Mastering Wet Felting: Create Decorative Wool Items
A course by Natasha Smart, Wet felting artist
Joined July 2024
Learn wet felting techniques to transform wool fiber into decorative home items like lampshades and seamless cushions
Joined July 2024
Discover the enchanting world of wet felting, where sheep wool fibers transform into stunning felted creations. Learn to choose the perfect wool breeds and formats for your projects, and explore various surface design techniques to decorate your felt. Elevate your skills by crafting a decorative sample felt and turning it into a unique lampshade for your home. Gain confidence in your felting abilities as you delve into the art of using flat resist templates, allowing you to create a seamless cushion cover with an eye-catching fringed design, all without sewing.
This course caters to both beginners and experienced felters, offering a comprehensive guide to wet felting. With no prior experience needed, you'll receive detailed instructions on crafting handmade felt pieces using household items and select embellishments. From understanding wool fiber characteristics to mastering the fulling stage, this course equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to embark on your own felting journey. By the end of the course, you'll have created two bespoke felted items and be ready to explore endless possibilities in the world of wet felting.
What will you learn in this online course?
20 lessons & 26 downloads
What's included in this course?
Embark on a journey into the world of wet felting and transform sheep wool fiber into stunning felted creations. Explore various wool fiber breeds and formats, learning to select the perfect materials for your projects. Uncover techniques for decorating your felt with unique surface design materials, mastering the art of creating well-felted fabric pieces. With hands-on practice, develop your skills by crafting your first decorative felt sample and transforming it into a beautiful lampshade for your home.
Advance your skills with flat resist templates, enabling you to create seamless, structured items like a fringed cushion cover without sewing. As you progress, gain confidence in designing bespoke felt pieces, using signature-style wool yarns to add distinctive flair. By the end of this course, not only will you have crafted two bespoke home items, but you'll also possess the knowledge and experience to embark on your own successful felt-making projects. Dive into the tactile world of wool and discover the endless creative possibilities it offers.
- 94% positive reviews (17)
- 810 students
- 20 lessons (4h 40m)
- 26 additional resources (11 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, German, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a seamless, fringed wet felted cushion in your chosen size, showcasing favorite colors and wool yarns. This design requires no sewing, offering a practical yet decorative addition to any home while enhancing your wet felting skills.
Who is this online course for?
This course suits textile enthusiasts and wool lovers eager to explore wet felting. Beginners will discover essential techniques, while experienced felters can experiment with new materials and seamless designs. It's perfect for those intrigued by handmade felt fabric creation.
Requirements and materials
No prior experience is necessary. Gather wool fiber, embellishments like yarns and viscose fibers, and basic household items such as scales, scissors, a spray bottle, and towels. A cushion pad and a lampshade frame kit are also needed.
Reviews
Natasha Smart
A course by Natasha Smart
Natasha Smart is a wet felting artist, teacher, and author based on the south coast of the UK. With a lifelong passion for textiles and creative crafts, Natasha transitioned from a career in training to full-time feltmaking in 2021. Her work is inspired by the textures, colors, and forms of the natural world—especially the sea and landscapes surrounding her coastal home—and is known for its vibrant color palettes and use of wool yarns as decorative elements. She has authored two books, Wet Felting and Three-dimensional Wet Felting, and continues to share her expertise through in-person workshops and online platforms.
In her creative practice, Natasha specializes in turning raw wool fibre into structured, decorative objects for the home. She is particularly drawn to practical, functional design and enjoys the problem-solving involved in felt construction. Her courses are grounded in clear instruction, thoughtful design choices, and a strong belief in making wet felting accessible and enjoyable for all skill levels.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Wet Felting
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Tools and Materials
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Types of Wool Fibre
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Intro to Wet Felting 1
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Intro to Wet Felting 2
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Intro to Wet Felting 3
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U3
Making a Flat Felt Piece
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Preparing to Felt
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Creating the Flat Felt Piece 1
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Creating the Flat Felt Piece 2
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Creating the Flat Felt Piece 3
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Constructing the Lampshade 1
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Constructing the Lampshade 2
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U4
Felted Cushion
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Designing the Cushion
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Creating the Flat Felt Piece for the Cushion 1
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Creating the Flat Felt Piece for the Cushion 2
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Shaping and Assembling the Cushion 1
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Shaping and Assembling the Cushion 2
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Shaping and Assembling the Cushion 3
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Adding Details and Final Touches
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FP
Final project
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Intro to Wet Felting
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Wet felting is a fiber art technique that uses water, soap, and agitation to interlock wool fibers. You can create decorative and functional home items like bowls, lampshades, bags, and cushion covers using wet felting methods.
This course is designed for intermediate learners who want to expand their wet felting skills. Some basic knowledge of felting is helpful, but the course covers key techniques and includes step-by-step instructions.
Essential materials include wool (like merino or carded batts), soapy water, bubble wrap, a dishcloth, rolling pin, and basic measuring tools. The course also explains optional embellishments like viscose and mohair boucle.
You’ll learn how to create flat and three-dimensional felted items, use resist techniques for seamless shapes, calculate shrinkage, select wool types, and incorporate embellishments for unique designs. The course also covers finishing and assembly methods.
Seamless felted items like lampshades and bowls are made using flat resist techniques. A flexible template is placed between wool layers to prevent fibers from joining, allowing you to shape hollow, seamless structures.
Shrinkage is estimated by making a test sample and measuring its size before and after felting. The course teaches percentage-based formulas to help you plan project dimensions accurately and achieve the intended final size.
Merino, carded batts, and wool tops are popular for wet felting due to their fine fibers. The course explains wool grading, micron counts, and the differences between formats to help you select the right wool for each project.
good
Buena iniciación con conceptos claros y medidas precisas
Curso super didático, vale muito a pena!!!
This was a fabulous course, thank you!
Loved this course, thank you.
Great teaching instructions and techniques.