i was given 2 hanks of gorgeous handspun in a natural brown. i want to make a felted hat with a rolled brim. have a pattern or two to choose from.
question: do items felt better when knitted on larger needles? one of the patterns suggests that items knitted on larger needles with more open stitching have more room to shrink and thus felt better.
does anyone know/can anyone help?
thanks.
Everything I’ve read suggested to use larger needles than usual. The looser gauge allows for the stitches to rub against each other, creating more agitation.
I agree, using larger needles does make whatever felt better.
If you’re making something with cables or bobbles, where you want the knit stitch detail to show, use smaller needles. I have experimented and items do not felt as tightly with the smaller needles.
Yes, big needles and it helps if you knit kind of loose. I know, it seems wrong, but it does leave you with a sturdier fabric.
thank you for the replies. it seems counterintuitive, but i will try it that way. this hat will be amazing, if it turns out how i want it.
I agree, bigger needle and knit loose. I just posted some pics of finished felted bags under whatcha knitting.
And the orange and green bags were made from the same yarn, but the orange one was knit looser and turned out smaller. Go figure!