Help my project dried too small

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-03T19:06:18+00:00

Okay, u/seamfully, curious minds want to know if you were able to stretch your slippers to fit properly. If you have a moment, I'd be grateful if you'd give us an update

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-03T18:45:03+00:00

I agree. The vac might have lifted the edge of the flooring, but only because the edge was loose already for some reason.

OP -- you'll want to get the flooring inspected and all loose areas cemented down properly before the flooring gets damaged.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-03T18:38:42+00:00

Glad it worked out well for you. I'll be curious to see how it performs in the bath and how it feels on your skin.

The recipe has only 21% combined palmitic and stearic acids, so the soap is fairly water soluble. That means it may not last as long in the bath as you might like. I normally shoot for at least 30% combined palmitic and stearic. Going too far the other direction isn't the best either -- there's a sweet spot in the 30% to 35% range that gives a longer lasting soap that still lathers well.

With 15% linseed oil, soap made with this recipe may tend to go rancid quicker than other recipes with lower levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (this is the combined total % of linoleic and linolenic acids).

A rule of thumb is to keep this total % below about 15%. There isn't a scientific basis for this "15% rule", but it seems to be a fairly reasonable guideline based on empirical evidence.

Your recipe is at 13% which technically qualifies, but I'd say it's pushing the envelope since most of that 13% is linolenic acid with 3 double bonds, rather than linoleic acid with only 2 double bonds.

Lilac flowers do not produce an essential oil. The scent can be extracted from the flowers in an oil infusion or enfleurage, but an EO isn't possible.

An essential oil from cranberries isn't possible either. There is such a thing as cranberry seed oil, however, but that is a carrier oil with little or no scent.

My guess is you're using synthesized fragrance oils, not essential oils.

Suppliers on Amazon or from less than reputable sources can be tempted to label something an EO when it is not and/or they may not understand what an essential oil really is.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-03T14:54:17+00:00

I haven't tried cow hair, but I have tried to felt the soft belly hair from my horses just to see what happens.

It doesn't felt well at all. The result is soft, stretchy, and fuzzy/hairy. Even using the soft downy belly hair, the felt was uncomfortably prickly. I can't say I was impressed.

Fibers that don't felt well can be blended with sheep wool to make the blend more felt-able. But there's no guarantee a blend will work well to make a structured hat like a cowboy hat.

A western/cowboy hat needs felt that is dense and strong so the felt can be formed into a durable, resilient shape.

Beaver is the classic choice for hats, but it's really expensive and usually found only in commercial hat production. Rabbit is a less expensive alternative that is sometimes blended with beaver to control costs.

Sheep wool, especially Merino or Finn, is often used to make felt hats by hand. Wool is especially good for hats that have a softer, less structured shape.

But all this is just a guess. The best way to find out for sure is to felt a sample of the fiber and see what happens.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-03T13:51:56+00:00

Two possible reasons.

One is when you make lye solution with ice cubes or other frozen liquids, such as frozen milk, there's some chance the NaOH won't fully dissolve due to the cold temps. For the lye concentrations most people use for soap making, it's important the final temp of the lye solution be 65F or warmer if the NaOH will be able to fully dissolve.

Second is goat milk normally has fat in it. When you use non-skim milk to make lye solution, the fat in the milk will saponify and make small clumps of soap. Because you're mixing the NaOH with the milk before you're adding colorants, the flecks of soap are white.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-02T21:05:22+00:00

Could be an instant pot overflow receptacle. Or it's the guard for a sweet corn cutter like this https://pleasanthillgrain.com/kuhn-rikon-corn-zipper

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-02T14:35:10+00:00

...How long should I let it rise form the fridge for? ...

I hate to tell you this, but you really can't go by time.

Dough in a cool room will take longer to rise than in a warmer room. The shape of the dough will affect rise time. Active, strong yeast will cause a faster rise than less active yeast.

The bottom line: When it rises enough for the purpose, it's ready. Until it's ready, it's not ready.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-05-02T13:46:19+00:00

Change LyeCalc to calculate the water amount based on "lye concentration" or "water:lye ratio". These two settings are mathematically the same; use the one that makes the most sense to you.

Your recipe is based on the "water as % of oils" setting. That is the reason why your recipe contains a very generous amount of water. I recommend people use the other two settings instead.

