Iām a beginner in the world of knitting and I have never, ever, felted anything. Iāve seen some beautiful bags made by the nice people here and read discussions about which yarns felted nicely and which didnāt. But I was wondering, with such lovely yarns out there, why would anyone want to buy any of the fancy ones and felt them? I mean, doesnāt felt always look and feel pretty much the same? It seems so to meā¦ Why not just buy cheap yarns that felt well for felting instead of using the nice ones that could go into elaborate sweaters or what not? Now, as I said, Iāve never felted anything but I would love to know what the pros might be for doing that to really nice yarnsā¦
Really? Because there were times thatās the impression I got Are colors dulled in felting? Is the felt rougher or softer than the yarn originally used?
it depends on how soft your wool is as to how soft felted wool will be. like my first project that i felted was a Lopi (and very expensive :rollseyes: mistake ) wool and it was rough to begin with and i didnāt like it felted or unfelted. it was real scratchy. so that kind of dertered me from felting anymore but i loved the felted look. so i won some unknown wool off of ebay and it felted beautifully! so it really doesnāt depend on the cost just the type of wool you get. if its soft to begin with it will be after. like the booga bagsā¦a lot of people use Noro (includeing meā¦ i think casue the orginal pattern is made from Noro and it is self striping) which isnāt cheap, but its pretty. but you donāt have to use that. a lot people use WOTA from knitpicks! just depends on your taste and what you are knitting i guess!!!
I am knitting my first bag for felting. I bought my yarn from Knit Picks for $1.97 a skein which is way cheaper than I could get it at the LYS even on sale! I donāt think WOTA is soft enough for clothing, but it should be fine for a bag. Ideal choice for a first felting project!:happydance:
I kind of wondered the same thing at first, why anyone would spend all that money and time to mess it up with felting. Iāve done some research now and realize itās just another craft and one that is suited well to knitters. Most people seem to just felt bags, clogs and the occasional hat and coaster. Hats are fine w/o it, but bags, clogs and coasters are improved because the felted fabric is nice and strong and pretty durable. It has a whole new look to it and is really beautiful!
Itās gonna take me forever to get the bag done, but itās fun to watch it come together as I knit.
well, maybe some of the noro stuff gave you that impression. You certainly can use a ānicerā wool to feltā¦as some have saidā¦might depend on the project and the amount called for. Varigated or hand dyed wool tends to be more expensive but does look really good felted. As long as itās in your budget, do what you like
ohā¦ and the colors wonāt fade. if anyone said anything about colors fading my guess it was handdyed and wasnāt set. but i canāt imagine any store bought hand dyed yarn fading. unless the dyed it themselves and didnāt do it right. that wool i won on ebay was cream and i dyed it myselfā¦ here are i made with it and felted.
Also, how much yarn do the Kitty Piās take. The kidsā piano teacher has three cats that are basically her kids ā she doesnāt have children of her own ā and that would be the coolest gift to give her, especially if the kids dyed the yarn for them.
Edit: I just Googled the Kitty Pi bed pattern ā not an unreasonable amount of yarn!! On, and hereās the link for anyone else whoās interested.
That being saidā¦
Carmell, When you felt things and have that furry edge is that fun fur? And do you knit the fun fur before felting or do you add it after? I love that look!
(I would say that this thread is hopelessly hijacked. :roflhard:
I used the Noro for my Booga bag. It was expensive, but I just could not resist the colors. :shock: Next time, I am definitely using less expensive yarn.
Acrylic can be washed and dried in machines. Good thing it doesnāt felt!
Wool and other natural fibers have little hairs that are natually attached to the strands. When you wash them in hot water with agitation, these little fiber cling to each other and get all tangled up which is what causes the felting.
Wool that is labeled āsuperwashā has these fibers removed, which is why it wonāt felt in the washing machine even though itās natural.
Jenelle~ you can only felt natural fibers. no acrylic
mintdee~ its actually boa by Bernat (i think) and i knited it with the wool then felted
Dotmom~ it is orange with very bright pink stripes but they looked the same color. i canāt remember which koolaid did but i was not happy that they looked the same. it really wasnāt pink it kind of looked like reddish pink.
Are colors dulled in felting? Is the felt rougher or softer than the yarn originally used?
well, maybe some of the noro stuff gave you that impression. You certainly can use a ānicerā wool to feltā¦as some have saidā¦might depend on the project and the amount called for. Varigated or hand dyed wool tends to be more expensive but does look really good felted. As long as itās in your budget, do what you like 
What did you use to dye that?
:shock: