Noodle Felting

Last evening my husband and I had the opportunity to attend the opening of a local artisan studio that offers fiber art supplies, classes and handmade goods. In talking to the owner about my desire to bring felting to my classes I was introduced to the art of "noodle felting." In college, I learned how to card wool by hand and felted by stitching the layers together inside a pillowcase in my father's washing machine (much to his chagrin). Over the past few years I have seen examples of wet felting using a sushi mat and other household items. Noodle felting is a great, economical way to introduce wet felting to my elementary classroom.














To begin start with wool roving. Tear in 3-4" chunks. Lay down in alternating directions. I placed my wool on a layer of bubble wrap inside a disposable paint tray liner available at your local home improvement store. You should also add a layer to create agitation such as wire mesh/tulle. Use a squirt of liquid dish detergent with warm water and mist/spray the wool.  I folded the bubble wrap over the wool roving layers. Using a pool noodle roll over top of the wool. In the photo below I've used pipe insulation in place of a pool noodle.

This is the finished dry felted piece. The inspiration was an abstract landscape of a day at the beach.