Cobweb felting tutorial – learn how to felt a cobweb scarf

If you are keen to learn how to make cobweb felt, look no further than this cobweb felted scarf tutorial. The Cobweb felting technique, as you might expect from the name, produces a thin and lacy felted fabric, like sheets of hanging cobwebs. It lends itself very well to scarf and shawl making, as it is a thin, flexible and light weight felted fabric. Cobweb felting is a direct contrast to the normal wet felting method,  where we strive for a consistent felt thickness, without thin spots or holes. In cobweb felting we are looking for the exact opposite; holes, thin spots, and ragged uneven edges, these are its defining features. It is very liberating not being worried about these problems which threaten to spoil our every felting endeavor. So, if you are looking for a completely different felting experience, this tutorial is made for you. Get ready to embrace those holes, thin spots and ragged edges, for a totally artsy and incredibly unique felted fabric look.

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Felting equipment you will need

Bubble wrap (if you want my advice on other felting mat options to buy check out my review of felting mats).
Pool noodle (I recommend one with an 8 cm diameter)
Liquid soap (I use Murphy’s oil soap)
Water sprinkler (I used a ball brauser but a homemade version works almost as well)
Bowl or pail that can hold 4L of water
Mesh such as tulle netting or a mesh screen (I used a 3m long piece of gauze but any size will do)
Plastic bag (your regular shopping bag will do)
Conditioner (optional, any will do)
Sponge
Large towels
Knee pads (optional, they will save your knees if you are working on the floor)

Felting wool

Merino felting wool ( I used 2.3 oz of lilac roving,  and a small bit of purple roving for decoration). The lilac roving was 264 cm in length (104 inches), the length is important as it will shrink a lot (about 25 – 30% in each direction)
Mulberry silk fiber (optional, but they give the scarf great luster)
Curly wool locks (optional, but they make a really nice fringe at the ends of the scarf)

Instructions

Step 1. Gather your felting equipment

Once you have gathered your equipment and materials, set your felting station up. You can felt indoors on a table or the floor, or outdoors. Felt wherever is most comfortable for you and has space, but remember felting can produce a lot of dripping water so choose your space with that in mind

Step 2. Set up your felting station

Lay towels down first if you are felting indoors, this will help to manage the amount of water that get spread around the place (you’ll notice I forgot this step and let me tell you there was a watery puddle underneath my solar pool cover!).

The lay your felting mat over the towels, this could be a solar pool cover or bubble wrap. You may also have a bamboo blind, but I find they are not long enough. Remember you want you felting mat underneath to be just over 264 cm (104 inches) so it accommodates the entire length of the roving when laid out. The great thing about using bubble wrap for this project is not only is it cheap, but rolls of bubble wrap are usually longer than 3 m, so you won’t have to overlap pieces.

Step 3. Lay out the wool roving

Lay your roving out on the mat. Starting at one end gently tease the fibers apart, being careful not to create large holes. This is very different to the method used to lay out wool ‘shingles’ when felting normally, the reason being that normally we are looking for a consistent thickness to our felt without thin spots or holes. In cobweb felting we are looking for the exact opposite, holes, thin spots, and ragged uneven edges are its defining features.

Take some time with this part, it is well worth putting an hour or so into getting it just right. Really tease all the clumps apart. I found that it got quite clumped in the middle. Also make sure your edges are nice and spread out, they should look very cobweb-like. It is important to spread the fibers out as much as possible because the felting process does the exact opposite. Felting it, will bring the fibers together, shrinking it on all sides and closing the gaps and ‘cobwebby’ bits. So, it is best to overboard with the ‘cobwebby-ness’ when laying out the wool to counteract this.  Consistency is not important; in fact, it is not encouraged. Having some spots that are so thin that it looks like there are barely any fibers covering the hole at all is just what you want.

Once you have the entire piece of roving (approximately 2 oz of it) laid out and teased apart. The length should now be about 228 cm (90 inches) and the width should be about 50-ish cm (19-20 inches). The width doesn’t need to be consistent throughout, so don’t worry about that.

Step 4. Add fiber decorations

Once you are happy with your base layer, it is time to add some decorations. This step is optional, if you want a solid colour, or you bought some multi-coloured merino that includes different fibers like silk in it, you may want to leave it at that. That’s fine. However, if you’re worried that adding decorations will add another element of complexity during the felting process, don’t be. Again, reverse your brain for this felting technique, we don’t care if the decorations move or get holes in them.

