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Home / Uncategorized / How To Stiffen Felt

How To Stiffen Felt

by Nancy Bandzuch · 8 Comments

how to stiffen felt

Hello friends!

I am **almost** ready to share a couple of really big projects–can’t wait–but until then I thought I would share another basic tutorial, one I use all the time: How to Stiffen Felt.

This is one of those things that I often think of as a STEP within a larger PROJECT, but, because it is a little involved it’s worthwhile to write out exactly how to do it–and the methods that I have had the most success with.  

I used several of the tips my friend Jessica shared on her blog and tweaked a few things.

First of all, stiffened felt is really useful when crafting toys or objects that you would like to stand up without stuffing.  

I recently stiffened my felt for this nativity set I made.  

Grab the free template HERE.  

So, in this way, although stiffening felt can be a bit tedious it is a time and money saver in the end.

kid's nativity 2

Ready to stiffen felt? Let’s do it! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Felt–I use a wool blend felt I purchase HERE.  Much cheaper than 100% wool felt and yet so much nicer to work with than yucky acrylic felt.
  • White School Glue
  • Warm Water
  • Old Container
  • Wax Paper
  • Iron
how to stiffen felt for crafting

First off, cut your felt into pieces larger than the piece you ultimately plan to cut.  

The felt may shrink or change shape in the stiffening process.

Next, mix 1 part glue to 3 parts warm water in a disposable container.  

I know Jessica used more glue, but I found that more glue left a film on my felt, and using only 1/4 glue in the mixture was plenty.  

Stir the glue and water until they are completely combined.

Place each piece of felt in the glue/water mixture, submerging it completely.  

Let the felt become completely saturated.  

Jessica has a good tip about starting with the lighter colors and working your way to the darker colors, as most felt (mine certainly did) will bleed and tint the glue/water mixture.

Now, for the tricky/time-consuming part–drying the felt.  

First off, it is important to try and get out as much of the water/glue mixture as possible.

Don’t wring out the felt, as this will destroy the felt.  

I found that pinching the felt between my hand and the side of the dish and pulling it through worked the best to get out most of the liquid and in the end, having a repetitively flat piece of felt.  

Any extra time you spend getting out the liquid will save you oodles of time on the drying step.

Lay out the felt in a single layer on wax paper and allow 24-48 hours to dry completely.  

Drying time will depend largely on the type of felt you used and how well you got out the liquid.

Once the felt is totally dry, flatten it and make it nice and crisp with an iron.  

Place each piece of felt under a clean cloth while ironing.

And, now it’s time to get on with the rest of your project!

As a final note, I always encourage people to use tape when cutting out patterns, and not straight pins.

HERE is the full explanation of that.  

This is even more important when working with stiffened felt.

Thanks for being here!

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Comments

  1. Chad says

    August 27, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    I’m working on a Halloween costume and I want to do this on a head piece (anger from inside out) do you think it would remain stiff in the Florida humidity?

    Reply
  2. Kia says

    May 8, 2017 at 8:01 am

    Perfect! I can’t wait to try this. I went to the craft store and they had no clue how to solve this dilemma of needing stuff felt for a project. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Nancy Bandzuch says

      May 9, 2017 at 5:02 pm

      Hope it works well and happy crafting!

      Reply
  3. Scotti keller says

    January 31, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    If you stiffen felt, will other pieces of felt still stick to it? I’m assuming not but wondering if you’ve ever tried? Working on my sons busy book and looking for a way to make my felt sheets more “page” like and not so flimsy.

    Reply
    • Nancy Bandzuch says

      January 31, 2017 at 5:17 pm

      No, they won’t stick together. If I come with with another idea I’ll let you know.

      Reply
    • Mimi says

      July 26, 2019 at 5:06 pm

      Hi hun
      I work loads with felt. What do you mean ‘will other pieces of felt stick to it?’ Are you looking to treat the felt sheets kind of like sticky board sheets? In that case, no stiffened felt will definitely not stick to other sheets once dry! If you stiffen it properly, it will feel almost like fuzzy cardboard (if that makes sense?).
      For your quiet book, I would suggest use a plain cotton children’s fabric for the pages and stiffen them using fusible interfacing. That is the best way to go. Hope this helps xx

      Reply
  4. Alison says

    February 25, 2016 at 8:50 am

    How do I shape harden felt

    Reply
    • Nancy Bandzuch says

      February 25, 2016 at 10:21 pm

      I haven’t really experienced with this. I’d guess you’d have to do it when it is still wet…I’ll try some things and get back to you.

      Reply

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