Wool roving comes in balls like this (you'll want to gather together numerous colors for your garland)...
Clear a large flat surface to work on and lay out newspaper, brown bags, or anything that will protect your work surface from water (things get a little soapy and drippy!). You will also need some dish soap (one without grease fighting properties and colors works best but pretty much any soap will work - I believe even some hand soaps will work so use what you have), rubber gloves (get a few pairs as with all of the rubbing they tend to break after awhile), glass container (you'll need to keep on re-heating your water in the microwave so find something small enough that will heat quickly - I used a glass liquid measuring cup), a baking sheet with raised edges, a tray or pan to hold your balls while they dry, and a couple of towels (one to lay across your lap in case you drip some soap and one to routinely wipe your gloves dry)...
Start by separating your wool roving into small strips - as your gloves get soapier and soapier it will become more and more difficult to do this so it is wise to do it ahead of time...
Fill your glass measuring cup close to the top with regular tap water and heat in the microwave (a minute and a half to two minutes should be good - all microwaves are different so use your judgement on the time needed) - please be careful as water will be extremely hot when you take it out! Set your glass measuring cup on the baking sheet with raised edges so you will have a surface to catch some of the drips as you roll your balls. Add a little bit of dish soap (a few drops should do). Now, grab one of your small strips and start wrapping it around your finger...
After a couple of of times around, rotate the ball and wrap a few times in the other direction. Note: Make sure your wool roving stays nice and fluffy while you are winding. If your gloves get too wet, your roving will start to string together before you're ready and you'll have a hard time achieving a smooth ball when you're finished - rather your ball will have flaps that stick out. (To correct this: wrap another small piece of wool roving around the damaged ball and try again. If this still doesn't work or if you end up with a ball larger than your liking, cut your ball in half and use the balls as a center for a brand new ball. Wool roving is pretty forgiving!
Take your ball (making sure to keep it somewhat intact as a ball) and dip it in the hot water - again be very careful as the water will be very hot! Just put it in the water for a second or two to get it wet...
Put the wet ball in the palm of one hand and start rolling the ball between your palms. Be gentle at first as your ball starts to felt. After a couple of rolls around in your palms, dip the ball in the water again, and roll again in your palms. Continue with this for a couple of minutes until your ball is nicely felted (It will feel and look fairly smooth). You can get more and more firm with the ball as it starts to felt...
You will need to rinse the suds off your ball. I prefer to hold the sudsy felted balls in the corner of the baking pan until my water needs reheating (then I can get up all in one trip to put the water in the microwave, rinse off the balls and place them in the other pan for drying, and to rinse off my gloves so they're not so sudsy for the next round). You can also keep a pan or bowl of fresh water next to you to rinse the balls off as you go (I don't prefer this method as in no time at all the "fresh water" becomes "soapy water" with all of the rinsing...
You will need to reheat your water in the microwave when it gets warm rather than hot. Occasionally, you will also need to add more water to the glass measuring cup (make sure to add a little bit more soap if needed as well).
I'll keep working on these balls in the next couple of weeks and hopefully have a finished garland to share soon!
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