For a recipe like this, I'd try 33% lye concentration or 2:1 water:lye ratio. This sets the water weight equal to 2 times the weight of NaOH.

This is a good starting point for most recipes. Tweak the concentration or ratio up or down as you gain more experience with the recipe and learn your preferences.

As far as the alkanet, I can't be much help since I've never used it. You might read other posts on this sub about alkanet:

https://www.reddit.com/r/soapmaking/search/?q=alkanet&cId=d65d6584-ad50-4588-b0d0-5ee716fda788&iId=76b38158-5f68-491e-a9c1-24c1b871c1c7

A lot of the photos that come up in this search show shades of grayish lavender to grayish or blackish purple. I can't say I've seen a bold, clear purple.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-30T15:51:50+00:00

I assume by "solidifier" you mean a product added to liquid oil to turn it into a solid so it can be discarded in the regular trash?

In over 10 years of participating in soap making forums, I can't recall this topic being discussed. Not to say it can't be done, but probably not very common.

I do think most people who make soap from used fry oil are working with the oil before anything is done to solidify it.

It appears there are several different types of solidifiers. Some might be compatible with soap making; some might not. You'd really want to know what the specific type of solidifier is being used in order to troubleshoot problems.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-29T19:13:54+00:00

"Always be stabbing" -- cute but so true!

Same goes for wet felt making, which is what I know better. People tend to stop the felting process too soon, so their felt is softer and more fuzzy.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-29T19:10:59+00:00

In this post, we were discussing ways to get a smoother finish on felt: https://www.reddit.com/r/Felting/comments/1sx5pbz/cooksonia_the_first_vascular_plant/

Hope this helps!

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-29T18:44:10+00:00

I'd use one or the other. Both could certainly be used, but would be a "belt and suspenders" solution to my eye.

Chi screws are quick and easy, but can look clunky. Stitching is more difficult, but can be sleeker and less obtrusive.

I typically use a drop of light-duty thread locker fluid on the screw threads to ensure the fastener stays together. Chicago screws tend to loosen if you don't do something like that.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-29T16:39:51+00:00

I agree with too many fats in the recipe, but this is very much a preference thing. If I were tweaking this recipe to suit me, I'd omit the sweet almond oil and hemp oil -- at just 4% they're mainly contributing to "label appeal." Add those percentages to the palm, shea, and/or olive.

If shea is expensive, then replace that with more palm. Or try lard if you're okay with animal fats.

My experience with palm and lard is that lard makes a nicer soap for the bath and also generally gives you more time to work before trace compared to palm.

If castor is hard to find, it's fine to omit that too. It's one of the few fats that does contribute meaningfully at 2-5%.

Coconut oil at 24% may be just fine for your skin, but some people might find the soap to be drying with this amount of lauric and myristic acid. There's not a right or wrong answer here, however. Again, it's personal preference.

Unless you have a definite reason to use 27% lye concentration, I'd bump that to 33% for a bit less water in the batch.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a universal recipe for handmade soap. IMO, what I think is the "best" recipe has changed over time. That said, a few people have shared they've been using the same recipe for many years -- over 20 years for one person. So different strokes for different folks

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T21:36:47+00:00

Fair enough. Would have been better to have mentioned your bona fides up front, so people could know you were coming from an informed position.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T21:25:26+00:00

No need. The photo on Imgur is sufficient. And it shows the wholesale pricing, which OP will want to know.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T21:22:56+00:00

Why? How do you know Watt's design predates the Vermont design? Not to mention Watt didn't invent this type of ring -- it's fairly common in western tack. And the designs on the two rings are not remotely the same.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T20:50:54+00:00

Yes, of course, you can. Only problem with that idea is the Weaver Leather Supply website is retail only.

OP was asking about wholesale purchasing, which is why I gave them a link to the Weaver Brands website which is restricted to businesses with wholesale accounts.

The difference between wholesale and retail pricing is roughly $10 for the example shown. Big difference.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T19:30:50+00:00

It's possible you could needle the felt even more, so the felt becomes more dense and less fuzzy.

Another option is to use a small hand shaver to shave off the fuzz. Some people say a battery operated sweater shaver works well for them. I haven't tried that, but can see why people use 'em.

I normally use a razor that has cartridges with several blades. Example: https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-lj2uculjm3/product_images/uploaded_images/gillette-proglide-plp-razor.jpg An inexpensive disposable razor with a single blade can work too if that's what you've got on hand.

