Felter Madness, Part III: Almost Sane Again

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Felting Would Be Easier if I Had a Decent Washing Machine

I’m still felting, but things have calmed down a lot since I first started back in the summer.

One of the things that is helping to quell this mad addiction is the fact that my washing machine isn’t a good felting tool.  I’ve probably mentioned in one of the earlier posts that the “small load” setting fills the tub almost to full which is way too much water.  I never got around to felting using the “large load” setting to see how much the tub filled.  My thought was that the settings are reversed and the full load would only fill  the tub half way.  I do have a few more items to felt, so I might try it just to see what happens.

I tried to compensate by filling the tub up with lots of jeans, contributed by my daughter’s house  mates.  I received four pairs of old jeans in various states of disrepair, from “really ripped” to “in pretty good shape.”

I add these jeans to the washing machine to add friction to the felting process.

Christmas Gift Purses

I think the extra jeans helped a little when I finally got around to felting the last two Christmas gift purses that have been waiting to be felted for over a month. The only photo I remembered to take was of the purses as they were drying.

The drying phase of the felting process.

I procrastinated so long that I didn’t get a chance to re-felt them, which they needed, and I forgot to take photos of the finished pieces.  And one of the purses was still slightly damped when I wrapped it.  Oh well … I figure it finished drying on the trip to the mainland.

Two More “Simplified” Crocheted Purses

I also felted the yellow and blue crocheted purses that I adapted from a  pattern in Jane Davis’ Felted Crochet.  I had to felt both bags twice in order for the stitch definition to (almost) disappear.

Yellow felted crochet purse based on a Jane Davis pattern
The same bag in blue

I am really tired of having to felt stuff twice, and I sure ain’t gonna felt a big purse by hand in the kitchen sink, so that’s going to cut back on the amount of items I’ll be felting in the future.  Finally, I knitted a small, two-toned purse that turned out really nice (felted twice of course).

More Manos del Uruguay Projects

Let’s see, what remains to be felted.  I completed a crocheted purse of my own design, using Manos del Uruguay, purple-ombre wool yarn that I’d gotten on sale a month or so ago. It will be interesting to see how it felts.  I took notes as I crocheted the purse to create a pattern.

Two Manos del Uruguay crocheted and knitted purses, ready for felting

Another piece that needs to be felted is another small purse knitted with the left-over “Manos” yarn from the “one-night bag” project.”

What’s Next?

That means I have one more post about felting, so you can see how those final two pieces turn out.

Now what should I do?  Is their life after felting?  Oh yes, lots of projects waiting their turn – like

  • posting projects on Ravelry (y’all know about Ravelry, right?),
  • crocheting and knitting some more Knit for Kids  sweaters,
  • getting back into freeform crochet,
  • submitting some pieces for the Crochet Guild of American Design Competition,
  • presenting a proposal to Ben Franklins to teach a “crochet a sweater” class, and
  • much more I’m sure.

Hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season!

This post contains affiliate links. Read my Disclosure Policy for more information. Thanks for your support!

I've been crocheting for over 40 years and blogging since 2004 - two of my favorite things in the world to do besides walking the beaches of windward Oahu, Hawaii.

8 comments On Felter Madness, Part III: Almost Sane Again

  • seems like a busy year ahead with the projects you’ve got lined up! hope your christmas was merry and that your new year’s celebration not too noisy and smoky….as for me, i’ve managed to catch the flu so missing a few days of work….will keep in touch about meeting up after new year’s.

  • You sure have been a busy bee! All your felted purses are lovely. I’m so glad I got to see some of them in person.
    I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Here’s wishing you a joyful New Year.

  • Hey Opal and Debbie! Thanks so much for the Christmas and New Year wishes! Christmas was cool; spent it at my daughter’s house.
    Debbie, take care of yourself! Just let me know what you want to do.
    Opal, hopefully, I’ll remember to bring more samples to the next Aloha Knitters meeting.
    As for New Year’s smoke, I’m bracing for it. A neighbor living in the house behind me has been shooting off fire crackers for a week now. I can’t imagine what new year’s will be like.

  • I am wondering how you made the strap on the Jane Davis felted leaf tassel bag? YOur bag is beautiful and inspired me to start the pattern. However, I noticed that the directions lack instructions for the strap.
    Love your blog.

  • Hi Sharon. Thanks for stopping by! And I’m glad you like the bag and the blog! I created the strap by knitting a 3-stitch I-cord. I think I used size 5 double pointed needles. Here’s a link that shows you how.
    http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-to-make-i-cord.html
    You could also do a long crocheted chain that you then slip stitch back over. Let me know how it turns out.

  • Aloha, Patrice … beautiful purses! Hope you’re going to bring some to display at the Thursday meeting. See you there! –Carol (from VA)

  • Hey Carol! Thanks for stopping by. The 3 big purses were gifts, so they are on the mainland now. I can bring the two smaller ones. Haven’t done the ones that still need felting yet. See you Thursday!

  • Pingback: More Felted Crochet and Knit Purses | Yarn Over, Pull Through ()

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