Questions about felting

How-to Questions
1

Hi!
I’ve joined new here. I live in India, which will explain a lot of my problems re: materials.
I want to felt my first item, a bag yet to be knit! (I will probably make a long rectangle and sew the seams together, to keep it simple).
I have 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Maya sent to me by a friend and I want to use it to make a felted bag. Now my questions:

  1. I do not have an option for hot water on my top-loading washing machine, what can I do? Should I heat a bucketful and pour it in?
  2. The recommended needle size for the yarn is 5.5 mm and I read somewhere that you need to use needles at least 2 sizes bigger. My problem is, the largest size I have is 5.5 mm. Can I still use these to knit the bag? Will the result be misshapen or something? I cannot buy larger size needles in most of my country.
  3. I do not have zipped pillow covers, can I just use a cotton cloth pillow cover instead?

I’m being so nervous about this because I will probably never get this yarn again and I want the finished product to be good.
I know I’m crazy to be thinking of working with wool in 40 degree heat, but nobody said I’m normal :smiley:
Can you tell my heart is being wrung at the mere thought of “wasting” this precious yarn by making a swatch (You mean I have to cut the yarn!!!) :shock:

2

You need hot water. If you put it on the lowest water level and add hot water, you should be okay. Another option is hand felting, but if it’s a big bag, that could be a real pain in the behind.

I don’t think it will cause a problem using the 5.5 needle, but you would have to swatch to see what happens.

You can use a regular pillow case, just tie the end shut or wrap it tightly with rubber bands.

Good luck!

3

You’ll want a holey knitted fabric for it felt properly. If you swatch with 5.5 mm needles and you’re getting spaces between the stitches, you are probably ok. I don’t see any problem with adding hot water to the washing machine. As Sara said, just make sure the water level is low.

4

Thanks for the replies. I’ll swatch (gulp, cut the yarn!) with my 5.5 and see what happens. Then if I manage to knit the bag, I’ll use a normal pillow cover and add hot water.