Felt 101 - Everything You Need to Know!

Have you thought about working with felt but aren't sure where to start or how to use it? Have no fear! We have everything you need to know about this amazing material so that you can feel confident when crafting and expand your DIY maker capabilities! Check out our tips and ideas below!

What is Felt?

First, let's start off by diving into what is felt exactly. Felt is a non-woven material made from compressed fibers, often containing wool fibers. Other commonly used fibers are rayon, acrylic, and bamboo. We offer a high quality and durable wool blend felt that is 35% wool and 85% rayon. This type of felt is longer lasting and won't tear as easily as an acrylic felt would. You can also find lots of other fun types of felt to craft with such as glitter felt, lace felt, and printed felt. These are all made from similar base fibers, but have an added layer on top. 

Advantages of Crafting with Felt

Unlike regular fabric, felt won't fray which makes sewing a breeze! It also allows for non-sewers to use this material too! You can use hot glue, fabric glue or even hand stitch with embroidery thread to keep your felt layers together. 
It also has more structure and thickness than fabric which makes it sturdy enough to use for heavy duty projects or projects that need to hold their shape. Think bags, holiday stockings, stuffed animals, dolls and other crafts like these. 
In addition, our wool blend felt comes in over 140 color options! That means no matter what type of project you are looking to make, you will likely be able to find the perfect color or color combination! 

Project Ideas

Because felt is so versatile and easy to work with, there are so many projects that a first time crafter can create! Try making a simple coffee mug warmer or felt pillow to start. If you have a Cricut or similar cutting machine, use this to cut shapes out of felt and create appliques for other pillows or accessory projects. You can also use it to cut shapes for a seasonal felt garland!

Here are some additional project ideas:

  • phone case
  • reusable shopping bag
  • faux flower bouquet
  • holiday ornaments
  • baby toys
  • pin cushions

Tips for working with Felt

While it's not necessary, if you are planning to wash your felt, use a delicate cool cycle or hand wash to avoid your felt from becoming misshapen. Lay it flat to dry and avoid using a dryer to minimize shrinkage. 
When cutting your felt, be sure to use a fabric scissors or rotary cutter for a perfectly clean cut. You can also use a water soluble fabric marker or fabric chalk to trace onto your felt for cutting. Just be sure to dab away the marks with just a small amount of cold water. 
It is also safe to iron your felt! Be sure to set your iron to a wool setting. We also recommend using a thin flour sack towel in between your felt and iron incase there is any residue on your iron, it won't transfer onto your felt or burn it. 

 

And that's it! Working with felt can be such a joy and has so much to offer even for the experienced crafter! Share your felt projects with us by tagging us!

@Ribbonandbowsohmy

 

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