Step 5. Laying down the curly wool locks

To lay out the decorations it is really really important to make sure that you  only lay wispy bits down. First, I added curly wool locks to the ends of the scarf to give it a nice fringe. Then I added the locks down the middle of the scarf. If you use locks, spread the non-curled end out until it is thin and wispy.

Step 6. Drafting the purple roving

Then I drafted the purple roving into foot-long thin ribbon, which I laid out. If you’re not familiar with how to draft wool, just pull the roving with your thumb and index finger as if to create a shingle, but instead of pulling the shingle off entirely, just pull it out a little bit so the ends are still within the roving. Then move your thumb and finger up to the ends and pull more fibers out just about a cm or quarter inch or so. As you gently drag the fibers out, they catch onto other fibers and drag them along too. By doing this, you can create a long ribbon of wool, any thickness or length you like.

Once I lay the purple ribbons of wool down, I created a wavy pattern within them by spreading the fibers with my thumb and index finger ever few inches.

Step 7. Adding silk top

Now for the final decoration, adding the silk top. Just as with the other fibers, make sure you add well spread wispy fibers. I pulled little bits from my silk top roving, spread them, and then added them randomly to the wool. I also added a row of the silk along the inside edge of the locks.

Step 8. Laying the mesh over the felt

Use whatever size mesh/screen you have. There is no need, at this point, to go out and buy a 4 meter long mesh (unless you love making felted scarves, then it is totally worth it). I lay the mesh on top of the whole piece, but if you only have a small piece of mesh, do the next two steps (wetting the wool and spreading the water) section by section along the length of it.

Step 9. Wetting the wool

Fill your water sprinkler with soapy water (I use about 3 tablespoons of liquid soap to 3.5 liters of water). Apply the water over wool that is under the mesh.

Step 10. Spreading  the water

Using a cheap plastic bag, gently rub over the mesh to distribute the water over the entire piece.

Step 11. Rolling the felt

Once the scarf has been wet down completely, and rubbed with the plastic bag, then it is time to roll the pool noodle over the top to further spread the water, apply some friction, and push the excess water out. Roll over each section for about 1 minute.

Step 12. Soaking up excess water

At this point there may still be too much water, that’s okay. We needed to add a lot of water to get ever bit of wool wet and push out the air trapped within the wool. However, if we don’t get rid of some of it, it will hinder the felting process. Too much soap and water will cause the fibers to be too lubricated and they don’t catch onto one another and mat together. So, using a towel or sponge get rid of the excess water, but not so much that you dry it out. You just want the wool sitting in a pool of water, that’s all.

Step 13. Remove the mesh

We don’t want the fibers to felt to the mesh, so carefully peel it off.

Step 14. Rubbing the felt

Now lay some bubble wrap or solar pool cover over one end of the scarf. It doesn’t matter how long it is, as long as it covers the edges of the scarf. Just like with the mesh, this and the next step can be (and was when I did it) in sections, along the scarf. I like to lay an extra piece of transparent plastic over bubble wrap  so that it is easier to rub, this is optional however. Spray some soapy water on top so your hands glide over it as you rub. I also like to use a bar of soap to lather my hands with before I begin rubbing. After a lot of rubbing you’ll need to reapply water and soap to the top of the plastic so you don’t accidentally move the bubble wrap and disturb the wool underneath.

For each section rub for about 5 minutes before adding holes and cobwebs.

Step 15. Creating holes and cobwebs

Adding holes and cobwebs is what cobweb felting is all about. Don’t be stingy on this, I know it is scary to add holes and pry apart felting fibers, but trust me, it will look fantastic. Using your finger create holes in the thin spots. Make different sized holes, dispersed randomly. Also, encourage thin spots by spreading the fibers apart, this will become ‘cobwebby’ when felted. The cobwebs are particularly effective along the edge of the scarf.

Once you have added holes and cobwebs to the section, place the bubble wrap and plastic down on the same section again and felt for about 15 minutes before moving up the scarf on to a new section.

Repeat the previous step and this one until the entire scarf has been rubbed down.

