Glen’s Christmas thread has me thinking about the clogs i wanted to make for pressies…
Question: How good is WOA for felting? I know KellyK has used it and Kemp - both for clogs… But i seem to remember Kemp having a hard time getting hers to shrink.
I was also thinking of the fact that Silver’s clogs (done with Cascade 220 if i remember correctly) felted right away in one wash.
So is WOA good to use for these clogs or would i be better off using Cascade 220 or something? Or does Silver have a magical washing machine or something?
I’ve never felted before so i don’t know the nuances of different yarns yet…
WOTA felts great! It took me several washings for my clogs. One thing that i am not crazy about is it’s fuzziness factor… I think that attracts dust and cat hair more than less fuzzy felted things. Merino style felts GREAT and is very flexible, but not as thiick as WOTA. maybe you could knit a swatch and see what you think?
Kelly–do you mean that you had to pu the load the hot water 5 times–or you used the hot water in 1 machine load and agitated 5 cycles?? I know this doesn’t sound right, but you know what I mean?? That’s a lot of hot water!! :shock:
Ellen, I’ve never felted with WOTA, but I’ve felted with lots of other yarn. It does take quite a few wash cycles to shrink up the wool - more or less depending on how much you want the yarn to felt. It helps to just fill the washing machine with water for a small load and add in jeans or towels to help with the agitation. That makes felting happen faster.
Hilde - my sister wants a pair of felted slippers for xmas and she specifically asked that I use a color/yarn that won’t show cat hair as much. Do you have any suggestions? I originally thought maybe the Brown Sheep yarn because it has mohair in it & is VERY fuzzy when felted, so perhaps the cat hair wouldn’t show as much, but now I wonder…
Thanx–I haven’t felted yet, as you can clearly tell! But I am almost finished kntting the Booga Bag, and I’m a little anxious about the next part, to say nothing about doing the I -cord–which I have not done either! :shock:
Ellen, I didn’t use the same hot water because it’s the “shock” of hot water and then cold water that helps the wool felt more quickly. Perhaps it’s wasteful, but I didn’t let the machine fill with too much water anyway.
kimmie
OH!! I see–just the smallest setting for “FIlLL”–and then you add jeans or something heavy in as well to agitate? And you then do the “COLD” rinse cycle? I wonder when you ever know when it’s “DONE” enough!! :crying:
Ellen, yep, you got it! I also put my item to be felted in a pillowcase & tie a knot in the end. This serves two purposes…it keeps any wool fibers that come loose from clogging up the washing machine and it helps with the agitation. You will “know” when it’s the right size. It’s really lots of fun to felt!! Once you do it you’ll be amazed. kimmie
Yeah–I can’t wait to se how it looks when it’s finally (ho hum) finished!! I want to get it done and then maybe do the clogs everyone has talked about. They are tremendoulsly cute!! And they look really professional, too. Although–the pattern isn’t FREE–and that’s not fun! :crying:
Mine felted after about maybe 15 minutes of agitation (I used WOTA.) I did notice that mine weren’t felting evenly, so I ended up taking one out after about 7 minutes and just felting them one at a time. I don’t know if maybe my tension was different on them? hmmm…
Anyways, it was my first time felting anything, and it was easy peasy. I didn’t use jeans because I my jeans mucho much, and I didn’t want to ruin them if the wool colors bled (which they did - the water was all sorts of Kool-Aid colors.) I put a touch of detergent in the water and put it on the “heavy duty” setting for agitaiton. Also, it left some fuzzies in the washer. I did a load of laundry afterwards and noticed that some the clothes had a few red fuzzies, but it wasn’t a big deal.
It’s not that scary, I promise!! Just sit by your washer and check it every 3 or 4 minutes. GL! You can do it!
Ok… well i’ve ordered a skein of WOA from knitpicks and i’ve also purchased a hank of Cascade 220 from the LYS (wow… expensive!). And, being the scientist that i am, i’ve decided to do a little experiment (I can’t help it - i need data!!)
So i’ll knit up a swatch (like Hilde suggested - thanks!) and see how they differ… I’m sure it’ll be a case of “6 of one, half a dozen of the other” but i’m kinda torn. I love the price of WOA but the colors of Cascade 220… So perhaps the felting properties (if they differ at all!) will swing me one way or the other…
I’m making these clogs for a friend who just had her first baby after a horrible go with her first two pregnancies (one lost at 22 weeks - AWFUL :(, another at 12 weeks). This miracle baby had her complications too and we were all on pins and needles, but she arrived on Sat. night. I’ve made loads of stuff for the baby but thought i’d make some clogs for the mother (who’s like a sister to me) now that she’s home for 6 mo. on maternity leave (the UK is Sooooo much better at giving Mat. leave!!). I figure she needs lots of warm fuzzies too
So, once i get the WOA i’ll report back what i find…
Oh, btw, how slippery are the clogs once they’re done? Kelly, i think you’d once said you might put silicone beads on the bottom of yours - did you need to? My friend has hardwood floors and i don’t want her sliding all over the place…
My sweet husband (who spoils me rotten on a daily basis ) got a zippered pillow case cover for me to felt with; this way it’s much easier than untying a pillowcase to check on the process and you don’t have fuzzies clogging your washing machine…it works PERFECTLY
I have not put anything on the bottoms of mine, and if I RAN through the house, I could sliiiiiiiide across my hardwood floors if I wanted to, but Ive never slipped accidentally.
You asked in the KAL about colors for your marine biologist friend…lemme pull out my trusty color card! If she likes deep oceany colors, I think that Winter Night and Stream would be GORGEOUS! Rain is a little too light, I think…more a muted, grayish pastel blue. It wouldnt be BAD, but the other 2 remind me more of the ocean.
kimmie
I want to get it done and then maybe do the clogs everyone has talked about. They are tremendoulsly cute!! And they look really professional, too. Although–the pattern isn’t FREE–and that’s not fun! :crying:
my jeans mucho much, and I didn’t want to ruin them if the wool colors bled (which they did - the water was all sorts of Kool-Aid colors.) I put a touch of detergent in the water and put it on the “heavy duty” setting for agitaiton. Also, it left some fuzzies in the washer. I did a load of laundry afterwards and noticed that some the clothes had a few red fuzzies, but it wasn’t a big deal.
husband (who spoils me rotten on a daily basis 
) got a zippered pillow case cover for me to felt with; this way it’s much easier than untying a pillowcase to check on the process and you don’t have fuzzies clogging your washing machine…it works PERFECTLY 
If she likes deep oceany colors, I think that Winter Night and Stream would be GORGEOUS! Rain is a little too light, I think…more a muted, grayish pastel blue. It wouldnt be BAD, but the other 2 remind me more of the ocean.