The Treatment and Felting Effect: How Wool Gets That Soft, Fuzzy Finish

This time, I’ll explain the term “felting effect”, which you often see in autumn/winter knitwear, what kind of knit it refers to, and how it’s made.

Felting effect: Strongly Applied Treatment

Felting effect is a type of knit finishing technique in which treatment is applied more intensely—literally “strong treatment.”

Freshly knitted fabric often has distortion in the stitches, lacks stability, and is prone to losing shape. Wool yarn, before knitting, still has oils on the surface and lacks loft, resulting in a hard and rough knitted texture.

By washing the fabric, the stitches are evened out, a pleasant fuzz is created for a more luxurious look, and the touch becomes softer and fluffier. This washing process is called treatment.

Felting effect cannot be done with just any material. Since it utilizes the natural properties of wool, it requires shrinkage wool.

Wool fibers have scales on their surface (similar to human hair cuticles). During the washing process (treatment), friction and heat cause these scales to interlock and the fibers to tangle.

As a result, the fabric shrinks and becomes more felt-like in texture. Felting effect is the intentional application of this process to achieve a specific look and feel.

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How is Felting effect Done?

Felting effect is performed by intensifying the treatment process, adjusting the treatment in ways such as:

• Increasing the processing time
• Strengthening the water flow during washing to create more friction
• Raising the water temperature
• Increasing the drying temperature ・・・・etc

These parameters are adjusted according to the yarn blend ratio, fiber structure, and knitted pattern—this is where the know-how of the processing company comes into play.

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Variations and Key Points of Felting effect

Because Felｔing effect significantly changes the knitted fabric, even slight differences in conditions can lead to noticeable variations.

For example, a difference of just five minutes or a small change in temperature can cause the fabric to shrink excessively, or result in uneven areas where some parts are more fulled than others.

One important thing to note in knitwear is that due to the intense shrinkage, the fabric can distort easily, making it difficult to achieve uniform sizing. This means that fully fashioned shaping (maintaining sharp, delicate shapes straight off the needles) is not possible.

When using felting effect, the design process usually assumes that the fabric will be cut after fulling.

Introducing Knits with the Felting Effect

When it comes to MONTELUCE’s ｓｈrinkage wool, it’s all about BOND.

https://www.maruyasu-fil.com/brands/monteluce/yarn-collection/695

https://www.maruyasu-fil.com/brands/monteluce/yarn-collection/693

Here are some examples of knits with the felting effect made using BOND!

2/48 BOND, 18G-1P, Jersey Stitch (treatment/ Felting Effect)

In the same fabric sample, the left side shows treatment and the right side shows the felting effect.
When the felting effect is applied, the surface takes on a felt-like appearance.

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2/48 BOND × 1/27 PLATINA, 7G-1P, Double-faced Knit　(Treatment / Felting Effect)

A double-knit fabric combining Mohair (navy) and BOND (blue). The mohair yarn is 1/27 PLATINA.
In the sample, the right side is treatment, and the left side has the felting effect.

The treatment version has a sheer, airy look, and you can visually distinguish the knitted sections of Mohair and BOND.
With the felting effect, the stitches contract tightly, closing the gaps. The result is a mottled pattern where the mohair fibers stand out, creating an interesting texture and appearance.

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2/48 BOND × 1/50 PATIO, 14G-1P, Double-Layer Jacquard (Felting Effect)

This knit takes advantage of BOND’s high shrinkage rate.
We knitted a check-pattern double-layer jacquard and then applied the felting effect. The matcha green and magenta areas use PATIO yarn, while the orange sections use BOND.
Since PATIO shrinks less than BOND, only the BOND areas contract during the process. The PATIO areas remain, resulting in this unique textured finish.

In Summary

How was today’s topic?
I hope you understand how the felting effect can transform different yarn combinations and knit structures, adding unique texture, depth, and character to each fabric!