Felted Vessel Tutorial

In this free resist felting techniques tutorial you will learn how to create and use a flat wet felting resist for a vessel, how to lay and felt the wool roving, and finally how to shape the vessel. How to create vessels using wet felting is all about edge management and the art of shaping after the felting is done. If you are completely new to wet felting please work through ‘Wet felting for beginners – your step by step guide to wool felting’ tutorial first to learn some basic, but essential, felting techniques and skills. This wet felting tutorial includes advanced felting techniques and isn’t suitable for the complete beginner.

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Felting equipment list

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)
Foam packing (this is the felting resist material I recommend buying if you don’t have any strong durable flexible plastic plastic lying around the house)
permanent marker
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)
Towel to mop spill and one for under the bubble wrap
Knee pads (optional, they will save your knees if you are working on the floor)

If you’re interested in speeding up the felting process, a wet felting hand tool is the way to do it. Check out A review of where to buy the best felting hand tools before you consider buying one.

Felting wool

Merino felting wool (27 grams on each side)
Mulberry silk fiber (about 10 grams each side)

Felting Instructions

Step 1. Create a template for the felt vessel

The first step is to create a plastic resist for felting that will guide how you lay your wool and also act as a barrier between the wool to create a two-sided object. First, you will need to draw the shape you want on a piece of paper (height = 14 + 3/4 inches, width = 11 +1/2 inches). Imagine you are looking at the urn side on, this is the aspect you want for the template and resist. You will also need to compensate for shrinkage so make your template much larger than you want your finished product to be. Once it is cut out, lay it on a piece of packing foam and draw around it in permanent marker then cut that out too. I recommend using 12″ x 16″ foam packing sheets (1/8” Thickness) as most packing foam sheets come in 12 x 12 inch dimensions which is too small The paper template will act like a guide and the plastic one will be the resist in the middle. You can use the resist shape I used, or something different. If you’re looking for vessel shape ideas, head to Etsy to see a diverse range of shapes, colours and textures of felted vessels.

Step 2. Set-up your felting station

Set up your felting station. Lay down a towel with the paper template on top, then the solar pool cover (or bubble wrap) on top of that too. Get a container of soapy water and your felting sprinkler and you are ready to go.

Step 3. Laying the wool out

For your first layer you will layer the silk top first and then three layers of merino felting wool. You will work from the outside of the vessel inwards. After laying the decorations (the silk top layer), lay three thin layers of overlapping shingles, each layer perpendicular to the last. Be sure to go beyond the edges of the paper template as you will curl these around the resist later.

Step 4. Add the plastic template on top of the wool

Once you have that side done, cover with a mesh screen and wet it down and rub it to spread the water. Then place the resist on top and  complete step 4 on this side with the reverse order of the layers. For this side you will work from the inside out, so that the decorations are the last thing to go on.

Note: when laying the edges on this side, they don’t have to go beyond the resist but make sure that there are no thin areas, bulk them up with extra wool if necessary.

Now wet down this side too. Then curl the edges over so that they are snug against the resist edge. You are doing this to avoid creating a seam where the edge is. Now lay your decorations on this side (the blue silk for me) and then wet that down and curl the edges under.

Step 5. Edge management

Now place the pool cover over top and begin rubbing. Spend about 3 times as much effort on the edges compared to the center. After about 5 minutes flip it over and do the other side. Then it is time for some edge management. Lift up the top pool cover layer and using your fingers move the fibers inwards towards the center. The center should look wrinkled because you have pulled in the loose wool. Put the pool cover back on and rub for a further minute. Flip it over and do the same on the other side. Going back and forth do this for about 20 minutes, draw the edges in and rub for a minute then flip and repeat. Reapply soapy water as necessary (remember you don’t too much water but the wool should be wet).

Step 6. Pinch test the fibers

As long as you have a good felted skin on the surface (do the pinch test to check) you can move on to gently scrubbing the edges. With your fingertips agitate the fibers back and forth in short quick movements against the bubbles of the pool cover. Do this all along the edges on both sides.

Step 7. Taking the template out of the urn

Eventually you’ll notice that the wrinkles vanish, and the fibers are tight against the resist inside the urn. You can move on to taking the resist out. Cut along the top edge of the urn and gently pull the plastic template out. Felt the edges around the opening.

Step 8. Check for thin spots in the felt

Now check the edges for thin spots or a hint of a seam. To fix these things, put your hand inside the urn,  palm against the problem spot and  gently rub against the pool cover. Do this around all the edges if you would like your urn to be more rounded and less flattened. For more tips on how to fix felting problems like these, see ‘10 felting hacks to have up your sleeve when trying to salvage an unsuccessful felting project‘.

A note on shape and symmetry – anything goes. It doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical or rounded. The beauty of felting is that is can be anything.

Step 9. Create a base for the vessel

Now to work on creating a flat bottom so the vessel stands up by itself. Fold in the bottom until you get a flat base, scrub it against the pool cover. To lock the shape in, roll it in the pool cover a few times in both directions (top to bottom, and left to right).

Step 10. Rinse out suds

Before moving on, I like to rinse all the soap out of the fibers before shaping it. Take your piece and rinse it under fresh, room temperature water. Gently squeeze it out.

Step 11. Shaping the vessel

Now that the vessel is felted (it is thick and sturdy) we need to give it some shape. Put one hand inside the vessel (your left if you are right handed) and use it as a form to shape the felt against. Then using your right hand, tap the felt over your left hand. I arched my left hand to give the vessel a wider middle and narrow top and bottom.  This shaping process allows you to create many different vessel shapes using a single resist. I find the shaping process to be a bit like pottery, you mold the fibers into the shape you want using your hands, slowly and gently.

You can also flare out the top edge of the vessel by tugging and stretching the edges gently (but not enough to cause a hole or ripping). 

And you are done! Just allow your felt to dry on a flat towel for a day or so.

If you liked this tutorial on how to make a felted vessel, you might be interested in trying Felted vessel tutorial: 3D felting techniques and Cobweb felting tutorial – learn how to felt a cobweb scarf . I also recommend checking out fiber artist Karen Waters to be inspired by her beautiful fiber art examples of wet felted vessels. You can find her at https://www.karenwatersart.com/sculptural-felt

If you’d like to dive deeper into the art of felting vessels, try reading

Are your hands getting chapped from felting?

If your hands are getting dry and cracked from wet felting, you need a good homemade hand cream. Head to ‘Homemade Hand Cream Recipe (for hard working hands)‘ by Jill at ‘The Prairie Homestead’ for detailed instructions on how to make your own.