Monday, October 3, 2011

felted mittens

before felting ...

After running them three times through the hot water/heavily soiled cycle of my top loading machine, the mitts have felted to about 80% of the size at which I originally knit them. Does that sound right? I thought they'd get much smaller than that. After washing and felting I laid them flat to dry. Should I have thrown them in the dryer?

The finished felted mitts fit me - I have extra large hands with really long fingers - but I can't imagine that they'd fit anyone else. And to be honest, even for me the thumbs could have been a half inch shorter. I'm also a bit undecided about the mitten tops; they could be a little less pointy, I think.

 ... and after
Now that they're done I can't help but wonder what the point was of ribbed cuffs. The stretchy effect of the ribbing is completely lost after felting. But don't get the wrong idea ... I really like these mitts. They're incredibly warm - the perfect accessory when waiting on the train platform at -15° in February! And I love the way felting has blurred and softened the colour transitions.

With this little project I've accomplished a few things:
  • I've learned something new - felting
  • I've done some stash-busting
  • I've finished one more thing in my queue
Now, back to socks!

7 comments:

Keri said...

Very nice. Those will keep fingers warm!!!

Unknown said...

When I have done a test, I usually get a 60% reduction in size. And the length and width do not shrink at the same rate.
Did you wash them alone or with some jeans? Always use jeans to add friction. Love them!

karen said...

Love those gloves !!! its good to try out new things !! must add felting on my to do one day list !

Wanderingcatstudio said...

If you really want - you can throw them in the washer again - they will probably felt down some more. I made my SIL some slippers and I thought they were small enough, but then I put them beside Dave's feet and knew they were still too big - so I felted some more - and then when I gave them to her, she took them home and felted them just a little more.

Just-in said...

They are so pretty! I just can't wait your next pair of socks, though.

CrochetBlogger said...

Congrats on stashbusting while learning something new!

MagicalJane said...

Very nice indeed. It's great to see the before and after photo as I've often wondered about felting. Here, it seems to have worked perfectly!