Rock Felting

It was on my summer list.

I've found that this project is one people don't inherently get. "What is that, felting rocks?" "What will you do with them?" "How do you do that?" "Why do you want to do that?"

I can't explain it. I just think it sounds like fun, to dress a rock, make it soft and fuzzy instead of hard and scratchy, colorful instead of gray.

I got everyone together on the porch, and using some roving wool I got in Minneapolis, we got to work. We followed this tutorial.

Basically, you wrap some roving wool around a rock, and then dunk it in hot soapy water and rub it and squeeze it until it starts to felt together.

I thought it would be a fun thing to do with Anna, and I was right. She enjoyed it, though she did get really really messy.

It was hard to know when the rocks were felted enough. Abby found this particularly frustrating. She wanted to have better instructions. I had no advice. I still think she had fun. Doesn't she look happy?


Then we put them in an old pair of hose and tied the rocks into separate compartments and put them in the washing machine. I think I should have used Hot water, and maybe some soap, because they didn't all hold together.

Some are lumpy, some have holes. We'll definitely have to try again. But the good news is, I can still use the felt for needle felting! More on that soon. Another new hobby.

Because I needed one.

Badly.

:)

(right?)