HELP? Please? Felting...!!!! S.O.S.!!!

Nearly missed this one some call knitting a piece then shrinking it - felting, or sometimes 'fulling' you are matting it up basically by abusing it.....lol

I have done this by handspinning some fleece I'd dyed then I knitted a large fairisle oblong, chucked it in the washer on very very hot...with a towel and Felted it....shrunk or matted it up, then I got it out after a short spin pulled it into shape again, although a third of the size had gone, then I tumbled it for a short time, finally steam ironed it flat and allowed it to dry, then I cut around it to make the edges straight then cut a piece of material the same size sewed it all up on the machine and turned it into a three fold bag, then added some of the same yarn I'd spun and twisted into a shoulder strap..

As I handle fleece to spin I've also made flat peices of felt from that, and bags etc from layering small pieces of fleece onto a plastic shape, rubbing it with hot soapy suds until it starts to ''felt'' then turning it over and doing the same thing the other side....in the end both side mesh together and you can open one end, take out your plastic former and turn the felted item inside out to make bags hats bootees anything..

hth....Cher

Wow, it sounds like felting can be quite an art in its own! Thanks Cher.

David

It certainly is one of the earliest textile crafts. Nomades followed the wild floks of sheep in the fertile corridor, between Europe and China, thousands of years ago. They used each and every little bit of the sheep they caught and slaughtered. The hides to wrap around there feet and legs to stay warm with the wool on the inside. They made yogurt from the milk, they ate the meat and used the dung for fuel, not much was thrown out. When they walked with the warm wrappings around feet and legs, felting occured naturally, and from there it was just a small step to make controled felt. Large pieces were used for the tradional collapsible round houses or yurds. Some of these houses can still be found in Mongolia.

Els

Hi Els,

Thanks for a bit of a history lesson, I enjoy hearing this kind of background which you and others have been providing on different subjects.

When you say natural felting, do you mean the shrinkage caused by repeated agitation from walking, or also the wool also becoming felted with another material?

Thanks,

David

It can be quite fascinating David...cheers...Cher

You can also dry felt some things with a special needle called a felting needle David....the needle has little barbs on it, and as you push it into say a ball of felt, and pull it back out, the barbs catch the fleece and mesh it up ...making felt hth....Cher

I love the idea of them wrapping the hides (wool side in) around their legs.... sounds like Mukluks that Eskimos wore/wear. Someday I would love to get myself a pair of those... they would *have* to be very warm, considering who makes them and the kind of winter cold they live through.

I did have to laugh though about using the sheep dung for fuel. Without setting fire to it, sheep dung reeks to high heavens... I would gag if I had to be kept warm by burning the stuff. LOL

Your history stories about such things are always so interesting, Els. Thank you for sharing! :o)

Peace! Gemini

Thanks Cher. I've got all this new info now, it makes sense in a way but I need to feel some to really understand. I'm not sure (but think there would be) and knitting and/or crocheting club here in Vancouver.

Thanks for the link in a previous post, I'll check that out later.

Cheers Cher,

David

I've worn them and they are wonderfully toasty! However, you do need to wear them in dry snow because, as far as I can tell, they're not waterproof - definitely not suitable for the "wet coast".

Eimear

David, felted purses and assorted bags are very fashionable right now, so you may be able to find some in a department store, or some samples in a craft store (Lewiscraft, maybe?). Also, since it's coming up to gift-giving season, you will likely find crafting felt in Lewiscraft, Michaels etc. It's not quite the same thickness as wool felt but it does give you some idea of the feel.

And most of the wool stores have felted items for display.

Eimear

Great, thanks for the suggestions eimear! :)

David

Ahh, thank you for the input... we do get dry snow here at times too, so I guess I'd just have to be careful *when* I wore them. They look so comfortable!

I just hate that even here in Canada, where you would think the makers of boots would know better, that most boots don't actually keep your feet (at least not your toes) toasty warm. I had one pair of boots that I can remember (over the space of about 20 years) that felt comfortable *and* kept my legs nice and warm... but my feet were often very cold even if they were dry. :o/

Peace! Gemini

I could knit some and cut it in half, felt one half for you and send the two pieces to you so that you can feel the difference if you like??? Nothing spectacular, just something quick to give you the idea.. cheers....Cher

Sky

collapsible

Yes David, I did mean the natural friction of the walking and the heating up of the feet and add to that a good sweat and way you go on the felting trail....LOL

Els

Cher and David, I am a rotten speller and I do know when I take a swing at words I am not sure of, that someone will come along and get it correct for me. I also know that there is another word for the same felted house, but I do not know it. Maybe Helen knows it, she is the active felter in this group.

Els

David, it somehow slipped by me that you live in Vancouver. There is a great Guild in your city and I can look their contact person up for you. I know several members of the Vancouver Spinners and Weavers Guild. It would not at all surprice me if they have a website. Have you ventured into Maiwa, the wonderful store on Grandville Island....?? There is another store as well, with lots of great yarns. I will have to look for the name and address for it, they are also on the internet as well.

Els

Gemini, you are welcome, as a matter of fact there are still many places today where dung of animals is use for fuel, as well as for the building of wall for houses.

Els

Gemini, I have a pair of Goretex (spelling) hiking boots, I did buy when I stayed in Toronto in 2004, when our second grand daughter was born. I bought a pair of wooly booly hiking socks and a pair of mohair ones made in Ottowa, and I had dry and toasty warm feet, all through the snowy January and February months, while I was there. They were just perfect, even when I stepped off the bus in big salty snow puddles.

Els