Adventures in Felting - Part I

Working on my next project now, a zippered, felted bag using Lamb's Pride worsted wool. For those of you that felt, you know that having a front-loading washing machine presents a bit of a challenge as most front-loaders don't allow you to stop the machine mid-cycle (thus controlling the felting process).

So I decided to approach this on a very scientific level and do some tests. I knitted up some swatches in different colors using stockinette stitch, using various needle sizes, then put my swatches in a pillow case (as has been suggested), put in a tablespoon of shampoo and 1/2 cup of white vinegar, then put it on the hottest setting and ran the cycle.

This is what came out.

Each swatch was crumpled up in a little ball initially. This is how it looked after flattening it out the best I could. Also, because each swatch was knit in stockinette, the edges naturally tended to curl, so the curled edge actually bonded to the main part of the swatch, creating a overly-thick edge. You can see this best on the top of the medium and navy blue swatches.

I'm not really happy with this first test. The felting seems irregular and lumpy. I wonder if this is because of the pillow case. Maybe the pillow case works best for larger items...or in a top loading machine. Next test I will try letting them float around inside the machine without hindrance. The other thing I will try is putting a few stitches/rows of garter stitch around all four edges to see if that doesn't cure the curling problem.

I also found it fascinating that the white tube swatch did a couple of things. Well, first it turned grey (duh) from being surrounded by it's blue-tinged buddies. And it didn't felt...just maybe got just marginally more fuzzy. So this little thing in my brain clicks and I just feel like someone has told me this before...that this white yarn doesn't felt. Can't remember who said it or if I read it somewhere, but whatever. The tube is the same exact size as before the wash and the other swatches shrank close to 50%. So, note to self and anyone else using Lamb's Pride wool to felt...not the best results with the pure white.

So on to Test #2.