Felting Wool Sweaters to Make Pot Holders

I have always wanted to learn how to felt wool. I observed how my neighbor and friend felted woolen yarn to make detergent balls to wash her son's diapers, but this was new to me.

So, yesterday I ventured out to some thrift stores to find some wool sweaters to felt fr upcoming projects. On a side note... Can I tell you how much I love the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store! Their prices are amazingly low and I found an office chair for only $5. I find I need to visit their store at least once a month to find those gems.

I was lucky to find a handful of sweaters at a thrift store in Broomfield but I found some of their prices a bit high ($4.99-$6.99) compared to Habitat's Re-Store ($2.25). I have a feeling I'll make another trip this Saturday when the sweaters will be 50%. If you haven't been to a thrift store for crafting supplies, then I would encourage you to venture out in your neighborhood and start looking. You find some some supplies at great prices.

So, I came home from shopping with five sweaters and one sweater vest. I chose sweaters with some valentine colors - like red and pink, to make heart shaped pot holders for valentine's gifts.

Some steps to consider before felting your wool sweater:

1. Take scissors and cut out the seams. Determine the usage of the sweater: Will you use the sleeves? Or just the body of the sweater?

2. Place sweaters in your washing machine. Place on hot water and add a bit of detergent when washing the sweaters.

NOTE - Once washed, determine if the wool is felted to your liking. Felted wool can have different consistencies and depending on what you will use the felted wool for, you may want to wash/felt the wool again.

3. Place washed/felted wool into the dryer. Place on high heat.
I have an energy efficient washer and dryer, so I needed to place my dryer setting on "cotton towels" to obtain the high heat for the felting to work.

Here are some of the final projects I made out of the felted sweaters I purchased yesterday.

These are easy felted wool pot holders shaped in a heart. Great for valentines day and super easy to make. Though some of the felted wool may be thick to feed through your sewing machine. Just be patient.