Felting help!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

So I'm trying to felt my Fun Fur Rug (from the Lionbrand website, though mine is all white) and... no felting.

I ran it through the washing machine on hot (and my water heater is set to 'scald'), and I'm not talking about 'very little felting' - I mean none. I've gotten more felting on a test swatch I rubbed with my fingers under running hot water in the sink! I'm worried that with my washer (it's an HE top loader with no spindle - gentle on the clothes, crap for felting, evidently) it's just not going to work. :/ So, without going to a laundromat (I don't even know where any are around here) or pestering my friends ('Oh, uh, hey, you have more of a beat-the-crap out of your clothes washing machine, right? Can I use it?') how can I get this thing to felt?

My options, I think are:

* Throwing it in the dryer - I don't know if this works with intentional felting, but it's how most people accidentally felt sweaters.

* Just keep washing it over and over and over?

* Buying a hand-crank washing machine, loading it with boiling water and some heavy things (like rocks wrapped in fabric) and going for it.

When you don't have a mouth, no one can hear you scream:



And, completed:



(Ravelry page on Sackboy)