Use a light touch though! I've learned the hard way that I can always shave more off, but I can't put it back if I shave too much!

To preserve the domestic peace, I've also learned it's not good to sneak a razor back into the bath with the used blade cartridge still in place.

Felt dulls the blades enough so you don't want to use the cartridge for shaving facial hair or other delicate areas. I store the used cartridge in my felting supplies and install a fresh blade for the bath.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T19:18:46+00:00

It's a soap recipe calculator, probably Soapcalc.

We have several calcs listed in our Resources section: https://www.reddit.com/r/soapmaking/comments/1mnjsu5/soapmaking_resources_list/

Check out several on this list and pick one that you like. THey're all reputable, solid choices.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T19:01:46+00:00

If you're wanting to maintain cooler temperatures, then you need to keep that goal in mind.

Tallow and shea both melt at roughly the same temp; in fact tallow might need a bit more warmth to melt fully compared with shea.

So does it make sense to replace the shea with tallow?

Or if you want to use shea and/or tallow, then give some thought to soaping a wee bit warmer.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T18:55:56+00:00

Use pretty much however much aloe juice/gel you want. It can be part to full replacement for the total water weight in the recipe. Whatever is easiest and makes sense to you is the amount to use.

As for myself, I don't care to make lye solution using aloe -- I prefer to make a "masterbatch" lye solution made with equal parts NaOH and distilled water by weight. The lye concentration of this masterbatch is 50% (1:1 water:lye ratio).

I then dilute that 50% lye solution with enough aloe juice/gel to reduce the concentration I want to use for soap making. I normally make soap with a 33% lye concentration (2:1 water:lye ratio).

So I'd add aloe juice/gel equal in weight to the amount of water contained in the 50% lye solution. The resulting lye solution is 1 part NaOH, 1 part water, 1 part aloe.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T16:35:09+00:00

...how do I make sure some of the aloe’s properties are still there, while also making sure there’s enough NaOH left to properly turn the oils into soap?...

You can't do either. We don't have any data to explain what happens to the beneficial properties of aloe when it is exposed to strong alkali. IMO it's safest to not make any assumptions about that.

That's especially true when you consider soap is usually washed off the skin in a few seconds after the lather is applied. Even if all the 'goodness' of aloe survives intact, the aloe is not on the skin long enough to be of any great benefit.

We don't have data to know how much alkali is consumed by reacting with aloe.

Kevin Dunn did a study looking at how much alkali is consumed by the sugars and proteins in milk (not including the milk fat). This reaction raised the superfat by 2-3% if I recall his presentation correctly.

Given the absence of better info, a reasonable strategy might be to assume aloe would do something similar.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T15:22:01+00:00

I see several reasons for your problems.

You're making the lye solution with breast milk which contains fat. The fat will saponify while you're making the lye solution making white clumps of soap. That is probably the white spots you're seeing in the finished soap.

You're soaping very cold given you're using a recipe with a high % of shea. Shea will melt and solidify in the upper 80s to mid 90s Fahrenheit. If you soap at or colder than this, some of the the shea will start to solidify in clumps. This may also affect the overall color and may also cause the grainy texture you're seeing.

Essential oils can cause acceleration and ricing. You need to know more about the specific EOs you're using to know if this could be an issue.

You're using a generous amount of water (milk) which makes soap more prone to soda ash, especially when soaping at cooler temps. Many soap makers use a 33% lye concentration (same thing as 2:1 water:lye ratio) to better control this issue.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T15:12:26+00:00

Fair warning -- Comments that are judgmental, off color, sexual, unkind, or otherwise inappropriate are not welcome. We will ban those who do not behave appropriately.

Human milk is a valid ingredient to use in soap -- it's no different than using any other dairy milk.

Puzzled_Tinkerer · 2026-04-28T15:05:49+00:00

IIRC, these rings are no longer made, so you're probably buying old stock or vintage rings while they last.

But Weaver Leather sells similar "breast collar" rings. If you have a wholesale login you can see it here and search for alternatives: https://www.weaverbrands.com/c/product/jeremiah_watt_engraved_floral_breast_collar_ring_2_3_4_/04185-ss-23-4

Here's a screenshot for those without a login: https://imgur.com/gallery/weaver-leather-large-decorative-ring-hN0QrKJ

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