I have several really neat [...]]]>

If you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with making felted bowls. I’ve always wanted to make a felted hat, but until now, I just haven’t had the time, nor have I figured out how big to make the hat, before I felt it in the washing machine.

I have several really neat crocheted hat patterns that I like to use. So this time, I figured I would just take one of those, and double the hat in size to see how it comes out. This may or may not work – it remains to be seen.

I’ve used 2 different wool yarns. The first one, with all those funky colors is Lion wool yarn in the Autumn Sunset pattern. The solid color is beautifully colored amethyst yarn from New Zealand!

On to the washing machine! After several rounds in the washing machine, I’ve finally taken it out.

Here’s what I found. The crown was made too big. Instead of 2 times the size of the hat, I maybe should have done 1 1/2 times. The sides shrunk too much, so maybe I need to make a lot more rounds on the hat, once the crown has been made.

But all is not lost. I’ve hand shaped it and am going to let it be a wide shallow bowl. There are sections that are popping up – you can see them in the first picture below, and I think what I’ll do, is stitch those together so they form section dividers. Right now it’s sitting on the washing machine drying. It measures 10″ across and 2 1/2″ deep.

If there is anyone out there who has felted a hat, can you give me some pointers in how to make it so that it comes out right, please?

I make regular felted bowls all the time, I still have a ton of them made, that I haven’t taken pictures of yet to list in my Etsy shop.

The other day, I got some yarn that I had ordered from an [...]]]>

If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know that I’m OBSESSED with felting!

I make regular felted bowls all the time, I still have a ton of them made, that I haven’t taken pictures of yet to list in my Etsy shop.

The other day, I got some yarn that I had ordered from an Etsy shop during a Sneak Attack.

I had decided to make a hat with it – but then decided it was way too thin a yarn to make a hat that would hold up. So back to felting. Combining this yarn with a pumpkin colored Lion wool yarn – I started crocheting a bowl. But I was soooo tired of making the same size – so I thought about how I could make it a little different.

Then I thought about adding a handle – dh said not to make it too wide, but I’m not looking for this to be an actual basket that someone would carry by the handle – it’s more for decoration – should be interesting how it comes out when I felt it in the washing machine – I’m thinking this would make a great potpourri basket.

What will you use it for?

Sandi

Here’s some that are a combination of fingering wool and regular wool, some are made with dark green, some with light green, and there is even a wool trivet. This is the [...]]]>

I’m on a roll this morning – have been crocheting bowls like crazy lately – and today, decided to felt them in the washing machine.

Here’s some that are a combination of fingering wool and regular wool, some are made with dark green, some with light green, and there is even a wool trivet. This is the wool fingering yarn that I used:

This next one is the final version of the crocheted bowl with the troublesome yarn – see I Love My Felted Bowls to see what I’m talking about!

This is the last bowl that I have felted today, single strand of red – a bowl with a belled out top and some coasters – those were a test, as I wasn’t sure how small they would get. Next batch I will make bigger first.

I have some more yarn that I’m going to try – LOVE FELTING!!

Sandi

Here’s a post about one of my bowls offered as a prize!

And another [...]]]>

If you have visited my Etsy shop in the past, you know that I have created some felted bowls. Some of them, I have used as gifts, others as prizes – it’s a work of love for me to see the results

Here’s a post about one of my bowls offered as a prize!

And another post where I talk about how I got started felting.

I’ve garnered advice from many of my friends, and I’m always trying to come up with different looks.

Recently I made some bowls with different types of wool yarn. This one came out really fuzzy – I actually like the way it looks!

This one was made with alpaca – first time I’ve tried a felted bowl with it. Used 2 strands – didn’t really stiffen up like I like – but turned out that it was the ‘perfect’ bowl for a friend.

This is the before

And this is the after

My latest bowl has been a struggle. I bought some hand dyed wool yarn from a new Etsy shop – and when I tried to use the yarn, it kept twisting tighter and tighter as I crocheted. Sought advice from several people, and was just about ready to pitch the yarn. It was a nice yarn with thicker and thinner sections – figured it would work up nicely. I talked with a gal in the local yarn shop (I say local – I think it’s the only yarn shop within 100 miles of me – and it’s about 30 miles from my house) – and she said to attach something to the ball and let it unwind periodically. So dh suggested a clothespin.

This bowl took me a lot longer to crochet – as I was having to stitch a little and then unwind – it was an experience. I haven’t felted it yet – but I took my basic bowl pattern, where I would normally stop, I decreased stitches, and then when I was satisfied with the decrease, I started increasing – I used the whole skein!

Can’t wait to see how it turns out once it’s felted.

Sandi