Felting question

[KnitTwit]

I'm going to be felting my first Fair Isle project and I'm wondering what happens to the stranding. Does it react the same way as the regular stitches or will it still be seen? Probably a silly question but I'm just curious. TIA.

[Hildegard_von_Knittin]

it won't make the right side of the fabric look any different; you'll see the strands on the reverse side though, just like it looks pre-felted.
One thing to watch out for when your felting is to make sure it felts evenly; if your stranding is tighter or looser in some places, it will affect the shape. I made the felted bag from S&B a couple times, and I experimented with fair asile/stranding... instead of having a square bag it ended up kind of round and bulgy in spots
Best thing you can do is keep a close eye on it while it's felting... if you see some parts shrinking in more than others you can stretch them out while it's still wet, and it will be okay.
HTH

[lactosefree]

I recently just made a felted fair isle bag and the inside of the bag does felt a tiny bit but not enough for the strands that are carried across to 'stick' to each other. In other words, you can still stick a finger under the majority of the strands.

My friend who sews is lining it for me since the loose strands will drive me nuts if they get caught on things that I put inside the bag.

As HTH said, it is critical that you shape the bag each time you take it out of the washer. I put mine through the wash cycle three times and after each time the cycle ended I shaped it before throwing it back in paying special attention to shape the corners and the length to width ratio of the bag.

[KnitTwit]

Thanks very much ladies! I didn't know if the stranding would "meld" like the other stitches or not. I think the idea of lining the purse is an excellent idea.