Felting questions

How-to Questions
1

I just got done dying some wool yarn so that I can knit it up and felt it. My questions are:

  1. Can you felt wool that has plys?
  2. Is there anything that you can use besides pillow cases to put the object in? I don’t have a zipperable pillowcase and the last time I tried felting it didn’t work because I tyed too big of a knot and it didn’t have that much room to get adgitated.
  3. What is the best temperature to felt?

TIA!

2

You can absolutely felt plied wool.

I like to use a zippered mesh bag–made for laundry and available at the dollar store, so it’s not expensive. Some people don’t like the lint, but I like being able to see what’s happening without opening the bag.

The hotter the water, the better.

3

I use a regular pillowcase and use a big rubber band to close it. :wink: Hey, it works!

4

Don’t forget to throw in a pair of old jeans in the water to help agitate the wool. The “friction” will help the felting process. :cheering:

5

Ahh I should have thought of that! I have a TON of rubber bands.

I have a pair of jeans that need washed so it’s no problem :wink:

Okay I have a couple more questions.

  1. How long does it take to felt something? Does it depend on the size, color, or both?

  2. When you knit something that you want to felt, do you use a bigger needle size to felt it or do you use the needle size that is recommended?

TIA again.

6

I’ve only felted three bags and from what I’ve read in all of my felting books the length of time to felt depends on the yarn type you used etc. I just had to keep checking it from the washing machine until it looked about how I wanted it. Then I took it out and towel dried it. Then gave it a good “stretch” where it needed shaping. So far I’ve only felted with Noro yarns and they took about 45 minutes to an hour to get the results I wanted.

As far as stitch size…I’m not sure on that. I just knitted the bags up to what the directions said and mine turned out okay.

I’m currently knitting another bag that is with totally different wool yarn…so I’ll see how long that one will take. But I’m still knitting it so that one will be awhile yet. :XX: :XX:

7

I use a mesh laundry bag, very hot water and jeans. Different yarns take different amounts of time. Just set the timer for or 5-10 min and keep checking. You may have to reset the washer repeatedly…I do.

I also just followed patterns, but I think if the stitches are very tight it might either take longer or not felt as well. I’m not sure though.