It’s time for the monthly Michael’s Makers challenge! I’ve been wanting to/meaning to make felted soap for years and I can finally check it off my craft bucket list. But first, January is a great time of year for getting organized. I love these Recollections Memory Boxes with chalkboard labels for keeping crafting supplies organized in my craft room…

 

My craft project this month is felted soap. It’s something I usually purchase, handmade from boutiques…always for gifts but never for myself. I’ve always wanted to attempt to make my own but just never made the time to give it a try. Just one of those crafts that seemed time consuming or difficult. Boy, was I ever wrong! It’s so easy! No craft-talent required, although I bet it’s something we can acquire a skill at doing, to create some beautiful works of art maybe even too pretty to use. A fun craft to do with the kids as well.

What is felted soap? It’s like having your bar of soap wrapped in a felt washcloth. It lengthens the number of uses of a bar of soap and there’s lots of lather! It’s also pretty…you decide on colors or designs to coordinate with your bathroom decor, seasons or holidays, etc. You choose the soap brand or scent or even make your own.  

Materials I used: Shop Michaels Online

• bar of soap (I made 3 this time around: lavender, peppermint and even an activated charcoal soap.)
• wool roving
• nylon stocking (cut to fit over soap with room to tie opening)
• water, paper towels, drying rack
• optional: felt appliqué and felting needle tool

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Do a search for felted soap tutorials. There are a lot of different ways to go about this. This is what I did:

1. I wrapped the bar of soap with a piece of wool roving in the long direction around a bar of soap, as tight as I could get it to stay. I left a little overlap on the edges/corners. I used a thin sheet of roving and kept the overlapping the pieces on the back to a minimum.

2. I then wrapped wool roving the other direction. I tucked in the overlap on the corners from the first piece of wool roving placed. 

3. Optional: add thin strands of different colors. Add an appliqué using a felting needle tool. Just place and punch. I didn’t really notice that it ‘stuck’ well (I could easily pull it back off) but it did seem to grab a few fibers and that seemed to be all that was needed to keep it sort of secure and in place. Maybe I did it wrong, I’m not a felting expert. lol! 

4. I carefully placed the wrapped bar of soap into a piece of nylon stocking. If it was the toe piece, I tied a knot in one end. When I ran out of toe/foot stocking pieces, I used the leg parts of stocking and tied both ends. This just holds everything all together and in place.

5. In the kitchen sink, I prepared a bowl of hot water. I dipped the nylon covered soap into the hot water and started “washing my hands” with the soap. Rubbing each side of the soap, lathering. Repeating for 15 minutes. Yes, it feels like a long time standing there, but it’s not really a long time for a DIY craft project. It’s worth it. Pull up a stool or chair! Be aware of the appliqué so that it doesn’t slide around or change shape. And don’t forget to give attention to the corners and edges of the bar of soap.

6. Next I did a rinse in cold water, lathered one more time for a minute or so then a cold rinse and squeezed to remove some of the water.

7. I then cut away/removed the nylon stocking and patted with a dry paper towel. If it does look as if the felt is not adhered well, repeat steps 5 and 6…without the nylon. 

8. Set aside to dry overnight (I put mine on a rack with paper towels underneath). 

It’s addicting…

I want to make more, try more detailed designs! Maybe add a few drops of essential oil. Open my own shop! Okay, I wouldn’t go quite that far. But, I even made up a felted soap-on-a-rope by tying on wool yarn before felting (then simply decorated it by adding some wool yarn stripes). 

What do you think? Something you want to try? Looking for more fun craft ideas? Check out these January projects from the Michael’s Makers team:

Haven’t decided what project you’re going to kick off 2015 with? Stop by Michaels’ blog  The Glue String  for inspiration from all 30 of the Michaels Makers.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to clean out your closet, your office or even your bedroom, but you’re sick of the typical containers and boxes – here are some cool and creative DIY storage ideas that might help!

For those of us that just need a place to store our craft materials and organize our scrapbook paper, paint, markers and yarn, you must check out these nifty craft storage systems.