Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Felted Soap Bars!


We were recently introduced to felted soap bars!
We had so much fun experimenting, that I really wanted to make a blog about them.
These are extremely fun and simple to make!

Felted Soap Bars make wonderful gifts, and are a great project that the kids can help with!



Materials you will need:
*A bar of soap (You can use any bar of soap. I used a CP bar for this blog)
*Carded Wool (You can find this at your local craft store)
*A towel
*Hot water



Love Spell scented CP soap bar w/ black wool (above)

Oatmeal Milk n' Honey scented CP soap bar w/white and grey wool (above)




To start, you will need to wrap the wool around the bar of soap. 
Wrap the wool around the bar, both length-wise and width-wise, so all surfaces are covered with a 
layer that isn't too thin, but not too thick. 
I like to make the layer so that once covered, I am unable to see the bar of soap through the wool.
To make your bars a bit more unique, you can make patterns and designs by using additional colors of wool for decoration. 

*Quick tip: Try using Chunk Cutters to make fun shapes on your bar!



Once covered with wool, start wetting the bar of soap by dribbling the hot water onto it. 
Be careful not to add too much water on it all at once (or submerge it in the water) at this point, 
or the wool will likely slide off.

Continue to dribble water onto the bar, making sure the wool is getting wet all the way through.

Once the wool is completely wet, you can start to squeeze it, while continuing to dribble water onto it periodically.

The wool will start to make a wrinkly skin around the bar of soap. Don't panic! 
Keep squeezing it, shifting it around in your hands as you do. 
The soap bar will start to lather up quickly. 
Add more water every so often to keep the bar "lubricated". 
As you keep squeezing and shifting the bar around, you will notice it start to felt and lose the wrinkles. 

This process may take up to 15 minutes or so. 
Be patient!



You will be able to rub your hands over the surface of the bar now, and the wool will not slip off. 
It will also be making lots of soap suds! 
Be sure to rub all sides of the bar!

Once all wrinkles are completely gone from the bar, rinse the bar with water to see if it has felted down to make a fairly snug casing around the bar of soap. If the wool seems a little fluffy yet, 
continue to rub the bar a bit more. 



When the wool is snug around the bar of soap, run it under cold water, to tighten up the wool, and to rinse off more of the suds. 
Gently squeeze out any excess water. 
A few suds will come through the wool, but don't worry about those.



Pat the soap bar dry with a towel, set aside to fully dry, and there you have it! 
You have created your very own "felted" soap bar! 


*Quick tip: To prevent your felted soap bar from getting soggy after use, keep the bar on a raised soap dish to extend the life of your bar.



Happy Candle & Soap Making!
-Elya



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