Felting mohair

Baby Talk
1

I have heard of mohair felting can anyone tell me what felting is? Can you wet Mohair if it is already rooted and put a cap on it and put it in the oven or will it felt?

2

You can wet down mohair and heat the head if you need toā€¦Just wet the hair down, and I like to put a damp cloth on the hair in the oven just to be safe. I wouldnā€™t do it many times tho.

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3

Thanks I did that and it looks ok but what is felting?

4

Look here!

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5

Anne thanks for the link, I was just concerned about felting because I read that if you dye the mohair be careful because if the water changes temp the mohair can felt and I was afraid that if I put water in the hair and then put it in the oven it might felt but I still donā€™t know what felt means

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6

LOL! I donā€™t use an oven, sorry.

7

Yes, I have many times baked dolls after they were rooted, but I would never wet the hair. I wrap the hair in strip of toweling and it stays cool. Also put something in the opening of the neck to stop the heat getting in.

8

I never thought about that! Unless itā€™s glued, Iā€™m not sure thatā€™s necessary, though.

I do wet the hair with the conditioner mix and place a wet hat on the head. Iā€™ve never had a problem.

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9

Thanks ladies I did it and it came out ok I tried using a heat gun before and melted the eye lashes off even though I wrapped the head in a towel and only pointed the heat gun to the lips. Well these things scare me.

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10

I use E6000 to attach magnet and to seal the eyes, that is why I do not want the heat to get inside he head. The hair covered with several layers of toweling fabric stay cool. I do not think it is wise to introduce any source of humidity into the oven.

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11

I will try to explain how and what ā€œfeltingā€ is.

We all know that Mohair is a fiber, itā€™s not real hair, like our own, which we can wash with hot, warm or cold water. If you do this to Mohair, you could ā€œfeltā€ it. Think of your favorite knitted sweater or item. Can you wash it in the machine in hot water? If you do what happens? It shrinks and becomes fuzzy. That is felting. If you have a head of mohair and you wash it in HOT water, itā€™s going to ruin itā€“it will felt or as we call it felting it.
Will this happen if we heat it, not if you wet it and keep it covered. I used to use an old baby cap, but a towel will work too.
EDITED:
Years ago we didnā€™t have the best mohair available to us, much of it was over-processed or was designed to be used in spinning for yarn ā€œrovingā€ I believe itā€™s called. We were constantly warned about ā€˜feltingā€™ the mohair.
Just be careful is the main agenda. :slight_smile:

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12

That is NOT true. Mohair and wool are pretty much the same stuff as our hair, only human hair is thicker, but given the right condition it will felt - that is what dreadlocks are, felted hair.

To felt anything it needs to be shocked = put from hot water to cold. But both wool and mohair is dyed in hot water just bellow boiling point without felting. I have accidentally boiled my mohair when I was dyeing it, and did not watch it closely enough; it did not felt nor did it become dried out. I also wash in very hot water every dollā€™s head when I finish rooting. I wash and rinse it under running tap in water that is too hot to hold my hand under it. Never had a problem with it

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13

Memory and Internet advice failed me. Years ago we didnā€™t have the best mohair that is available today, hence ā€œfeltingā€ was a huge warning. My apologies for the wrong information :smiley:

14

Thanks ludmila Iā€™m not scared of wetting the hair anymore

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15

catherineweebab thanks for trying and giving me the information at least I think I understand felting better.

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16

You are welcome. :heart:

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