I seem to be continuing on a theme with bags, purses & totes. However in case you haven’t felted before, I thought I’d give you another option for a DIY project that is versatile and handy. I’ve seen lots of free patterns again our there in the blogosphere, so I thought I’d share them with you. I have also included a felted project from my May post of purses because I love it so much. Don’t limit yourself to purses. I’ve felted lots of baskets, slippers, mittens and cozies using this method.
The first thing about felting is that it requires using 100% wool yarns. Wool, when agitated, binds and locks the stitches tightly together as it shrinks the wool. I learned this lesson firsthand when I was about 20 years old and living on my own. I decided to wash my favorite wool sweater. Needless to say that after pulling it out of the washing machine it could have fit a toddler! Lesson learned. So just remember your project will be larger than the finished piece. This process involves knitting your tote or purse, agitating it in the wash machine until you get the size you want, and then blocking it for shapeing.
Instructables has a great step by step on how to work with the felting process.
I hope you give one of these projects a try, or search out your own felting pattern. It opens up a whole new range of projects you can put under your belt.
Have a great, creative day!
Annie O
Annieocrafts 