I’m thinking of using some of this yarn to make a bag, and would like to know if a 80% acrylic 20% lambs wool blend would felt suitably for this purpose. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
I’m certainly not an expert on felting … but I do know that acrylic does NOT felt. So if the yarn is 80% acrylic, I would say that it wouldn’t be a good choice for a project that you want to felt.
Choose a yarn that is 100% wool (but not superwash) … if you check out yarns online, often the product descriptions will indicate if the yarn is suitable for felting. Other than that, perhaps some of the others here will be able to make more specific yarn suggestions for you! :knitting:
No, a blended yarn needs at least 50% or so wool to felt. This won’t; and the wool in it would be like a superwash so that wouldn’t anyway.
Your best bet is to use 100% wool that is [U]not [/U]superwash.
I love Wool-Ease and have tried felting it. It doesn’t work. :sad: I made a hat and it was a little large, so I thought maybe it would felt down “a little” since it has a little wool. Not so, it got even bigger.
Yeah, I found woolease relaxes when washed and dried and grows a little. Great if you’ve got a blanket or shawl, not so great if you have an item you wish was smaller.
Anything with less than 100% wool is not feltable. You can take your chance and try one with 80% which might work , just won’t felt as well. If you’d like to add specialty yarns in (such as funfur or the like) which are not feltable, just make sure you carry two yarns at once…one that is 100% wool and your specialty yarn working both yarns at the same time. Your specialty yarn will become fuller in appearance when it starts to ‘shink’ up with the wool. Funfur is really fun to watch this happen to. It gets so lush.
There are some blends that will felt, but they are predominantly wool or other animal fiber. Make sure anything you choose is not superwash or washable. That’s a big clue it’s not feltable.
If you’re on a budget, Paton’s Classic Wool is 100% wool.
OT–I’m on my 3rd Wool-Ease hat. Does it hand-wash without pilling? And I’m not happy about growth. I’ve fitted them to my head so perfectly, not counting the one on the left.
I always machine wash/dry that kind of yarn so I don’t know about pilling.
Not sure what size you’re making, but hats can be a little smaller than your head because knitting stretches. I rarely cast on more than 80 with worsted weight yarn and size 7 needles.
I know. I used 78 stitches, but the pattern called for #8 needles, with ribbing all the way up.
So does it pill in a washing machine?
You can use whatever size needles you want. If it’s too large you can try going down a size unless you knit really tightly.
Pilling usually occurs in areas of wear…like the arms of sweaters and under the arms. If you wear it at work and lean against a desk or where your purse rubs… A hat really wouldn’t get much touching or wear so it won’t pill as much. I haven’t noticed any pilling on things I’ve knit, but I often wash small things in a laundry bag so maybe that helps? Obviously wash it on delicate with things that won’t catch in the fabric or rub on it like towels or jeans.
Thanks. I know [U]now[/U] about substituting needles, but I just started knitting 2 months ago after a 35-year hiatus. I’m educating myself very fast with the web, quite a difference from the way I learned in the '70’s. :cheering:
That’s interesting. I’ve always though pilling was a sign of cheap yarn in a garment, and I know Lion is an economy brand.
Malabrigo is one of the most expensive yarns and it pills if you look crosseyed at it. Soft yarns, rather than cheap ones, pill more easily because they’re not as tightly twisted as others, which is what makes them soft. So you have a tradeoff - a (possible) small amount of pilling vs being soft to the skin.