Felting Your Knitting by Hand
- Donna Estin
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
I used to felt in my washing machine, but now I only felt by hand. What prompted this change was the death of my old washing machine. I replaced it with a modern washer with all the bells and whistles. It's one big computer. It's constantly sensing the wash. I can no longer fill it up with super-hot water and let it agitate until my knitting is a firm piece of boiled wool.
So now I felt by hand. It takes longer. But it does allow more control over the felting process, letting you stop just when you want.
Watch the video "Felting Your Knitting by Hand" here: https://youtu.be/57HHQvSJVmI
For tips about felting by hand, read on...
About terminology, felting is the process of matting loose fibers together and fulling is the shrinking process that happens with knit items after the fibers are intertwined. They are different, but the term felting is often used in the broader sense.
Felting happens when heat, water, and agitation open the fiber scales. As they are agitated, they grab on to one another and lock together. When placed in cold water immediately afterwards, the felting process stops, causing the fibers to close into a tight, matted fabric.
If you’ve ever worn a felted or “boiled wool” jacket, you’ll know how dense and durable it is. It’s virtually windproof, yet still soft. It’s thick and cushiony which is why felted slippers are so desirable, and felted mitts are warmer than knit mitts.
Felting Facts
Felted items shrink, so knit your piece larger than what you want. How much it shrinks depends on the fiber and process. Anywhere from 20-30% is a good estimate.
Once felted, you can’t re-block it back to the original condition. Felting is permanent.
Only natural fiber yarns will felt. The most common is 100% pure wool (not superwash), but you can also felt mohair, cashmere, alpaca and llama.
Felting hides knitting mistakes so no need to worry about stich definition.
Intarsia and stranded colorwork do not require that ends are woven in. Cut them and leave 2 ½” tails. Felting will secure the yarn ends in place, then trim after felting if needed.
The finer the fiber the faster it will felt.
Colors will fade which adds to the charm of felting. If using a white yarn and saturated darker color yarn, add ¼ cup of vinegar into the wash to help control this.
Loosely knit pieces work best for felting, but knitting with your normal gauge will felt fine.
What to Make
Hats, slippers, mitts, blankets, purses or bags, jackets, bowls, mousepads, laptop or tablet sleeves. What else can you think of?
How to Felt by Hand
Place your knitting in a sink and pour boiling water over it until covered. Let it soak until fully saturated.
Add a few drops of soap which helps lubricate the fibers and open the scales.
Wearing rubber gloves (if needed), agitate your knitting by rubbing it together vigorously with your hands and kneading it like a loaf of bread against the bottom of the sink, for about five minutes.
Dip into a bowl of ice water, lift it out and continue rubbing.
Place knitting back into hot water (you may need to add more boiling water) and rub together some more.
Keep alternating between hot and cold, until pieces are felted and are the desired size.
To stop the shrinking, dip in bowl of ice water.
Roll in a towel and squeeze out extra water. Do not wring the towel. You want to preserve the shape.
Blocking
Cut away any stray ends that came out during agitation.
Place your item on something that resembles the final shape:
A coaster should be pinned flat on a blocking mat
Shape slippers and mittens by trying them on to shape, then stuff with plastic bags or bubble wrap – anything that will help it hold its shape but not absorb water
Afterwards, if felted properly, you will be able to cut the felt. This is helpful if you want to cut away the outer edges or cut out a certain shape.
There's definitely a world of creative possibilities with felting so enjoy every experiment & share your pictures!
For Further Reading:
Davis, Jane. Felting – The Complete Guide. Krause Publications, 2009.
Editors of Vogue Knitting. Felting on the Go. Sixth & Spring Books. 2005.
Epstein, Nicky. Knitting Never Felt Better. Sixth & Spring Books, 2007.
Hemmons Hiatt, June. Principles of Knitting. Simon and Schuster. 1988.
Lion Brand Yarn. “Felting Techniques”
Comments