Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Felting with the Knifty Knitter

This project was a test how felted knits behave when made on the Knifty Knitter. In needle knitting knitting, most objects shrink more lengthwise than widthwise. That's why I knit this bag long and skinny. Post-felting, the bag is still long and skinny - not what I intended.

I theorize that with traditional loom knitting's twisted knit stitch, the felting process behaves differently. The length to width felting ratio was not quite as extreme, in fact, it's nearly the same.

Knifty Knitter Bag Pre-Felted   Knifty Knitter Bag Post-Felted

This was Patons Classic Merino, double stranded on the yellow 41-peg round loom. I basically knit a long strip, 26 stitches wide, until it was a yard long, then folded it in half and loosely sewed up the sides. Then I added the 4 stitch wide straps as shown. Not including the straps, it measured 12 x 18 inches. Post-felted, it's 8 x 12 inches. Both measurements are a 2:3 ratio - exactly the same.

3 comments:

  1. SorkaJune 20, 2007 8:44 PM

    oooh scientific theoretical knitting!! I love it!
    Denise
    knitchat.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. MicheleSeptember 26, 2007 1:46 AM

    I'm working on a bag almost like this, can you explain how to make the strap? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lori H.September 29, 2007 3:27 PM

    Oh my goodness, I just recently felted a bag with these exact same colors (different pattern). My bag also shrank up more in width than height. I'd like to try again, but I want it wider and not as tall. How should I do that?

    ReplyDelete

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