First ever roving dreads - help needed :(

[heartofdarkness]

My intention was to make 40 inch DEs, 20 inches unfolded, not too fat but not too skinny. However, I'm not doing so well so far

This was my first, in the desired length, but it ended up being far too skinny...



So I tore off a thicker length of roving for my second, which ended up fatter on one side (the thinner side is the thickness I want the dreads to be) and shrunk from 40 inch raw roving, to a 26 inch dread...



The remaining few I have made so far also ended up being skinny, and all ended up as various different lengths despite each piece of raw roving being the same length...



And close up, I felted each one five times...



I made a couple more chunky ones, but I kept getting a 'split' down one end, I tried pulling these ones apart and re-felting them several times, but it didn't help. Is there some way in which this can be avoided? I got this problem with all my chunkier ones, but not the skinny ones. Also, and I apologise if the answer to this is stupidly obvious, but can anyone explain why the chunkier ones shrank so drastically in length? Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I just want to work out how to make chunkier dreads than the skinnies I have made so far, with no splitting at the ends

[VixenSingsBlack]

roving is a tricky beast, so don't feel bad about struggling. I know when I first started felting dreads I kept pulling the dread longer and thinner while I was rolling it on the towel. It happens slowly and in very small increments so it's hard to recognize, but it can happen. You need to get your rolling very consistent is what it is. Just keep trying and really pay attention to your rolling technique.

[whorror]

I always found that split happened when I used warm water, so I switched to boiling water and it seemed to stop Hope they go well

[heartofdarkness]

Cheers both, for your replies

I decided to try a different method, I found a tutorial on here (can't remember who by now) for only putting a small amount of the wool into the water at a time before rolling straight onto the towel. I'm finding this much quicker and easier; the roving isn't shrinking drastically any more, and the dreads are forming at the thickness I wanted them to be

I'm still getting loads of ugly cracks, but I've only felted my new dreads once, and will probably need to do them a few times before the cracks disappear. This aside, I'm quite happy with them, so hopefully there will be pics soon. It won't be for another couple of days yet as I don't have my own camera, but I would like some opinions when I do get some new pics

[tr1angl3]

Have you tried Miasma's washing machine method (it's near the top in roving tuts)? It's really simple and the dreads turn out really nice (no cracks XD). I just gave it a go 'cause it was too hot to deal with near boiling water and I gotta say, I'm impressed. Mine escaped the bag tho so it made them a little weird...

I dunno, if you're getting super frustrated you might wanna check it out.

[LittlePinkFaery]

Try not to stretch the wool as you roll it, as this will cause uneven thickness.

Another tip to avoid the dreaded line (excuse the pun!) is to twist the wool as it comes out and make sure you are rolling around as you felt- rather than flattening as you felt.

They look to be a good texture though- you are certinly getting there!

[VixenSingsBlack]

Try not to stretch the wool as you roll it, as this will cause uneven thickness.

Another tip to avoid the dreaded line (excuse the pun!) is to twist the wool as it comes out and make sure you are rolling around as you felt- rather than flattening as you felt.

They look to be a good texture though- you are certinly getting there!

Also, sometimes you can see the "line" in the unfelted wool. If you see it, try to gently tease out the wool until the line is gone.

[heartofdarkness]

Cheers all

Will get some pics of my new dreads soon, and take on board all the advice on how to avoid the cracks, I'm finding they seem to appear when the raw piece of roving flattens out when wet, in the place where it 'joins' as it's being rolled, if that makes any sense

Not tried the washing machine method yet, I'd like to give it a try but will need to buy a cushion cover or something to put them in first. I quite like the texture of the machine washed dreads

[MrsEss]

just use a pillow case -knot the end, or fasten a bobble/hair tie around it.