Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Make a Felted Dread

Rolling a felted dread with your hands transforms it from light, airy wool into a compact, thick dread. Hot water is the main catalyst for wool to felt. The barbs that are on each wool strand latch together to become a dense mat. Attach a bobby pin to a single dread to fasten it to your hair. Twenty dreads bunched together can be tied to an elastic band, much like a pony tail or other hair decoration.

Things You'll Need

Large bowl
Liquid dish soap
Towel

Instructions

- 1
  Pull roving wool to the length you desire. This creates tapered ends on the dreadlocks. Roving wool tends to run in the same direction.
- 2
  Tease the wool by pulling it apart with your fingers to straighten it. Make these wool sections twice the proposed dreadlock length.
- 3
  Make a mixture of hot water and 3 tbsp of liquid dish soap in a large bowl.
- 4
  Submerge the teased wool in the hot, soapy water and soak it for 5 minutes.
- 5
  Squeeze the wet wool to remove most of the soapy water and roll it between your palms. You will see and feel it compact and begin to take shape.
- 6
  Roll it on a towel to remove some of the soapy water and harden it into a tight shape. Repeat this sequence three times to firmly felt the dread.
- 7
  Rinse the felted lock with clean water.
- 8
  Hang your dread from the middle to drip dry. Catch the draining liquid with a towel. The weather affects the number of hours it takes felted dreadlocks to dry.

Other Hobbies