Methods of blocking felted bags

[foothills]

I've just finished the Booga Bag...although I changed the pattern to make it larger...it didn't shrink quite as much as I would have thought though. I did the handles as Kimmie instructed in a post last week and although they felted nicely, they seem too thin to me (opinions, please!), so I may do the regular i-cord. As far as the felting process....I use a wool wash that the lys owner sells (kind of pricey...she gave it to me to try and I've felted 3 bags with it) and add 1/4 cup of baking soda to a hot water/cold rinse in the washer....I first saturate the bag in a bucket of hot water...then put it into a zippered pillow protector and add to the washer...then stand over it for usually 20 minutes or so, being careful not to let the washer go through the spin cycle. I usually check the bag about every 5 minutes or so...then when felted to suit me, I run it through the rinse cycle, take it out and roll it in a beach towel...then the blocking (my least favorite part

My main frustration with felted handbags is trying to find containers/boxes to block them....do any of you have any tried and true methods? I've tried plastic grocery bags, boxes wrapped in plastic, ziplock containers...you name it....nothing seems to be perfect! The bottoms are flat, but the bag kind of flops on the sides...right now, I've turned the bag on its side on top of the tile countertop and thought I'd turn it on the other side after awhile!

Joyce

[KellyK]

GREAT job!

I think the twisted handles look FANTASTIC. I think you should "install" them first & see how they feel before making a decision about the I-Cord.

LOVE those colors!

[foothills]

Thanks Kelly...using the Noro was expensive though...when I decided to make the bag larger, it took 5 skeins at $8.50 each. Luckily, I had purchased 6 skeins with the thought that I'd make two by pattern....only enough for this bag!

Oh...I couldn't find Lion Brand Woolease at the Walmart here, but just found that I could order it online from Lion Brand so I will order the yarn for the hat you tackled By the way...did you use sport weight or just the regular Woolease?

[KellyK]

Just the regular old Woolease...worsted weight.

[foothills]

Have you worked with any of the Watercolors yet? They look beautiful online...I'm just a yarn addict

[KellyK]

Yeah...I made a whole baby set out of it! It's soft & the colors are nice. I have just decided that I am not a huge fan of boucle yarns. Those darned nubbies get caught on things & make you knit into the wrong spot!

Look at my Blog thread...there's a pic of the baby set somewhere in there.

I am a TOTAL yarn addict. Well, rapidly becoming that way, anyway!

[beldaraan]

My main frustration with felted handbags is trying to find containers/boxes to block them....do any of you have any tried and true methods?

I've seen someone use a small garbage pail to shape a felted bag.

[foothills]

I used a small garbage container for one of my bags...but it was too small for this one. I found a 22 gal. garbage container at Roses, but it wasn't wide enough...anyway...right now, the covered Vicks Vaporizer box will have to be sufficient.