FELTING question....

ArtLady1981 · 04-20-2009, 02:08 PM

Will wool blends FELT?

Such as:
Noro IRO (75% wool 25% silk)

Noro SILK GARDEN (45% Silk/45% Kid Mohair/10% Lamb’s Wool)

Will other natural animal fibers FELT?
Such as:
Elann Pure Peruvian 100% Alpaca

Debbie · 04-20-2009, 07:50 PM

Alpaca felts... Silk Garden Felts ... I have made two bags from silk garden ... the IRO should felt... If I am making something felted but too lazy to swatch and felt I just knit it at a tighter gauge ... then I can either felt it alot to get it where I want it or felt it just a little if it felts really fast

I felt wool sweaters from Good Will and as long as it is at least 75% wool it will felt some ... the MAIN THING to remember anytime you are felting anything is that it will shrink MUCH MORE in length than in width.... the "thickness" of the felting will be consistant but the size (shrinkage) will be more in length .. did I say, it will get much shorter

Jan in CA · 04-20-2009, 08:05 PM

Not all wool/silk felts though as mentioned by another poster who was having problems. I had some 85% wool/ 15% silk that didn't either. I think a test swatch is always the best method to test. It doesn't have to be large.

ArtLady1981 · 04-20-2009, 10:22 PM

".....a test swatch is always the best method to test...."

Good idea! Why didn't I think of that?

Thanks for your input, Jan and Debbie!

Jan in CA · 04-20-2009, 10:23 PM

knittingymnast · 04-21-2009, 01:46 AM

Hm. Interesting. I never stopped to ask myself that question, so I guess I'm not really a big help. You could test knit a swatch and throw it into the washing machine to see.