I had read in Knit One Felt Too that you could felt something by boiling it on the stove & alternating with cold baths for about an hour. So, since I live in an apartment building & have to pay $1.00 for each washload I decided to try it out with the Manos I knit up the other day. The smell was a lot less worse than I expected but the yarn didn’t felt in an hour. Finally I just gave up and went back to the washing machine. Two loads, $2.00 later it was very nicely felted. Anyone else ever try this?
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© 2005 – 2011 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
© 2005 – 2011 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
I’ve never tried it but I’ve heard of it. It has always sounded really time consuming so I’ve just stuck with washers even if I have to pay. 🙂
Wow! I’m surprised it didn’t work. All that hot water seems like it should’ve felted the wool big time! Never even heard of this method though, so I can’t comment from experience.
I’ve heard that but never tried it, but I imagine it would make everything smell quite wooly.
I don’t have a washer or dryer, so I always just felt by hand, thick rubber gloves, one sink full of boiling water, one sink full of ice water and a lot of elbow grease.
I would think that the boiling water wouldn’t be enough, that you’d still need agitation, too. Back in the day, before washing machines, I’m sure felting was done w/boiling water. After all, that’s what those “boiled wool” Tyrolean/preppy jackets are (I had a red Talbots one handed down from my mom).
… It does look like a nice bluey-soup, though!
oh ya, I’ve tried. I was trying to make “buttons” with lovely wool. I had the hot water and the cold water and gloves for the trasition. I tried to be patient… and go back and forth, dipping and rolling, and dipping and rolling, sloshing. It DID NOT WORK. At all. Lots of time and effort and just a big soggy mess. Interesting, because my water was not boiling, but I did LOTS of agitation. Your water was boiling, but I’m betting you just used a wooden spoon.
Either way, it didn’t work.
I have only managed to felt things by mistake, like my DH’s sweater that said it was machine wash – they lied.
Your shop windows are really great.
The washers in my building are $1.75, if you can believe it, so I tried boiling and it did not work! My kitchen smelled like wet sheep and my fingers were puckered, so $3.50 is worth it (or a weekend visit tomy Mom’s house).