What Do You Like to Felt?
By Rachel Choi – 19 CommentsI’ve been felting and it’s pretty fun! Recently I made a purse and a bowl. Yes, a bowl… lol. At first I thought it was silly to make a crocheted bowl, but then I thought it might be cute. Lets just say that I won’t be putting it in the dishwasher so I have to make sure it doesn’t get too dirty. Other than that, I really like my little felted bowl!
So, that’s enough of me rambling about a bowl. My question to you all wonderful crocheters out there is what do you like to felt? bags? bowls? clothing? Or if you haven’t felted yet, what are you waiting for?
I have seen loads about felting but never seen a ‘how to’… so there’s your mission heh 🙂
and also, does it have to be 100% wool? As I use cheap stuff and its mixed blend. I get confused between US and Uk terms for things. My brain is small lol
Hey Sarah!
I’m planning on making a “how to” for felting soon, at least to cover the basics!
You don’t have to use 100% wool, but you should use 100% of some sort of animal hair. If it’s not 100% then it probably won’t felt all the way or not felt at all. I used a blend of 70% wool with 30% something else (don’t remember), and after felting it it turned out pretty cool, cuz most of it felted but it still left some interesting stitch definition.
O ya, forgot to mention that I got my recent 100% wool yarn on sale (just 99 cents a skein), what a deal! So whenever there’s a sale I’m always on the lookout for some felt-able yarn because I know they can be pricey 🙂
Hi Rachel, mind posting up the pictures of your felted bowl and purse? I’m waiting for your ‘how-to’ post on felting!
I love your blog! Keep up the good work. 🙂
Thanks Ammie!
I’m still working on the patterns for the bowl and purse, but once they’re done I’ll post them with their pics!!!
I’ve only made one felted item, a purse, but I agree it’s really fun! I want to make myself a bag to carry my projects around in, but there are so many other things I want to make, I can’t seem to get to that project.
I ahve hearda lot about felting but dont really know what it is? What is it? LOL
Cool beans, I shall look forward to reading that and attempting it as there is a pattern I want to do for a mohawk hat, but the mohawk needs felting. We dont have wool shops like you seem to have over there. Theres one tiny weeny shop in my town that doesnt offer much choice, I always get the cheapo goodness as the pure wool is about £8 ($15).
This is about what I did with a felted sweater. It doesn’t have anything to do with crochet, but it was a fun, easy project. I made potholders using the zig zag stitch on my sewing machine. I also sewed a big X in the middle after putting a square of an old dish towel between the two squares of felted sweater. I read that wool is heat resistant, so of course it won’t melt. I have used it for the hottest items and it works great.
Hey Harold! Felting is the process of taking something made with wool (other other felt-able materials) and turning it into felt. That way you don’t see the crochet stitches any more and it makes the material solid and very sturdy. It is basically done my agitating your work in heated water. Fun stuff!!!
And Sarah, £8 ($15) is a lot for wool!!! I keep forgetting that not everyone is from the US. Silly me, lol. But gee, it is so much more expensive over there!
Rachel,
Neat Patterns. Sorry I’m Quiet, We Just Buried My Mother Today, But At Least She’s’ At Peace & Not Suffering Or In Pain Anymore
Dottie In Va
*Sigh* I love felting , love the way it looks, want to do it-BUT- allergic! I can only crochet with non-wool yarns; luckily they are out there in abundance, but from what i’ve read, yo can only felt with wool, which is too bad…wish there was an alternative
Oh Dottie, I’m sorry you lost your mother 🙁 But as you said, at least she is at peace.
WendiG, I don’t know what I would do if I was allergic. Sometimes the wool makes my skin dry if I hand it too like. You can also try to felt other animal fibers (if your not allergic to them) such as alpaca and mohair. I’ve read that they can be felted too!
well I only live in a small town at the moment, maybe it will be cheaper when I move to a big city in next few weeks. But still we dont have any chain stores like you seem too. That would be so ace!
Thats cool!
I love alpaca yarn; its soooo soft! Ya but its like 30% alpaca and 70% acrylic, not enough to be felted. Although I am kinda happy it doesn’t felt lol
One of my first real projects was a trivet done in the round with an inexpensive maroon wool yarn. It came out really good and felted up nicely. It needed a lot more agitation than anyone might have expected (4 rounds of 15 minutes in the washer) before it had the look of felt.
I have felted crocheted purses. It’s a lot of fun. One purse was a very hippy looking deal – it was striped and I kept the ends loose. It felted up really cool – I even made an extra for my daughter. Another purse I recently did was made of granny squares using a striping yarn. I like the way it came out, but next time I’ll try using a different color for each round so that the pattern is more evident after the felting.
I love felting and am always looking for new patterns – any ideas?
Hi! I have not felted yet! Can’t wait to! Watched a how to video on You tube! Looks awesome! A little background: Just moved 900 miles from Mass. to Ohio to raise alpacas! Now have 3 alpacas and a Llama! We had our first shearing, Yippee! Now I can’t wait to get a spinning wheel so I can use my harvest! WendiG: Most people who think they are allergic to wool really aren’t allergic but get irritated by the harshness of the fiber. It’s prickliness! Most Sheep Wool is about 30 micron and higher. Most alpacas range from 14 micron to 26. The smaller the number the finer the wool. Mine are fine! 🙂 The one’s that are allergic, like you, are allergic to the lanolin in the Wool. In that case I have wonderful news for you. Alpaca is Hypoallergenic. No lanolin and because of the divine design of the fiber structure of the alpaca it is allergy friendly! I am allergic to everything and hug my alpacas daily! Any one near me (Southern Ohio) with a spinning wheel who would like to teach me how to spin. I will share! 🙂 Rachel love this SPOT! Hugs,
Nikki