Felting

I finally had use of a washing machine last weekend and used the opportunity to felt three items that have been waiting around for a while.

The purple bag I made in July went from this:

to this:

Knitting details are in my original post, here. It shrunk from 9.25″ at its widest point and 8″ tall when lain flat to 8.5″ at its widest point and 6.75″ tall.

The second bag was the Pi Are Round bag I made in August. My sister-in-law saw me photographing it in the yard and decided she really wanted it, so this one’s for her. Knitting details and before-felting photos are here. The top still flops more than I’d like, so I need to hunt up some curved metal bit for the top. I am picturing a flat wire-like contraption with magnets or one of those clasps that closes with the two intersecting knobs (purse frame?). I have not begun looking yet. Whatever it ends up being, it will need to be lightweight. The brown part flattened out beautifully (it had ripples after I knitted it) and I’m very happy with the way this bag turned out:

It shrunk from 11″ across to 9.5″ across.

The last item to go for a swim was a hat I made in 2003 that I never was happy with. I made it in brioche stitch, which made it stretch to fit a large adult head, but it wasn’t wind-proof enough to make it useful:

It certainly is wind-proof now:

It is also now a child’s size small.

I also finished the little vest in which I experimented with steeks.

Pattern: own
Yarn: Silver Creek Yarns 100% Blue Face Leicester, colorway (or perhaps the sheep’s name): Elliot
Needles: size 4 for the body, size 3 for ribbing
Finished size:  26″ chest = 2-4 years old

I had concerns that the head-hole wasn’t big enough, but my knitting co-worker graciously tried it on and it went over her head, so I’m sure it will go over the head of whichever child gets it.

Lily of the Valley is finishe… no, not yet. I still need to tuck in some dangling ends and block it, but it is so very close!

I had a productive week. I spun up half of some Spinderella fiber, worked on my purple cotton sweater, and whipped out a bag and hat.

The bag is one I intended to felt, but Mr. Mmmyarn voiced the opinion that it is a great size the way it is. Since I planned for felting I knitted it more loosely than I would have had I wanted to leave it as is. Here’s what it looks like:

Pattern: own. I knitted it on the fly and did not take notes.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky; 85% wool, 15% mohair; color M-28, Chianti & Trendsetter Yarns Aquarius; 78% nylon, 22% cotton; color 827
Needles: size 10 1/2
Size: 9.25″ at widest point, 8″ tall when lain flat 

The handles are long for leaving it as is as I figured in extra length for shrinkage. I won’t be near a washing machine for a while so I have time to make up my mind. In the meantime, I’ll make a swatch with just the Lamb’s Pride and one with the mix and test-felt them in the sink. It’s a good idea to test it, anyway, considering I have no idea how much the Aquarius will hinder the felting process. Luckily, I grafted the handles, so they’ll be easy to clip and shorten to a proper length if I decide against felting.

The other project this week was a quick hat. I started with my usual 3×3 spiral rib but decided to toss in a second color, creating oblong diamond shapes throughout. I am ridiculously pleased with this as I worked the colors by holding one color in each hand as I learned in the Skra-Trojer class this past February, plus I combined knitting and purling, and — here’s the kicker — the hat stretches to fit over my head! A triumph! Well, it is a little tight for me, but that’s because I have a big head and this is a smaller hat. The fabric itself is wonderfully flexible. I have finally been successful at holding my yarn loosely enough to turn out a stranded project that has give. Perhaps it is time to start swatching one of those two fair isle sweaters I have set aside for me. Here’s the hat:

Pattern: own; cast on 83, 3×3 spiral rib worked in two colors
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted, 100% wool, in color N93 Latte and N91 Aran
Needles: size 5
Size: Adult small to medium

Tomorrow I’m off to Dixon, California, for Lambtown. I’ve never been. All I know to expect is that it will be too hot for me: 96 degrees is the prediction. Yick. I’ll be the person melting in the shade.

For the first time, I attempted to spin fatter yarn on purpose. Up until now, I have been working on getting my spinning finer and more even. Usually I go for about a fingering weight yarn, but I wanted the colors in this one to streak a bit more rather than blend completely so I worked on making the singles fatter. This was nearly instant gratification; it’s amazing how much faster it is to spin up yarn at 8 wpi than, say, 15. Here is the result:

Fiber: 100% merino wool
Colorway: Rose Quartz
Supplier: Carolina Homespun
Quantity: 8 ounces
Finished yarn: 2-ply; one skein of 117 yards and one of 128 yards; 8 wpi = bulky

This week’s bus knitting is a small purse to be felted. I do not know whether this design is going to work after felting because that colorful strand is going to poke out of the felt (it’s a cotton and nylon blend), and I won’t know until I get to a good washing machine, but here’s what I have so far:

The felted bag is finally finished. I knitted it back in March and then it sat around, waiting for us to visit my parents. They have a great washer: it can be set for a small amount of water and it has a button for extra agitation. Two rounds through the wash cycle at their house yesterday and this:

became this:

Pattern: own
Yarn: 3 1/3 skeins Noro Kureyon, 100% wool, color 180
Needles: size 10 1/2
Size: after felting: base is 3″ x 9″, top is 10 1/2″ wide when folded at the edges, and 8 1/2″ tall from base to top

I saw a similar style felted bag at a booth at Stitches West this February, then found a nicely-priced mess of Kureyon a few minutes later and decided I needed a striped felted bag. I put in purled “seam” stitches at the fold lines which made the bag fold nicely pre-felting but which do not assist with the folding now, or indeed show up at all.  The base is garter stitch and the sides stockinette. I worked a few inches in garter stitch at the top because I thought it would make the top stronger, but that, too, disappeared in the process. You’ll see a row of eyelet holes in the pre-felting photo. I had mental plans of making this a drawstring top, using all those eyelets, but in practice it made much more sense just to use the four on either side and let the bag be more open. Luckily the eyelets pretty much closed in the felting process. I had to really hunt for the eight holes I needed, then stretch them to make the strap go through. I did not measure the bag before I threw it in the washer but I’d guess it shrank down to about 2/3 its original size.