First take some clear plastic and trace out your bottle’s outline. Add about 30 to 40% to the outline depending on the shrinkage rate of your wool. This bottle cover is made with acid dyed merino and small bits of Angelina laid in between the layers to add a bit of sparkle. Four layers have been laid out in this step for a thin but sturdy cover. Cover with tulle and sprinkle with hot, soapy water. Gently rub the wool till it begins to felt carefully leaving the seams dry and untouched. Place the plastic pattern piece on top of your felted piece and then lay out your layers for the top. With each layer that you put down take the seams from the first layer and wrap around the pattern before moving on to the next layer. Follow the directions for making a felt hat, bag, or boots to the point where it’s time to full the piece.
After prefelting your cover take the plastic pattern out from inside it and carefully turn the piece inside out then place it onto the glass bottle. In this stage you will full the felt onto the bottle till it fits exactly and has shrunk down around the bottle making it impossible to fall off without cutting it off. Wrapping the bottle in tulle sprinkle it with hot soapy water then rub it up and down and side to side to begin shrinking it. When you have gone as far as you feel you can with that technique wet the piece again with hot water, wring out the water, then use a hair dryer focusing on the places that you want to shrink the most. Keep going back to wetting, soaping, rubbing, wetting, and drying untill you are done with the fulling and are satisfied with the fit of your felt cover.
The final cover which is made of 4 layers of Merino with bits of Angelina sparkles felted onto a glass bottle. Four layers is the absolute minimun I would use for this project and when I do it next I will use five or six of this type of wool as it feels just a bit delicate.
Adventures in Wool Addiction 