best fulling stitch

[RebeccaVelasquez]

hmmm, i'm having a devil of a time trying to get something to full to my liking.

 

i have done gauge swatches using N and K with ww.... using hdc --- it's just not shrinking much

 

should i be using sc?

 

 

or do you think it's my yarn?

[RebeccaVelasquez]

what do you think would happen if i tossed it in the dryer, then in the washer and so on.....

do you think it would continure to full? or would putting it in the dryer halt the process :think:think:think:think:think

[HollyM]

What yarn are you using?

 

I don't think putting it in the dryer could hurt, but I'm not sure it will help either (big help I am :::snort::: From what I understand, it's the hot to cold shock along with agitation that makes fulling happen, so I don't think adding "dry" in the middle would make much difference.

 

Holly

[noricum]

I don't get a huge amount of shrinkage with mine too... I just do a test swatch, and then calculate the size I should make the original based on that. Then I run it through the washer on *hot* at least three times.

[enmac]

I almost always use hdc, and generally hook size 7mmm, which I think is about a K. It usually takes several times through to felt really well. The hardest part really is finding wool that is suitable. I've tried several yarns that were 100% wool and said handwash only on the label and still did not felt. I've also heard and found to be true that darker colours felt better.

[dudleyspinner]

I am trying out a crochet version of the carpet bag I posted in the original patterns link section here. My experience has been that the work has to be sort of loose to begin with. I am using a 10 mm needle which is a P I guess.

Crochet felts, but not the same as knitting. I think the structure of knitting, the stitches slide more. So I am trying this crocheted bag using only the front loop in sc. One side looks alot more like a knit fabric, less holey, less twisting around itself. Maybe a slip stich would work the best, just thinking outloud here.

 

I will keep you posted on how it works.

Fine wools felt easier than course wools, and something that has been bleached, like a white white won't felt, something to do with the damage bleach does, this is info from Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas, a pretty good book, tells alot about what will felt and how well it will work. It has some cute slipper patterns, bags and such. And a very cute hat pattern.

Deb

[deneen]

I generally us a J or K hook and hdc. I have found some wool has to be run through 2-3 times. What has helped though is that now I throw a canvas sneaker in along with 3 towels. The agitation does help. Some wool just felts better than others. I've fulled roving I've crocheted (P hook) and it was wonderful. Thinner wool fulls better too. It's frustrating though....

[RebeccaVelasquez]

i'm using Reynolds Candide 100% virgin wool

 

ugh - still frustrated with this project:angry

[dudleyspinner]

A little water saver for those who want to try it. I run a washer half full of hot water with just a little soap. (Too much slows down the process, acording to the book Felted Knits) Also makes it hard to rinse out.

I just put my stuff to felt in a zippered pillowcase, by itself, into the washer, and run the machine a few minits, then plunge it into a dish pan of cold water, put it back in the machine, and repeat this process until it is felted as much as I want.

 

It usually takes about a half hour or so to felt my rovings, other wool takes longer. The softer the wool, the easier it felts.

 

The Alafoss lopi I did shed tons of fiber, glad it was in a bag. Still made a mess in the machine! Cute hat though. Pattern is in the Felted Knits book, by Beverly Galeskas

 

Then it gets rinsed in the sink,in cold, thrown back into the washer for a spin out

Then it is ready for shaping and drying.

Deb

[MarvieN]

What I've done (other than running things through the process several times) is to add several of my son's plastic dinosaurs or "guys" to the pillowcase with the item, the lumps and bups and parts sticking out of the hard plastic seem to really beat up the item. I liked that better than using shoes and such, though I do still add jeansd to the wash (more to kill two birds with one stone though rofl)

[xantha]

I usually throw a chuck in with items I am fulling as well as a tennis ball or two. For certain yarns (Noro Kureyon for one) I had to run it through the agitate cycle 8+ times -- you can also try hand-fulling by rubbing the fabric but it takes a while.

 

Since it's shock and agitation that does it, dunking in icy water and then putting in HOT water and agitating should help expedite the process...

[Debbi]

I felted a bag made with hdc and tapestry yarn and 100% yarn from thrift stores. I used 2 strands held together, and it was sturdy. To felt- since I wasn't sure how this yarn would felt ( if it even would!!!)- I filled a huge enamel cooing pot with very hot water, almost boiling, and some gentle soap, not detergent. THen I agitated it with kitchen utensils. The intent is to agitate the fibers and let them open up and then remesh with each other. After I had really roughed it up, I put it into a washer load with towels, again using soap, not detergent. I then popped it in the dryer. I was very happy with how it turned out! The stitched meshed nicely and the variance of colors worked well. I will try to post a picture under this category later today. But in felting a few things, I would say if at first you don't get the felting you want..try again with hot water, or more agitation. I even had fun fur in my project and the process did not ruin that yarn.

I hope this helps--

[dudleyspinner]

The crochet bag I did with sc in the front loop only felted very well. I did like the way the fabric looks, it doesn't have the little hole that going through both loops does. I was using my roving, not yarn. It felts down to about 1/2 of the original size, and got about 1/4 inch thick.

 

One of the tests to know if your yarn will felt is to take a bit and wet it, soap it and roll it around, like a ball of dough, if it felts fairly quickly, then it is a good bet it will felt in your project.

Deb

[Crochetnut59]

I have crocheted and felted both single and double crochets. With the single crochet I get a more even felted bag. With the double crochet I got a bag that was much wider than taller. I think it depends on the yarn too. Overall I am guessing that all of my stuff is shrinking somewhere between 25 and 40% in size. I normally use a J hook. I am also finding that I am running my felting through 2 - 14 min agitation cycles on average, sometimes another 5 mins is needed, I like the stitches to almost disappear.

[Alosha]

With the last piece I felted, you couldn't see any stitches at all. I used a "K" hook & hdc.

Alosha

[firemanshunny]

I got great results with Patons wool and a 5.5 mm hook. I ran it in the washing machine in a zippered pillow protector and a pair of old jeans. I ran the cycle on the longest one on hot. Its about 14 minutes. I checked after the cycle and I did about 4 more minutes and it came out great!! good luck!!