How to finish felt edges and fix mistakes

You may be wondering what caused the edges of your felt to become so uneven and wonky, and the more you felt, the wavier those edges get. Learning how to finish your felt edges will help you to avoid these problems. While wonky and wavy edges can look great for wearable felted fabric, like scarves, they won’t always look great for wall hangings and other art. The solutions to these vexing problems are simple, and a prevention is always better than a cure. So, read on to learn what causes, and how to avoid and then fix those pesky wonky and wavy edges.

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What are wavey and wonkey edges, and why do they occur?

Wavy edges occur when the center of the felt is felted more than the outer edges, so there is less felted fabric in the middle compared to the outer edges which causes waves in the felt. Wonky edges occur when your edge line isn’t straight, because you laid your wool out unevenly, and/or the wool conformed to an uneven surface such as the bubbles or ripples on your felting mat.

Wavy edges in felting is caused by the disproportionate felting in the middle vs. edges — Wavy edges

Wonky edges in a felted fabric can be a problem — Wonky, uneven edges

Uneven edges in felted fabric can be a problem if you don't like them

How to finish felt edges and prevent them from being wavy and wonky

To prevent wonky edges, you should use a template underneath your felting mat (if it is transparent) as a guide when laying your wool.

To set up your felting station, lay down a towel, template, and felting mat on top.

Alternatively, you could use a pre-felt, that has a straight edge, and felt directly unto that.

Felting onto a pre-felt avoids wonky edges occurring in the felted fabric

To prevent wavy edges, it is important to focus your rubbing and washing three times as much on the edges as the middle of the felt.

Rub the wool to felt it, spend twice as much time rubbing the edges

Another way to avoid wonky and wavy edges is to use the flat backside of your felting mat, or a plastic bag over the felting mat until you have a pre-felted fabric, as the uneven surface of the felting mat can cause problem initially (however, once you have a good pre-felt you can turn it over again).

To prevent uneven edges, felt on a smooth surface or the backside of your felting mat

To fix wavy edges

To fix wavy edges on your felt you basically need to do more of the same – keep felting those edges. There are a few ways in which to speed this up. First apply hot soapy water to edge you want to work, and make sure as you work that the whole felt isn’t moving, or the middle will felt more also. From there, employ any or all of these techniques:

1. More washing

Using a washboard or solar pool cover to provide the maximum agitation, wash and scrub just the edges. Only do as much as will fit under your fingers at a time. Scrub for 5 seconds and move on up the edges. Remember heat is your friend so reapply hot water as needed.

Scrub the edges of the felt against the felting mat

2. Roll with doweling

Using a dowel rod, roll a small section of your edge up and roll back and forth, make sure the edges are soaked with hot soapy water first. Put your hand on the felt to stop the rest of it moving as movement else where will cause further felting. Roll the edges in the dowel all the way around your felt.

Straighten wavy edges of felted fabric using doweling to roll with

3. Furl the edges

The next tip is to use the tips of your fingers to ‘furl’ the edges. Going around all the edges, section by section, hold the edges between both thumbs and index fingers, and in small, quick revolutions, move one hand forward as the other moves back in a circular motion. This will shrink just the area under your fingers, so it is important to do all edges or you might create wonky edges!

4. Ironing the felt flat

Finally, when all the felting is done, the last tip is ironing. Use an ironing board and remember to set your iron to an appropriate level. Using steam at a high temperature is good, but if you have silk in the felt it will burn it instantly. Iron the piece while it is still damp, after you have finished don’t move it until it is completely dry. If your felt is larger than the ironing board, you may want to use you table or a place where you won’t have to move it after it is ironed.

Iron the edges of felted fabric to get rid of the waviness

How to fix wonkey edges

1. Cut a straight edges around the felt

Also, after the first 10 minutes of felting you can use a good sharp scissors to cut a straight edge along the edges (I don’t recommend doing this too late in the felting process or the edges won’t look natural).

To get rid of wonky edges, cut a straight edge with a scissors

2. Felt areas to shrink them straight

If you are early enough in the felting process, you can focus your felting on the areas that stick out the most to shrink them inwards, using a felting hand tool work great for targeting a small area. Don’t forget to look under your felting mat every 5 or 10 minutes to keep an eye on the felting progress.

3. Furl the edges of the felt

The next tip is to use the tips of your fingers to ‘furl’ the edges, you will need a strong pre-felt before attempting this. This is great when you also want to straighten wonky edges too. Find a spot that sticks out more than the rest along your edge, hold it between both thumbs and index fingers, in small, quick revolutions, move one hand forward as the other moves back in a circular motion. This will shrink just the area under your fingers.

4. Pull the felt into shape

This can be done at any stage; the only difference is how much force you use. If you have just begun the felting process and notice wonky edges, congratulation, this should be an easy fix. Gently, tease the fibers of the edges into a straight line, and continue to monitor them regularly as you felt. Pulling the edges straight as needed. However, if you have a well felted piece, then you will need to tug on those edges using much more force to straighten them. Keep tugging, it does work.