You can do it by hand. Takes a while but you have much more control over how it felts. the key things are agitation and temperature change. So hot water and rubbing. Then dunk in very cold water. More rubbing. etc.
I have a front loading machine so can't felt much of anything in it (low agitation). But with a top loader, you can also just check on it every 5 minutes. Put it in a hot cycle with a pair of jeans (to provide the rubbing action). No soap. Lots of water. If you are really nervous check every 2 minutes.
hello! i have been reading your blog for some time now, but am a bit shy about commenting.
i agree with JoVEs comment: felting by hand gives you more control, but the image of your FO looks like it is felted quite down, so you might want to start by hand and when you are ready to take the leap, then throw it in your washer. towels work well as well as jeans. and if you do have a front loader, then perhaps a trip to your local laundramat might be in order! i also have heard that if you have a washboard, that might work as well, but i have never tried that,so i can't give you any kind of "seal of approval" on that method.
good luck! and i'll be looking forward to seeing it finished!
Just a note to let you know this one (esp. "most tragically") made me laugh out loud.
A top-loading washer with fairly hot water and a few towels, perhaps with a touch of Woolite, but not much, would be my suggestion. Check every couple of minutes.
I don't recommend jeans, as the buttons and zippers can cause snags...
If you want to cause significant shrinkage, throw it into an almost dry load of towels in the dryer, and check VERY often.
Have some cold water handy, to halt things if need be. I've used both methods to shrink wool cycling jerseys to a perfect fit.
My First Felting involved sticking it in a front-loading (UK) washing machine at forty degrees, inside a pillowslip for protection and together with a trainer (sneaker?) for extra bashing power. Worked a treat.
Good luck!
trust the magic of the wool. It is amzing.
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