How to make wet felted arm warmers / fingerless gloves with poppy design

 

First you need to measure around your hand at the widest part.  Halve this measurement then add 30% for shrinkage.  So if it measures 20cm around your hand, half will be 10cm plus 3cm (30%) to make 13cm.  You can do this by just multiplying by 1.3 on your calculator.  This is how wide your template will be.  Decide how far up your arm and hand you want the glove to go and add 30%.    Remember you don't want it too far up your hand otherwise you won't be able to move your fingers! Draw an oblong of these dimensions onto thick cardboard.

 take a measurement of where you want the glove to start on your han and add 30 %.  This tells you how far down the oblong to position the tab for your thumb.  Measure the circumference around the base of your thumb.  Halve this and add 30%.  So if it measures 10cm, halve it (5cm) and add 30% (1.5 cm) to make 6.5cm.  Draw a tab this long on the side of your oblong.

It should look something like this:

Next decide what colours you are going to use for your your gloves.  Laying them out next to each other will help.  I'm going to try to recreate this poppy field scene, but you can do something much more simple using just one or two colours.

Put your templates on a piece of non-slip mat.  Lay out your first layer of wool horizontally.  This will need to overlap the edges of the gloves by about 1-2cm at the sides.  It doesn't need to overlap at the top and bottom because the ends will be left open.  The layers underneath will show through, a bit like a watercolour painting.

Repeat but this time with a vertical layer.  I've introduced some different colours this time.

Finally a third horizontal layer.  After this you get to add your design if you're using one.  I added some white wool and Mulberry silk scraps for clouds.  The wool will be transparent, but the silk will add an opaque, shiny white cloud.  I also used Merino nepps for the  poppies and Super Bright Trilobal Nylon Rainbow Top.  This is a synthetic material so you need to have wisps of wool over the top otherwise it won't get stuck down.

Next you need some soapy hand hot water in a small watering can.  Sprinkle this on just in the middle of your design.  You don't want it to get too wet, just so the wool is wet.


 Place a piece of dust sheet over the top (you can get these from hardware stores).  You could also use a piece of fine net curtain.   Press through the plastic/net until the water is spread across the wool - but not on the edges which overhang the template.

When this is done, carefully peel back the net/plastic and flip your templates over.  Now wet the dry bits and fold them down on the sides.  At the top and bottom fold any extra bits back on itself where your arms and fingers come through.

Now repeat adding the layers of wool on this side in exactly the same way as before.  If you want the design to follow through match up where the colours begin and end.  Wet this side the same way as previously and flip the template back over.  Fold the dry edges over.  I had to peel up and 'restick' some of my poppies where I folded over wool from the other side.

Put the plastic/net over the top and press through.  If you're using the net put a bit of soapy water on the top.  This will help your fingers glide across the plastic (you don't want to be scrubbing at your wool).  Begin gently at first, you don't want to dislodge the wool or upset your design.  Flip over your gloves and repeat on the other side.  Make sure your rub along the edges too.  Keep doing this, building up the pressure and flipping the gloves over from time to time.  You will probably need to add more hot soapy water.  I just reheat mine up in the microwave in a microwaveable container.  If you accidentally use too much water you can mop it up gently with a towel.

Keep going until you can pinch a piece of felt and it makes a tent like shape.  Your design should be fixed in place.

Now you need to full your felt.  This basically means shrinking it.  Roll the gloves up in the non-slip mat with a rolling pin, then roll a towel around it. Roll it back and forth all the way, from your finger tips to your elbows, giving your back a nice stretch.  Careful with your posture so you don't hurt your back.  Rolling all the way ensures you don't end up just rolling on one spot. After about 50 rolls, turn the gloves around and roll them the other way. The felt will shrink in the direction you are rolling, so you need to keep rolling in all directions. 

Keep going!  This might take a while.  You will probably need to add more hot water to help the fulling process.  After a bit take out the cardboard templates.  At this point it's a good idea to try the gloves on.  The top and bottom might have felted together a bit if the edges were overhanging, just gently open them up.  Inside the glove might not be as well felted as outside.  Get some hot, soapy water and rub around inside until it's felted.  Pay attention to the edges as well.  Then continue with the rolling!

You need to keep checking your gloves and trying them on.  You don't want them to shrink too much.  Remember the direction you roll is the direction it shrinks.  I did some extra rolling on the bit of the glove that goes over the arms to make them a bit narrower than the hand part.  Remember though that the whole glove has to fit over your hand!

Once you are happy with the size of your gloves rinse them in hot water to get rid of the soap.  Squeeze the water out, but don't wring them.  Then soak the gloves in a bowl of cold water with a little white vinegar added.  The acid of the vinegar will neutralise the alkali in the soap. After 15 minutes remove the gloves, reshape them then leave them to dry in a warm place.

Apulina

See my other felted creations at www.etsy.com/shop/apulina