Sunday, December 03, 2006

My assistant....

Pumpkin and Manos -
Since I really finished my Christmas Knitting today - I tried some felting to use up some left overs - tried doing some felted bowls for little gifts. My felting just doesn't work well - the washer just doesn't get hot enough.

The red bowl is two strands of Manos, the black is one strand of Brown Sheep and the box is one of Manos - they just didn't get stiff enough. I ran them through the washer in hot water twice with a pair of old jeans and a towel or two.

Also the bottom of the bowls is kinda pointy - although I'm drying them with a heavy class inside. It was fun experimenting!! Any hints would be appreciated. I like the small bowl idea - maybe if I made the sides shorter I'd have better luck. Will keep trying till I run out of left overs!!

Busy week coming up I guess so hope all is well with everyone. Knit on!

4 comments:

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

I made a small bowl this weekend also. But instead of putting it into the washer (I only had one bowl) I put it in a rubbermaid washpan with hot water & dish soap. You used soap also right?

Then I used an old fashion washboard. Anything water proof & bumpy is fine. Then I rubbed & rubbed the bowl against the washboard surface. Did it lots & lots of times ... rinsing & checking & dipping it into the pan & rubbing it over again. The sides had to be worked at a lot & I also turned it inside out to get it good inside. The friction is what felts it along with the hot water. Try this out & see how it works for you.

Mine is drying now & I'll take a picture before the week is out. But I think it felted up pretty good. It's not as thick as I thought it would be, but I'm going to use some roving & line the inside a little and needle felt it for a design on the inside. Good luck with yours!

roxie said...

Your little bowls are charming! Try sticking the wet, soapy bowl in the microwave for a minute, then (Wearing heavy rubber gloves) scrub it vigorously between your hands, then dunk it in ice water, and toss it back into the microwave.

Anonymous said...

I read your entry about felting. You mentioned the water in your washer wasn't hot enough. How about boiling water on the stove to use in the machine?

Vera

Anonymous said...

I agree with Vera - just add some boiling water to the washer. That usually does the trick!