Monday, September 24, 2007

Feedback plea + felting tips

May I kindly ask that those of you that purchased a pattern or kit from my
Sheknits for Knitters Etsy shop and were satisfied, to please go back into your Etsy account leave me some feedback saying so!
Some tips about felting. If you have never done it before please consider doing a swatch in your washer before you do a whole bag. If you don't swatch...and to be honest, I am the worst person as I NEVER swatch....then take it slow. DO a short cylce first and keep doing short cycles so you don't accidentally over felt. If you over felt you could get a overly scrunched up bag that you can;t stretch back into shape. ou can stretch these bags alot after they have been felted, especially the straps, but if you have over-felted you are kind of a goner. If you don't like the amount of fuzziness or halo that yarns with wool and mohair produce (it's the mohair that's fuzzy)you can invest in an electric hair clipper (I did) and carefully give it a buzz. I bought mine at Walgreens...they are not exactly cheap but well worth it if felted bag making is going to be a fairly regular activity for you. If yrou have floor vents that blow air, put your bag right on the vent. One tip about pictue taking, if you have the opportunity to take a picture outside...do it...it makes a world of difference.
Sharon

2 comments:

Kiwi Jo said...

Do you have any tips for dealing with husbands complaining about the wet wool smell (apart from smacking them around the head with felted bags??)

Arlene said...

Sharon, thanks for the reminder about leaving feedback. I had forgotten to do that, so I just went and posted on etsy. Also, thank you for those felting tips. I think that is the most intimidating part for me. My daughter made a potholder last week and we tried to felt it. It turned out REALLY uneven. You don't even want to know how I felted it (ok, think Kitchen Aid Mixer).
Kiwi jo, are those felted bags used for smacking empty or full??? I have those thoughts about my husband some days and I haven't even felted yet!