DIY Felted Soap

If you walked into a store and spotted a basket overflowing with colorful, fuzzy things, would you be tempted to pick one up, figure out what it was, and try to make your own? Me too! In fact, that’s exactly what I did 20 years ago.

My husband and I had been making artisanal soap in our country kitchen for a few years and we had tons of leftover soap scraps. They were completely fine to use, but not sellable in their lopsided condition and we didn’t want them to go to waste. So, what to do with all the uneven leftover pieces? I tried grating them down and forming them into balls shaped around lengths of jute cording to make soap-on-a-rope. People laughed at these lumpy creations, so I went back to the drawing board.

That’s when I walked into a local, hand goods store and discovered a basket full of colorful fuzzy things. Being a lover of all things handmade, especially products made with wool, I picked up one of these wonderful, fragrant felted balls and realized that it was soap. Aha! Maybe this was the solution to recycling our soap scraps.

 

In case you haven’t heard of felted soap before, it’s a bar of soap that has been encased in layers of felted wool — like a soap and washcloth all-in-one! You can use it to gently exfoliate your skin and make your soap last longer, replacing a washcloth or loofah in the shower.

Why would you use a felted soap instead of a soap and washcloth or loofah?

• Washcloths and loofahs mold easily and are often harsh and scratchy. The wool casing around felted soap is antimicrobial and works as a gentle exfoliant.
• The wool casing helps conserve soap by wicking in the suds so they don’t wash down the drain.
• Felted soap is more practical and easier to grip than a slippery bar of soap.
• Once the soap is gone, you can re-use the felted casing by cutting a small slit in the side and slipping in leftover slivers of soap.

I wanted to support the craftswoman who created these beautiful, fuzzy soaps, but my creative nature compelled me to try to figure out how to make my own. There weren’t many people making felted soap at that time — or at least I couldn’t find instructions online — so I bought one and deconstructed it. With the help of a friend and fiber artist, we figured out how to create our own version of felted soap. We shaped the soap scraps into a sphere and then began wrapping wool roving around the soap to cover the entire surface before felting. It was awkward at first, but I was determined to learn this new craft and eventually developed my own technique.

Thousands of felted soaps later — and no scraps wasted — I’m excited to share my technique with you! Whether you’ve always wanted to learn how to make your own felted soap or you’re just learning about these amazing fuzzy things, my kit and How to Make Felted Soap instructions will walk you through the process from start to finish. I know you will enjoy creating that perfect gift (for yourself or a loved one), helping your children make their first felted soaps, or providing kits as an activity for your child’s upcoming birthday party where the guests can make the perfect little party favors.

 

The Fiat Luxe Felted Soap Kit Includes:

• Two .7 ounce bars of handmade soap
• Natural, white, carded wool 
• Assortment of colored wool tufts 
• 1 nylon stocking
• Instructions: How to Make Felted Soap

GET YOUR FELTED SOAP KIT