the following instructions are for felting a two-sided silk scarf from a silk lap. you will need a silk lap, or two pre-cut scarf lengths.  each scarf length should weigh approximately 25-30 gms, measure 25 – 35 cm wide and its length will be naturally determined by the width of your lap.  the finished felted measurements will be approximately 18 cm wide x 130 cm long – a nice sized scarf that you can wrap around your neck once and have the ends resting above chest height.  if you want a longer scarf you will need four scarf lengths, these will have a join at the back of the neck (see options section).

cutting the scarf length

begin by cutting your lap into a scarf length (see photo), or purchase one already cut from us.  cut across the lap, so that the width of the lap becomes the length of the scarf.  i usually cut a section 25 – 35 cm wide for a scarf, before i cut i am careful to create a nice thickness of silk by scrunching it up as needed (pull along the sides of the lap where its edges are thick and it will pull the silk in to adjust to your desired thickness).  i am also careful to cut along the length of the fibres without cutting across the fibres too much (this will make more sense when you begin to cut).  the length of the scarf is predetermined by the width of the lap.  you will be amazed when you begin to stretch out the thick ends how much silk there is bunched up.  it will usually stretch to 140 – 150 cms.

stretching out the scarf

i work on top of the smooth side of bubble wrap with tulle (or netting) on top of this.  lay down one of the scarf lengths and begin to work at stretching it out.  this takes me nearly the most time of all the procedures.  be patient, have a friend help if possible.  thoroughly stretch out its length and arrange the thickness of silk that you are interested in having.  for a sensational silk look you shouldn’t be able to see through to the bubble wrap very much, just occasionally in small areas.  pull thinner if a more “cobweb” effect is desired.  when you finish the first layer i usually stretch out the second layer next to the first.  i like getting it prepared before i lay down the wool.

laying down the wool

first you need to decide on the “look” for your scarf.  if you lay the wool perpendicular to the length of the scarf (sideways) then the scarf will pull in more from side-to-side and make the silk look more solid (as in the scarf on the left in the photo below).  it will also be slightly more stable, and appear less fragile.  if you want a more “cobweb” effect, lay the wool parallel along the length of the scarf and the fibres will separate more and appear more gossamer and fragile (shown in the scarf on the right).  its up to you...

lay down a thinnish layer of wool over the entire first scarf length.  by “thinnish” i mean you can just see through the wool to the silk.  i usually use 5 – 10 gms of wool. my experience has been if the wool is too thin all the silk will not be caught by the wool, which is ok to a small degree, but eventually the silk will not wear well if it is not caught by the wool.  ultimately the scarf is very strong because you are working with one staple length of silk running along  it’s entire length. too much wool can effect the drape of the scarf and detour from the lustre of the silk - so lay it down lightly.

which ever lay-out you use, i always add a bit more wool along the side edges, along the bottom edges, and up an inch or two from the bottom edge of the scarf.  i have found these to be consistently weak areas that need re-enforcement.

now that you have laid down all the wool, it is time to sandwich it with the other stretched out scarf length.  best if you have a friend to help.  otherwise, start at one end and work slowly matching the ends and sides as you go – you really only have one chance.

felting

cover with tulle (netting).  wet out thoroughly using cold water and olive oil soap.  i rub a bar gentle around on top of the netting after spraying it with water.  that way i have control over how much soap i put into the piece.  roll up in the bubble wrap with a pole and roll till it starts to stick to the netting.  this indicates that the wool has migrated through the silk.  i work with cold water because i want the wool to have a chance to migrate before it felts to itself – with so little wool, you need to work slowly.

tossing

next, i toss the scarf.  gently at first and with enough water for it to have some weight.  once again don’t heat it yet.  it’s the tossing that develops the holes (or cobweb look) – the sooner and harder you toss it the more holes that develop.  if you don’t want holes, go back to rolling and do very little tossing, only near the end.  toss and roll (change back and forth) according to the “look” you are after.  also during this process be sure and stretch your scarf a lot in between  tossing and rolling.  this will ensure that you retain as much length as possible and you will create a better felt.

fulling

when you feel your piece is holding together well you can heat it up in the microwave and toss some more to allow the piece to “full” – this is where the real shrinkage and firming up happens.  if your silk doesn’t have a “bubbled up” look to it, chances are it hasn’t been fulled enough.  my preferred method for fulling is to use a glass washboard.  i gently glide it across the washboard using a lot of soap and warm water so that it swims across the glass (do not scrub it!).  it may only take a couple of passes until the wool has fulled sufficiently, the wash board is very efficient.  sometimes i then quickly toss it a few more times to get the silk to bubble.

finishing

finally rinse out the soap using luke warm water.  place in the spin only cycle of your washing machine to get rid of the excess water.  for a more “organic” look, lay flat to dry.  if you want to bring up the luster of the silk, use a dry iron on silk setting, and iron the scarf until dry.  i usually iron on top of a towel.

options

it can be really fun to add decorative yarns along the length of the scarf after you have laid down the wool and before you add the top layer of silk lap.  the yarns can hang out the ends as fringe (see photo).  on that note, all sorts of things can be added to this in between layer….

if you want a longer scarf you will need to piece two scarf lengths together, end to end.  the area where they are pieced will fall behind your neck, however, it won’t show much anyway if you take the time to thin the ends right out.  possibly even trim off the very end little edge bit and then interlace the ends of the two laps nicely.  lay wool over this and then sandwich with another two laps which the ends have been interlaced. felt as above.  

updates to the above felting method (sept 2005)

over the years my method for felting has slightly changed.  here are few additional thoughts.

1. i lay out my wool now in a random pattern so that it doesn't shrink greatly in any one direction (of course if i do want it to shrink more in the length i lay the wool down lengthwise).  i still try and leave spaces which aren't entirely covered with wool to help the drape of the lap.

2.  don't over roll, the wool will penetrate too much into the silk and dull it's lustre.  in general, i roll 1/3, toss 1/3 and use the washboard 1/3.

3.  i can not stress enough how important it is to stretch your work continually.  from the moment it is strong enough to toss it is usually strong enough to stretch.  the more aligned the fibres the higher the lustre.

4. i never use hot water or the microwave, and only warm water once i have tossed for awhile.

5. i have changed from olive oil soap to an even more gentle glycerine soap (look in the bathroom soap section - i like pears brand).  i have found that certain soaps act harshly on the silk and pulls the dye off the fibre.  some dye loss is expected with this much silk, however the soap seems to increase it.  by sealing your felt in the painters plastic, any dye loss will be caught in the plastic and not drip on your work area.

6.  i now use the colour nuance superfine merino tops for the silk laps.  it is the perfect wool for silk laps because it never becomes too firm.  your lap will be left with fabulous drape and softness.

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