Felting away!

I've had a few orders for felted bags come in...so here is a picture of one in progress...




It's Indigirl's Perfect Pouch pattern made up from a very interesting turquoise boucle yarn that felts nicely. Of course, I cheat.

The yarn is so heavily slubbed and fuzzy that knitting attached I-cord is out of the question. (Well, at least for someone with my limited patience, it is.) I found it much easier to make a long cord with a 6mm crochet hook and the chain stitch, then chain stitch the cord again with a 10mm crochet hook to get a finished cord of appropriate diameter. I slip stitched the finished cord to the bag pre-felting.


Speaking of felting, I've had great results duplicating the Perfect Pouch with Noro Kureyon. With other yarns, it is tough to guess how much the knitted cord will shrink during the felting process. While a slightly larger or smaller pouch is acceptable, a really short or long strap is tragic, so I cheat again and attach the last couple inches of the strap to the bag post-felting. I've made these bags for little girls and my 6 foot tall sister-in-law and it helps to be able to adjust those strap lengths while the recipient models the bag.

In other non-knitting news, my husband bought his first pair of reading glasses. Doesn't he just look like he should be standing out on the front porch, shaking his fist in the air at the neighbourhood kids who cut across our lawn??