Upcycling Recycling and Reuse

To felt you will put your sweater into a lingerie bag or into a pillow case (to prevent lint build up in your machine) and wash it with hot water and a hot/warm rinse. Then you will dry your sweater (still in the bag) on high heat. This will shrink the wool fibers as much as possible and make them more waterproof. It will also shrink your sweater, so try to get larger sizes if possible!

lanolize your wool. Lanolin can be bought in the stores where you find breastfeeding supplies. Use a pea sized drop of lanolin and rub it in between your fingers to soften it. Then run tepid water over the lanolin as you fill your basin with water. Let your wool sit in the lanolin water for 10-15 minutes and soak the lanolin in. When it is finished, drain the water out of the basin, gently ring your wool out (you can put it in the spin only cycle of your washer too), and let it air dry. Lanolize 1-2x per month (more if the cover is used often) to keep the wool's waterproof properties.