onto the spindle while untwisting it.

This creates a beautiful and interesting texture in the felted yarn. Then the yarn must be felted again to increase its strength. Below is a picture of the final product, after drying.

The more it is felted while twisted, the more defined and interesting the texture when finished.

Below is a picture of the three stages next to each other.

Below is a picture of the first little bit I felted and unspun. All of these examples are with Merino wool.

I’d love to hear from anyone who tries this or has tried it.