I just finished making an Indian pottery bag with Lopi yarn. This is my 3rd FO and 1st time felting.
When I put my bag in the washer (hot water - heavy duty cycle) it came out looking pretty much like it did before it went in. It was a little bit fuzzy, but not like I expected. I washed it again, but I didn’t see a big difference. So then I dried it on low! It’s [I]still[/I] about the same size - smaller than before I washed it, but not by a whole lot.
When something is felted, are you supposed to be able to see the knitting [I]stitches[/I]? I thought it was going to look more like a thick felt - I didn’t think I would still see the actual stitches.
I don’t know…any thoughts? Is this correct and I am just crazy???
When i wash felt it gets smaller at times but not all the times, at times its the brand of the yearn, its made differently. No your not crazy. It happens at times. When you make the knitting loose you’ll see the stitches but if you do it tight in a way you wont, at times.
Is it Reynolds Lopi? That’s 100% wool, so it should felt. Is it white? Often white wool has been bleached to make it white and that also makes it not feltable.
My experience with felting is that loose knitting felts better then tight. So if the yarn calls for size 7 needles, I’d use at least a 9 or even 10. Some yarns take longer to felt then others so maybe you need another wash cycle. When I put an item in, I watch a timer so I get to the washer before the 10-15 minute wash cycle ends, then turn the timer back to the beginning. You should take the item out every 10 minutes or so to check it’s progress. It may not look any different for up to 30 minutes, then suddenly shrink up to half it’s size within the next 5 minutes!