The sock continues… I turned the heel ok I think and now am working on the gusset shaping.

But here’s a recent finished project.

This was my second felting project and it was a lot easier than last time.  The pattern was from a recent issue of Let’s Knit magazine and the felting wool was from Knitting4fun.com

Knit on 10mm needles, it was quick to knit and turned out huge.  I wasn’t sure how much it would shrink when felted, but it shrank to just the right size.  I felted it by simply sticking it in the washing machine at 40 deg C.  I might line it with some pink fabric when I get time.  It was supposed to have a flap to do it up, but  I didn’t have enough fushia pink wool left to do it – the only draw back of the pattern and its yarn requirements.

Regular readers of the blog may remember that at the beginning of this year I knitted a multi-coloured hat in pure wool. I was in a dilemma about whether to felt it. Eventually I decided against it, but the hat pattern was for turned out a bit of a funny shape because I had tried to make it smaller.  I only wore it once.  It wasn’t good.

So whilst I was in the hat knitting mood recently, I frogged the hat and started again, following the instructions to the letter in regards to the size, and I had my first attempt at felting.

The instructions said to felt it by hand, by first rubbing it in super-hot water, then plunging it into a bowl of ice cubes.  Well I started off doing this but wasn’t getting very far.  The yarn started to felt, but the hat wasn’t shrinking in size – and I’d just gone to the trouble of knitting it bigger, in order that it would end up smaller – and it wasn’t happening!

After a while, Mum suggested that I put it in the washing machine, but I was worried then that it might shrink too much and I wouldn’t be able to wear it.  You can’t stop our washing machine mid-cycle to check it.  So Mum said try the tumble dryer.

And voila!

A few minutes of tumbling sorted it.  It was the correct size for my head and fabric lightly felted.  We stuck it over an up-turned bowl to let it finish drying in the correct shape.

I’ve worn it a few times now and it’s great except it itches my forehead after a while!

I’m now knitting a bag which I will felt too, this time I’ll put it straight into the washing machine on the hot cycle.

I made this hat (on my lovely knitpicks options) from Elle Merino Brights yarn, following a pattern in the Art of Knitting.   The pattern calls for it to be felted, but I wasn’t going to do that.  As is a girl’s perogative, I’ve changed my mind.

Trouble is the pattern called for lots and lots of rows before the crown shaping.  I looked the pattern photograph and that hat looked big on the model and tried it on my head, and I decided I didn’t nearly as many rows because it would be too big.

But now I want to felt it, I’m worried it will shrink and will become too small.  There’s plenty of room around the circumference, so that doesn’t matter if it shrinks width-wise, but the height is just right as it is.

After I’ve felted, will I be able to pin it out to the right size and let it dry, to make sure the height’s right?

Or should I frog it back and add a few more rows?

I don’t know what to do.  I’ve never felted before so don’t know what’s going to happen! Any suggestions?