First Time Felting; I felt dissapointed...

A week or two ago, I found a small arts & crafts supplies shop tucked away inbetween Turkish bakeries and Maroccan stores in a long and narrow street that makes you feel that you're not in Rotterdam but somewhere in Africa. I entered the store and heard two ladies in the back talk in the typical Rotterdam accent. They were talking about a radio channel, they were very critical. I wondered if I should tell them that I have a weekly apperance there to promote the shows in Nighttown (the club that I do PR for). They were saying that the music was too oldfashioned and that they'd nowadays rather tuned in to some other channel. So funny... I can't explain well in English, you would have to hear them talk. But imagine two old ladies in a store in New York, chatting away on everyday stuff and doing that in a really thick accent. When that happens I always feel like I'm watching my own private short-film. I love that stuff!

Anyhoo, I found some skeins of 100% phildar wool in grey on sale there and decided that they would be the material for my first felting project. I found a pattern for a really cute and practical small felted bag on
Crazy Aunt Purl
You attach bracelets, so you can wear it when going out without having to pay attention to it all the time! Great pattern!


first attempt at felting, before and after


What happened? You ask. I will tell you what happened...

I knitted the pattern (which is really easy and fast!) and dropped the bag into a pillowcase, into the washer, washed it on 60 degrees (Celcius) and took it out. So far so good. I opened the pillowcase and what I found there was a smal ball, like an egg of something. (insert drama music here) My heart pounded, sweat on my forehead....No problem I thought, just straighten it out and it'll be fine... It wasn't, I could still see the knitting clearly in some parts and there was a hole in it and it was basically very bulky and hideous.

I created a MONSTER!!
IT'S ALIIIIIVE!


compare: felted and not felted...


knitting with corks / the finished bag without felting (much, much better)


What do you do when you've created a monster you ask? Well, you move on! To be more specific; you move on to what you know. I knitted the bag again, smaller, without felting and it turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Lesson learned: my yarn was probably too thick, next time I'll use thinner yarn. Plús I learned that I can use my #10 (mm's) dpn's with korks (I typed dorks first...) pushed on them so that I didn't have to buy new ones.

Was it worth it?
Yes! It was.