I felted my booga bag last night. What fun! I tried a few different ways:
1) with dish soap – not much happened
2) with dish soap and jeans – apparently one shouldn’t try to felt with ragged jeans – the nobly parts felt in with the yarn
3) throwing caution to the wind, wash it with Sunlight laundry soap and really hot water
Eureka!
I didn’t really enjoy knitting with the Noro – it was a bit harsh on the hands. But I love the results, so I might have to suck it up and make more. The total working time for the project was probably between 10-15 hrs. That’s why I’m now experimenting with a crocheted version – much quicker…stay tuned!
way too nice, Sherri, you need to make another one, in pink. You will like it as much as the next person, who will be me, and loving the bag.
Looks fantastic! I just set the washer on the longest cycle with the hottest water and everything felts great! (I know you know this but… just remember that crochet doesn’t shrink as much…I’m just saying 😉 )
You’re almost 100% right Drew. I experimented with sc’s today and they didn’t felt as much as knitting. Then I felted my Tunisian entrelac bag and it turned out just as felted as knitting. Maybe because the stitches are tighter? Inquiring minds want to know!
Things felt because of friction. The more that the wool rubs together the more the ‘felted’ the finished product. The bigger the spaces between the wool, the more room there is for them to rub together, the more tightly tangled the fibers become. Even if you use the same size hook and do two pieces with different tensions, the looser piece will felt more. There is a great articel in interweave crochet fall 2007 about felting if you can get your hands on it.