How to Make Felted Soap

Felted soap is simply a bar of soap that has been wrapped in wool until it is felted. The felt encourages lather and exfoliates, similar to a loofah or washcloth. As the bar of soap shrinks, the felt will shrink around it. The felt is also naturally fast drying, hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, and anti-microbial. Felted soap makes a great holiday or birthday gift for friends and acquaintances and is also a fun, easy craft for children!What You Need:

• Your choice of Vela Bar Soap.
• Wool roving. You can use one color or many colors, get creative.
• Old nylon knee highs or stockings.
• A bowl of hot water.
• A bowl of ice water.

Steps:

1. Stretch out some wool roving. You only need enough to wrap the bar of soap once. You want to lay out two thin layers of wool in a criss-cross pattern.
2. Place your bar of soap in the middle of the wool, and fold the wool around the soap. Be sure the entire bar is covered, particularly the corners.
3. Sprinkle the wool wrapped soap with hot water to begin to matte the wool around the soap. This is a good time to check there are no “bald spots.” Add bits of wool as necessary.
4. Once you are sure your soap is covered, hold the wrapped soap firmly in your hand to place the soap in the toe of the stocking. The nylon will help keep your wool in place.
5. Dip the soap in the hot water a few times and begin squeezing the bar of soap to start felting the wool.
6. Once it starts sudsing, start rubbing the bar of soap back and forth with your hands to felt the wool to the bar of soap. Dip your soap every minute or so.
7. When you feel the felt is tight and matte (this may take 5-10 min), rinse off the soap in the ice water. This helps set the felt.
8. Remove your felted soap from the stocking, rinse away any suds, and squeeze as much water out as possible. You may need to do this a few times.
9. Place the felted soap in a nice sunny spot to dry completely for a couple of days.
10. Your felted soap is now ready to gift or use.