Felt Soap



This is a great craft to make with children; hence, the article focuses on making felted soap with children. Kids like this project. It's messy, requires a little elbow grease, and results in a useful and attractive end product. It involves multiple textures; fluffy, wet, slippery, and coarse. It's also a bit magic, transforming soft fluffy wool into a coarse matted fabric. The kids get to enjoy their handiwork again every time they take a bath or shower.

You need a few hands willing to get wet and sudsy. Bigger hands have an easier time with this than little hands do. Before starting, remind the kids that soap tastes horrible and that it stings the eyes. They shouldn't touch their face while they're working on the project.

Steps

  1. Start with some good handmade soap, available often at a local crafty farmer's market or craft store.
  2. Cut the nylons up and knot them at one end to make a nylon stocking bag.
  3. Start wrapping the soap with wool roving. Try to wrap up the whole soap.
    • If the kids are doing it, resist the urge to step in and do it right for them. Keep your hands off and let them do it, offering a few tips if necessary. The kids might not do it perfectly. The wool wrap might be a little loose. You might end up with a few thin spots in the wool felt. Remember, it will be their soap, their project, and their feeling of accomplishment. You'll be surprised at how great they turn out (the soap and the kids.)
  4. Take the wool wrapped soap and put it in the nylon stocking. You can hold the stocking open while the child puts it in.
  5. Get the soap wet in warm water, as warm as is comfortable to a child's hand.
  6. Have them rub it around gently in their hands first, working up to firmer and firmer rubbing. You can take the soap long enough to show them how to flip the soap around in their hands, but otherwise, keep your adult hands off. This will take awhile. Encourage them and keep them rubbing and rubbing and rubbing, using more and more consistent hand pressure. This is really good for them and the messy suds are fun.
  7. Check the progress after 10 or 15 minutes.
  8. When they really can't stand to sit there and do it any more, take the bars out and be done with it.
  9. Lay them out in a sunny spot to dry.
  10. Don't worry about the imperfections. Thin spots or unevenly felted spots. They're beautiful just as they are. These are like nice little scrubbing mitts. When the soap is all gone and fully rinsed out, you can then use the leftover felt to make a pouch, or in some other project.

Tips

  • A responsible and cheerful adult should supervise, to make sure that soap doesn't get into eyes, mouths or noses.

Things You'll Need

  • Handmade bar soap
  • Wool roving
  • Old nylon stockings
  • Basin of warm water for "sudsing"
  • Clean bowl of water nearby in case soap gets into your eyes

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