Felted Soap Craft
Martha and Garry Marshall make a felted soap craft that resembles a loofah.
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Felted Soap Craft
Martha and Garry Marshall make a felted soap craft that resembles a loofah.
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The Martha Stewart Show, February 2010
This innovative felted soap craft, made to resemble a stone, makes for an eco-friendly exfoliating experience in the shower.
Tools and Materials
- Cheese grater
- Bar of soap
- Small container
- Gray and white wool roving
- Old stocking
- Bowl of warm water
Felted Stone Soap How-To
1. With a cheese grater, grate the bar of soap into a more organic "stone" shape. Start by shredding and smoothing the edges. Reserve soap shavings by grating over a small container.
2. Ball up half the shavings in your hand and press into one flat side of the soap with your fingers. Repeat for the other flat side with the remaining shavings.
3. Wrap thin layers of gray wool roving around the soap until the soap is completely covered. Add a thin, narrow piece of white roving to create a natural sediment strip in the stone.
4. Carefully place wool-covered bar into a foot cut from an old stocking. Briefly dunk stocking with soap into a bowl of warm water. Roll soap between hands to build a lather. Continue agitating the wool fibers in the lather, re-wetting as needed in the warm water, for about five minutes or until the soap is completely felted. Remove soap from stocking and allow to dry.
Resources
Cheese grater with container available from Macy's. Wool fibers available from Halcyon Yarn. Soap available from Whole Foods Market or any store that sells hygiene products.
Hi! This is a very good idea..and very natural.
We are making soap and there is a small workshop.
Thank you for the idea. And to visit us;
http://diolivossoap.blogspot.com
Felted soaps are hot sellers during the winter months. Anthropologie carries some really cute ones.
Allergies to wool are often to the products used in commercial yarn such as cleaning or dyeing agents. Lanolin is not the only aspect to consider. Some wools are finer, less scratchy etc than others too. Won't really matter here if fine wool or not- just that it felts. A ltittle hairy is ok since is just a scrubber! We love giving these as party favors during the holiday gatherings!
There are many types of wool-some do not felt!. TEST first. The "rub it all together in a baggie" method with some soapy water is a good test. I also do wet felting ( not the knit first then FULL) and it is really fun hobby for me- with more open weave silk and fine merino wool, scarves can be made that are gorgeous!
What a great project! I'm going to my local yard shop today!
You can place wool covered soap into a large zip lock plastic bag. Add water and rub the wool through the bag. Start with easy pressure and increase as you see the felt forming. Easier on the hands and the surroundings
You can actually use any type of 'roving' and can make soaps in any shape or color combinations. I use Alpaca 'wool', as it is hypoallergenic, since Alpaca have no lanolin in their 'hair/fur'. I also do felting on silk chiffon and make pretty designs on one-of-a-kind scarves.
So cute! Looks like a nice gift. Where do you buy the wool?
We have done this project with our kids and they had alot of fun with it. These soaps are also great to take with you when you go camping.