Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I felt pretty good

I felted my first knitting project ever. Fiona found herself this lovely winter jacket at a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to knit some mittens to match. I wanted to try felting, so I knitted oversized mitts out of wool and then threw them in a hot wash. It was just magical how they came out smoothly felted and about 80% of the size they used to be.

The only thing I wish I'd known was that ribbed cuffs don't shrink. They lose their elasticity, which I'd anticipated, but I expected them to tighten up as they felted. So the mittens have pretty wide cuffs. If I get ambitious I'll pick up stitches inside the felted wristband area and knit a second, longer, wrist-hugging cuff on each one. But she likes them as-is.

I needle felted a little flower and heart to match the jacket on each mitten, and then added the stitched squares around. I'm really pleased -- can you tell?

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:50 pm

    Those are beautiful... you did a great job! I have to say, the title of the post is just a little TOO punny. It went right past the first time I read it.

    Isn't felting amazing? I made a hat once and I was so amazed at how well it worked.

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  2. Congrats on a successful project! Truly impressive! The decoration is perfect and Fiona looks very pleased with her Winter ensemble.

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  3. Anonymous7:44 am

    They are beautiful! And they match the coat so well. Nice work.

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  4. Anonymous10:08 am

    Those mittens are beautiful!

    Sylvie

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  5. Anonymous7:47 pm

    Ditto...others beat me to it, but they are just be-yoo-ti-ful!

    Deborah

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