One more question about felting in the washing machine

Hi, I’ve been thinking about felting in the washing machine. What if I felt a handmade item and it ends up too small to wear, like a pair of slippers? Can I stretch it out a bit, or do I have to start all over again—make it by hand again and felt it once more? Thanks for your answers
The latest felting article on the blog says that the felted piece is easy to shape after felting, but it doesn’t mention anything about it being stretchy.
https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/blog/98/haekelfilzen-strickfilzen-tipps-und-tricks-und-anleitungen

Hi Hamster,
Wet felt can still be stretched a bit. You can help this during drying by stuffing or blocking the piece. The more heavily felted it is, the less stretchy the piece will be.
With my slippers, the pattern is designed so that after the first wash, the slippers tend to be slightly too big, but never too small. A second wash cycle at 30° (if slight shrinkage is still needed) or 40° (if a bit more shrinkage is desired) will definitely give you the perfect result.
Then just shape them, and you’re done!
Best regards,
Karin

But that also depends heavily on the type of wool used. Unfortunately, not all wool felts the same way.

That’s true, of course, though commercially available felting wool behaves quite similarly.
For example, I tested Schoeller and Stahl Filzi, Gründl felting wool, Schachenmayr Filzi, and Ferner Wolle Filz for my felt slippers, and the result was always the same, with only very minor differences!
Best regards,
Karin

Schachenmayr Filz it—that’s what I meant to write!

I’ve also found that, unfortunately, different wools felt differently, even if they have the same yardage and the gauge is the same.

To ensure that items made according to the pattern actually turn out the specified size, you’d really have to wash them in the same washing machine as the pattern designer ;-) It’s best to always make a test slipper first to make sure it really fits. Then write down exactly under what conditions you washed the slipper. After that, you can use those measurements to calculate the dimensions for other sizes. Because with slippers in particular, even a few stitches or rows can make a difference.

Thanks for the answers and the info. Which washing machine is actually best suited for felting? I have one that’s very water-efficient—will that still work? Or does felting depend more on the wool and the constant agitation in the washing machine?