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gonna try felting but need help please :)


Charm

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i want to make a purse in a regular box shape,

 

if i want this purse to be about 12 wide and 8 or 9 high, how big to i need to make it befoer felting? or is that just all guess work?

 

also what stitch works best sc ?

 

thanks so much for any help!

im kinda nervous to try this :yarn

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IM sure somewhere there are guide lines on how much things shrink, I just guess with mine, the dont shrink as much side ways as they do in hight, I tend to use hdc or dc depending on weather I want some stitch deffinition or not, I suggest you make a swatch, measure it, felt it and then see if you can work out the math on the size you need to make, I made a large pillow case sized bag and it felted to a good size....or perhaps find a pattern on the net and see what sizes they recommend. :)

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A lot of guess work goes into my felting. Different brands of wool felt differently. Sometimes the same brand of yarn in different colors felt differently. It is not an exact science. I find that even when I swatch (that is rarely) my finished item still didn't felt the way I wanted. Most of the time I just "eyeball" it as I crochet. I like my finished items to have no stitch definition, so I felt things smaller. My advice is to start out big....you can keep felting it smaller...although the yarn will reach a point where it won't felt any smaller. I don't know if this was any help or not....just have fun with it! You will be addicted to felting....

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It's true that not all wools felt the same. I have had realy good luck with Patons and Lion brands being pretty consistant. I always use a HDC and I felt my items till there is no stitch definition.

 

When I plan a bag or anything else to felt I figure it is going to shrink by about 1/3rd. So if I want my base to be 12" wide I make it 18" wide and it shrinks to about where I want it. Remember that blocking is really important in getting to your desired size. The wet wool item can be manipulated into the shape and approxmate size you want (if it's close ti begin with). If I have a round bag I use a large coffee, a square one I use a Fed-Ex box, etc....I just slide a plastic bag over it and then streatch my wool item over it. Sometimes it takes alot of streatching and pulling. Then I let it sit till completely dry and it is blocked perfectly. If it is more of a freeform bag then I stuff it with plastic grocery bags till it's the shape want.

 

Felting is not an exact science so there will be some trial and error. You can do a swatch and see how much your brand shrinks. I'm a miser when it comes to my wool so i have never done a swatch, I usually just dive right in and see what occures. I have never had a piece that I couldn't use. The finished produce might not be what I intended but I make something out of it anyway. Remember you can always cut it after felting and it will not unravel if felted all the way.

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