Wednesday 9 March 2011

Never Felt This Way Before

I've never done any felting (well, not deliberately).  We had this old handknit pullover hanging about - a work of art that didn't fit anyone.  I put it in a big linen bag in the washing machine with a pair of old jeans and turned on a 60 degree wash.  Something I would never otherwise do.

I've read somewhere that old jeans provide the right friction to felt the fibres.  I used the linen bag (wisely as it turned out), to contain any fibres that came away so they didn't coat the inside of my machine.  I think the 60 degrees was probably excessive, but I'm learning. 

This pullover may be Jacobs wool, not sure.  I had heard that Jacob sheep wool doesn't felt well.  This may not be as densely felted as it should be, but it has definitely shrunk.  It's gone from an approximate 38" chest to a 32"

Next step, cut the sleeves off.  Can you see what it is yet?

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