All Felting, All the Time

I finally made it to the laundromat on Saturday to try my hand at felting some bags I'd knitted.  I have a fancy-schmancy Whirlpool Duet and it does not felt, even using the superheated water cycle.

The Lily Bag was made with Malabrigo worsted merino from here and came out BEAUTIFULLY with just one hot water wash cycle.  This yarn is by far the nicest wool I've ever had the pleasure to work with.  It is so soft, unbelievably so.  I hope Handpaintedyarn.com restocks it, I would love to buy a truckload!  It felted to a nice firm fabric and I just love the way it turned out!  It looks even better with the straps, which I neglected to add before I took this photo.  I need to buy a cool button for the closure, then I will take another photo with the straps too.   :)

The Booga Bag, knitted with Noro Kureyon came out less than perfect.  After 2 wash cycles, I can still see the stockinette stitches, and the bag is really loose and floppy.  I've since been told it works better to knit with a double strand of Kureyon.  Next time I go to the laundromat, I will take the bag and run it through another cycle or two, see if it felts up any better.

I'm currently working on an Oregon Tote using the Malabrigo bulky yarn in a dusty pink color.  One of the skeins in my order was much lighter than the other 4, so I used that for the bottom and knitted up the sides until I ran out.  Hopefully the color change will look like a design feature.

For some reason, I just love making bags, I really enjoy the construction of them - picking up stitches and knitting in the round.  I have a bajillion more felted projects planned.  Stay tuned!