Fulling tips
Leslie
fibers being pulled out of the surfaceand knotting up while fulling.
This is an easily solved issue. Chances are that if you are getting
this problem, you are rubbing the surface in a circular motion instead
of back and forth. Think about how you laid out the staple lengths - a
definite direction, up-and-down, or left-to-right. You should be
rubbing in those directions to get the best effect in fulling anyway,
but this will also get the help with the pilling problem.
This problem is also caused by too much friction applied to the
surface. You can lessen the friction by 1. using more soap - the
surface should be slippery; 2. using a smooth tool like the fulling
mat or a bumpy, but smooth surface like a glass with a bumpy pattern.
Don't wear rubber gloves to full by hand - the gloves seem to create
more pilling; 3. use the dowel and the thin plastic to roll full the
piece; and 4. be sure to work the piece on plastic - if the piece is
on top of a towel, the rough suface will cause pilling and prevent
fulling because the fibers need to have a slick surface to slide
together. All of these techniques will result in a hard, smooth
surface to your felt.
We didn't really talk about the use of the thin plastic that was
included in your toolkit. The reason is that most of you took to hand-
fulling immediately - and I encouraged that since I also enjoy the
feeling of the wool changing in my hands. However, rolling to full the
piece gives you a more uniform fulling across the piece and is really
the only way you can full larger pieces. And, while it seems that
rolling is too much like work, the truth is it's the fastest way to
full a piece.
The usual procedure, after you are to the felt stage, is to put your
piece on top of a piece of bubblewrap, add the requiisite amount of
hot soapy water to activate the fibers, put the thin plastic over the
top of the piece and then roll, 50-100 times depending on the size of
the piece, in each direction. Then, to get even more fulling action,
repeat by putting the piece on the thin plastic alone, with no top
layer of plastic and roll again. Finally, you can roll the piece,
alone with no plastic cover, (but on top of a piece of bubblewrap or
plastic ) on the dowel to really get as much fulling as possible.
I hope this helps - let me know if you have any questions!