Step 16. The felting pinch test 

You’ll know that you’re done with the rubbing when you have a successful pinch test. Find a few areas on the scarf where the fiber is the thickest and pinch the felt, slightly pulling it up. If the fibers hold together you have achieved a perfect pre-felt and you are ready to move on. If you haven’t, and the fibers aren’t holding nicely together, then you need to keep rubbing.

Step 17. Reapplying more warm water

Before you start rolling, it is important to make sure your scarf is nice and warm, this will help it felt faster. If has cooled down since adding the water, you should try to soak up as much water as you can then reapply more warm soapy water. Don’t use scalding water, as that will cause it to felt too quickly for us to manage the edges and holes.

To soak up the water, place your mesh over each section of the scarf and dab it with a sponge. Once you have gotten rid of all the cold water, remove the mesh and sprinkle warm water over the entire scarf.

Step 18. Rolling the felt again

Place your pool noodle at one end and roll it up in the scarf. Roll for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then unroll the scarf. We don’t want it to felt too quickly, as we will need to tinker a lot with the edges, holes and cobwebs to encourage them as the felting tries to eradicate them.

Step 19. Encouraging more cobwebs again

To encourage more cobwebs, and contract their shrinkage, gently pull the felt apart in the areas where you want it to appear cobwebby. I recommend also doing this around the entire edge of the scarf. The fringe of the scarf will need attention too, make sure that the long locks are hanging nicely and not getting scrunched up and felting with the rest of the scarf, pull them down if they are.

Step 20. Reapplying more very soapy warm water and continue rolling

At this point, with all our fussing over edges and cobwebs, the felt has likely cooled. If so, reapply more warm soapy water.

Roll for another ten minutes.

Step 21. Do a pre-felt check

Before moving on to the scrubbing stage, it is important to make sure that the fibers are well enough felted that they won’t rip or fall apart when you being scrubbing.

Step 22. Scrubbing the felt

Now it is time to scrub the felt against the felting mat. Scrubbing is where the fulling happens (fulling the felt is the thickening and shrinking stage). Take your scarf and  pile it into a mound, using two hand rub it up and down over the bubbles of your pool cover (or bubble wrap).  Then lay the scarf out flat and scrub each area separately with a flat hand, move your hand to a new area after about 4 seconds. This step should take about 15 minutes in total.

Step 23. Encouraging more cobwebs again

Once you have scrubbed the entire scarf once, you will need to re-establish the presence of your cobwebs and holes. At this point, I also like to pull along the width of the scarf so that is doesn’t get too narrow. Don’t forget to pay attention to the look of the fringe and the edges, you may need to pull the edges so they don’t felt into a clump. The fringes should hang down in long ragged bits.

Step 24. More hot soapy water

Once you are happy with the look of it, wring out the cold water in the scarf and soak it in hotter and soapier water.

Step 25. More scrubbing

This is the final felting step. If you have a washboard you can speed this step up, if not, keep using your felting mat. Repeat the first scrubbing step until the scarf is well felted. It should measure approximately 127cm( 50 inches) length and 30 cm (12 inches) wide.

Step 26. Rinse out the suds

With fresh tap water, rinse out all the soap suds.

Step 27. Use hair conditioner to soften the fibers

To increase the softness, and reduce the itchiness of the scarf, lather it in conditioner.

Add one tablespoon of conditioner to your pail, then add about a cup of water and mix well.   Knead the scarf into the mixture, then let it soak for about 30 minutes. Rinse out the conditioner, then wring out as much water as possible.  Hang your scarf out to dry.

If drying it indoors, lay it on top of a dry towel on the floor.

A felted scarf for winter and summer

This cobweb felted scarf works really well with a white or black top. Use it as a shawl or a cowl, either for warmth or as a decorative piece. It can be dressed up, or down.

For more cobweb felting technique ideas, check out Pinterest and Etsy. They have an amazing range of cobweb scarves and shawls.

If you would like to explore the world of felting scarves, look no further than this book Fabulous Felted Scarves: 20 Wearable Works of Art and Elegant Scarves And Wraps: 25 Gorgeous Felt Designs.

Other felting tutorials

If you enjoyed this cobweb felt making tutorial, you may be interested in:

Wet felting for beginners – your step by step guide to wool felting
Wet felting on a ball
Wet felt with a resist: how to make a felted vessel