I made quite a few scarves using cobweb technique and I love this technique very much as the scarves come out very light and soft. The technique itself is simple but it takes time and accuracy to lay down your fibers.
To make a scarf I use fiber blends, mostly wool and silk blends. Silk gives merino wool extra softness and shine. Fiber blends can be monochrome or multicolor. I like multicolored ones more because the end result looks more interesting.
The blend should be carefully unfolded and stretched to fill the width of the scarf. It is important to keep colored stripes of wool and silk in one direction instead of mixing in different directions.
After fibers are stretched out the first layer turns out to be very thin and it is impossible to felt the scarf without holes. To avoid the holes you need to add additional layers of fibers. It is good to use a thin layer of viscose(rayon) fibers of any color as the next layer to give your scarf additional strength. Do not worry, viscose fibers will not be visible.
On top of the viscose layer, you can put the same blend of fibers you used as the first layer to make both sides of the scarf look the same. As an option, you can use any other wool fibers to make the other side look different. This way you can get a two-sided scarf with two different designs on it like the scarf in my photo. The possibilities are endless.
I layout one more layer of viscose fiber on top of wool to make the second side of my scarf shiny and beautiful.
The length of my table is less than the length of my scarf so I did first one part of the scarf, moistened, rubbed and rolled it. Then I made the rest part of the scarf as we can see in the photo.
After you laid out all your layers of fibers you need to moisten your scarf with soapy water and rub the water in with the flats of your hands.
I usually create a fringe at the ends of the scarf.
Next, use your favorite felting method to bond the fibers together.
After the felting process is done, rinse your scarf and squeeze extra water with a towel. Next, be sure to touch up the fringe and all edges with extra rubbing to shape them. While the scarf is still wet, steam it with an iron on cotton setting to give it a final shape. I never iron fringe because it gives the fringe a flat look which I do not like. The last step is to leave the scarf to dry.
This is all that takes to make a beautiful thin, light, tender, soft and warm scarf!
The same cobweb felting technique can also be used to make clothing such as jackets, vests, hats and coats.
