Wet Felting a Bowl: Resist, Shaping and a Base That Stands
4 min read Intermediate
A felted bowl is a closed pocket with a hole cut in the top. The making is easy; getting it to sit flat and hold its walls up is the part worth reading about.
Felted bowls hold keys, wool, fruit and jewellery, and they are the best first resist project there is. Everything you learn making one applies directly to bags, hats and slippers, and if it goes wrong you have lost 100 g of wool rather than an afternoon of knitting.
What you need
- 80–120 g of wool tops. Corriedale or a medium wool is easier here than merino — you want stiffness, not softness
- A resist: thin foam camping mat or several layers of bubble wrap
- Bubble wrap to work on, and net curtain
- Warm soapy water
- A bamboo mat or towel for rolling
- A former to shape over: a bowl, a jar, a tin, a balloon
Cutting the resist
For a round bowl, cut a circle 30 to 40% larger than the finished diameter — a 15 cm bowl wants a resist of roughly 21 cm. Round the edge smoothly; any flat spot or corner shows in the finished wall.
For a bowl with a flat base, cut a shape like a wide U — a rectangle with a rounded top. The straight bottom edge becomes the base.
The general rules for sizing and materials are in resist felting.
Layering the wool
- Lay the first layer over the resist with the fibres running one way, overhanging the edge by 3 to 4 cm all round.
- Second layer at right angles, same overhang.
- Wet through with warm soapy water and press flat until dark and airless.
- Turn the whole package over. Fold the overhanging fibres onto the back and smooth them down.
- Repeat two layers on this side, overhanging, wet, press, fold the overhang to the front.
- Add a third and fourth pair of layers if you want a bowl that stands on its own. Two layers per side gives a floppy pouch.
Check the folded edges by feel. Thin patches along the fold are the usual failure point and take five seconds to fix now with a wisp of wool.
Felting
Cover with net and rub gently in circles, both sides, for ten minutes, until the surface holds together when you pinch and lift.
Then roll: wrap the whole package in a bamboo mat or towel and roll 50 times, unwrap, turn 90 degrees, and repeat. Four rounds each side. Add hot water whenever it cools.
Cutting the opening
Test by pinching and pulling — if fibres separate, keep felting. When it holds firmly, cut.
- Round bowl: a circle or a straight slit across the top third.
- Flat-based bowl: straight across the top.
Ease the resist out, then reach inside and smooth all the internal surfaces flat.
Fulling — where the bowl becomes a bowl
This is the stage most people cut short, and it is what separates a bowl from a floppy pouch.
- Work the piece hard in hot soapy water: rub it against a ridged surface, throw it into the sink, squeeze and knead it.
- Alternate hot and cold water. The temperature shock contracts the fibres noticeably.
- Keep going until the fabric is stiff. Not solid, not firm — stiff. It should stand up on its own before you shape it.
- Work the cut edge deliberately, rolling it between your fingers so it firms up and looks finished.
Expect 30 to 40% shrinkage in total. If the bowl is coming out too big, the answer is always more fulling.
Shaping
Rinse the soap out in cool water and squeeze — do not wring. Then, while still damp:
- Push it over your former and smooth the walls into position.
- For a flat base, press the bottom firmly down on a table and hold it there for a moment.
- Roll the rim outwards or inwards for a lip, or leave it straight.
- Leave to dry completely, standing on the flat surface. Two days for a thick bowl.
Wet felt keeps whatever shape it dries in, which is the whole reason this works.
Variations
- Colour inside and out. First two layers in one colour, last two in another. The cut edge shows both.
- Nesting bowls. Three resists in graded sizes.
- Inlay. Cut prefelt shapes and lay them on the outer layer before wetting.
- Rolled rim. Add an extra wisp of wool around the opening edge before cutting, so there is enough fibre to roll.
- Stiffened. A wash of diluted PVA on the inside makes a very rigid vessel, at the cost of the wool's feel.
Caring for it
Brush the dust off rather than washing. If it must be washed, hand wash cool with no agitation and reshape over the former while damp — a felted bowl left to dry in a heap dries as a heap.
Frequently asked questions
How much wool do I need for a felted bowl?
Around 80 to 120 g for a bowl 15 cm across. Thin bowls collapse, so err upwards — four layers of wool per side rather than two.
Why does my felted bowl not stand up?
Almost always under-fulling. A bowl needs to be felted much harder than a scarf — until the fabric is stiff rather than merely solid. Shaping it over a form while damp and letting it dry completely does the rest.
Can you wet felt a bowl without a resist?
You can felt a flat disc and mould it over a bowl while wet, which gives a shallow dish. For anything with real depth and vertical walls, a resist is the only practical method.
How do you get a flat base on a felted bowl?
Shape it over a flat-bottomed former — a jar, a tin or a bowl with a flat base — and press the bottom down firmly on a table while damp. Let it dry standing on that flat surface, not on a towel.
