the joy and the agony

[swweeks]

Novice felter here. I posted a week or so ago in the Crochet Help forum with extreme neophite questions on felting as I was preparing to crochet new ponchos for my two youngest girls w/Patons Classic and specifically wanted to felt (for the first time ever). All of the help was tremendous, and I started one of them right away.

 

However, I quickly remembered I needed to do a dream pillow for my mother's upcoming birthday. Stopped working on the poncho to do that in Patons SWS in Natural Earth. Pics below. I felted this one, my true first-ever felting project, and was really pleased with the way it turned out. Of course, I love doing these pillows... they smell so good.

 

At any rate, I returned to the poncho a few days ago, finished one panel, realizing I couldn't do both panels and stitch together before felting because of the difference in length v. width shrinkage, and went ahead and felted the first panel to gauge how well the real project felted compared to my swatch. Not very well. It shrank a lot more than my swatch would have suggested. From 18" wide to just under 10" and from 24" high to about 18". This is with an L hook and pretty loose half-double crochet. So... now what? (The good news is that the yarn itself felted beautifully, and I love the marbled effect. I'm making a handbag out of the panel!)

 

I had already decided I didn't want to use that pattern if I couldn't stitch before felting. I'd love to find a pattern for a felted child's poncho, but hours of trolling have yielded nothing. Boiled wool garments have always been popular. Why are there no patterns? Can anyone help?

 

THANKS SO MUCH.

 

Pics of the dream pillow...

 

 

 

detail of the felting...

[smokeyp81]

Great pillow! Don't you love that SWS yarn? I love how the colors "melt" together when felted. What do you put in the pillow that smells good?

 

Sorry, but I can't help you with the poncho pattern. I hate it when I get an idea in my head and then can't find a pattern for it!

[swweeks]

Great pillow! Don't you love that SWS yarn? I love how the colors "melt" together when felted. What do you put in the pillow that smells good?

 

Sorry, but I can't help you with the poncho pattern. I hate it when I get an idea in my head and then can't find a pattern for it!

 

I adore the SWS. Bought more in blues for Christmas pillows. I think they'll be great with a little snowflake or something done in thread in the top. As for filling... well, this one has lavender and jasmine inside. I like the combination of lavender and meadowsweet better, but I couldn't get any meadowsweet this time on such short notice (and the jasmine is ungodly expensive usually). I also use flaxseed for bulk, but I know other people who just use rice. Rice seems popular for its availability and low cost, but I worry about meal worms. Just me. I think maybe for Christmas, I'll do cinnamon and something like orange peel. I really don't know yet. Those would not be dream pillows but maybe just decorative or maybe like the little fat coasters you can buy at Cracker Barrel and different places to sit mugs on that smell good when they start to heat up?

 

Yeah, it's too bad about the patterns. I might have to just go up to an M hook and work one in the round to see what happens. I just hate to waste yarn that isn't cheap.

 

Thanks!

[sherryzzz]

Beautiful pillow! I think that with your poncho panel, the looser and/or bigger the stitch, the smaller it's going to felt. It's all relative in that the strands of yarn meld together, closing up the holes. So if you have bigger holes, the yarn just has to pull in more. Does that make sense?

[lhasaapsolady]

your pillow is so pretty, I know your mom loved it.

[swweeks]

Beautiful pillow! I think that with your poncho panel, the looser and/or bigger the stitch, the smaller it's going to felt. It's all relative in that the strands of yarn meld together, closing up the holes. So if you have bigger holes, the yarn just has to pull in more. Does that make sense?

 

Thank you for the compliment on the pillow. I was pleased with the results.

 

As for the poncho, I think I understand. If I were to crochet the poncho just slightly larger than normal with, say, a J hook, the stitches would be roughly what they should be. When I felt, will I get the same delicious marbling that I got the first go round with the L hook and the looser stitches? If that would work, then it would be perfect. I could go ahead and work the ponchos as if I weren't felting, stitch as planned, then felt. That would be wonderful!

[swweeks]

your pillow is so pretty, I know your mom loved it.

 

Thank you! Actually, her birthday is Friday, but I'll let you know what she thinks.

[auntbubbels]

Wow - your pillow is gorgeous!!!

[swweeks]

Wow - your pillow is gorgeous!!!

 

Thank you so much. You guys make me feel wonderful!

[sherryzzz]

As for the poncho, I think I understand. If I were to crochet the poncho just slightly larger than normal with, say, a J hook, the stitches would be roughly what they should be. When I felt, will I get the same delicious marbling that I got the first go round with the L hook and the looser stitches? If that would work, then it would be perfect. I could go ahead and work the ponchos as if I weren't felting, stitch as planned, then felt. That would be wonderful!

 

I don't think that's quite it.... Whatever you crochet and then felt is going to shrink by about 1/3 and you have to plan accordingly. I use an L hook and a hdc stitch to make items that I am going to felt. The hdc stitch is very compact and quick and easy to make, which is why I use it. Though my stitches are not real tight, they are not very loose either. If your poncho panel shrank too much when you felted it, you need to make it bigger by chaining a longer foundation chain to start and adding more rows. You cannot make it bigger by using a larger hook and making looser stitches. If you feel that your stitches are too loose when you using an L hook, you can use a J hook, but you are still going to have to plan that your project will shink by about 1/3. Does that help?

[ginamaria73]

Beautiful colors

[swweeks]

Okay, I think I have it now, and the poncho is underway. We'll see how it goes. {fingers crossed}

[simonssez]

I adore the SWS. Bought more in blues for Christmas pillows. I think they'll be great with a little snowflake or something done in thread in the top. As for filling... well, this one has lavender and jasmine inside. I like the combination of lavender and meadowsweet better, but I couldn't get any meadowsweet this time on such short notice (and the jasmine is ungodly expensive usually). I also use flaxseed for bulk, but I know other people who just use rice. Rice seems popular for its availability and low cost, but I worry about meal worms. Just me. I think maybe for Christmas, I'll do cinnamon and something like orange peel. I really don't know yet. Those would not be dream pillows but maybe just decorative or maybe like the little fat coasters you can buy at Cracker Barrel and different places to sit mugs on that smell good when they start to heat up?

 

Yeah, it's too bad about the patterns. I might have to just go up to an M hook and work one in the round to see what happens. I just hate to waste yarn that isn't cheap.

 

Thanks!

 

I like the coaster idea...stop giving me good ideas, I have too many presents to do already! But if you DO do those coasters...stick one in my stocking at mom's! ha ha

[swweeks]

I like the coaster idea...stop giving me good ideas, I have too many presents to do already! But if you DO do those coasters...stick one in my stocking at mom's! ha ha

 

I feel an idea coming on.

[neicy crochets]

I love that pillow! what a neat idea ! Great job!

Neicy

[JCB]

I had already decided I didn't want to use that pattern if I couldn't stitch before felting. I'd love to find a pattern for a felted child's poncho, but hours of trolling have yielded nothing. Boiled wool garments have always been popular. Why are there no patterns? Can anyone help?

 

I absolutely LOVE the Paton's SWS yarn... I have used it both for felting, and unfelted. I don't think that yarn would be very suitable for a felted poncho. The SWS yarn yields a very firm somewhat thick fabric when felted. For a poncho, you would want something that has more drape to it. However, the SWS yarn is so soft, and the colors stripe so beautifully.... why not make a poncho out of it without felting it? (Just remember to never throw it into the washing machine).

 

Joan