before & after.

Felting is really fun. Basically it's just washing wool so that the fibers shrink together. If you've ever put a new sweater through the hot/cold cycle accidentally and it came out pint-sized, well then you've felted! But the art of felting is not just a happy accident. The knits are first done at a looser gauge so that they shrink to the size that you want. You can see how before they are felted they are loose and floppy. Once they are done you can't see the stitches. I really love that difference in textures.

I've tried a bunch of different yarns, but have found that I like working with Paton's classic merino wool, in either a double or a single strand, the best. It has a nice texture and felts well, plus it is common and they sell it everywhere, so if I am traveling and run out of yarn it's not a problem!

This is a bag I started last spring and just felted recently. I don't think I ever posted a completed photo of it, so here's a before and after.

The green squares are knit with instarsia technique and the color in the images just looks different because of the light inside verses out.

This was one of the first bags I made...

I am currently finishing up some shoulder bags, since there has been request for those. This is an example of a tote-bag style with two straps was made a few years ago. It still remains one of my favorites.