Still in the heart series, I asked Levi to create a pattern for a MOM potholder. This was to be my first experiment with “felting” a piece of knit work. To felt a piece of knit work simply means that you wash the piece to intentionally shrink and thicken it. To learn how to felt I began by knitting two small test swatches of yarn made from animal fibers. (See my first felting experiment) At the store downtown I had learned that white wool yarn, due to something in the bleaching process, felts at a lower rate than other colors. I didn’t really believe this, so I tried it out myself. I also tested a pink swatch. Both swatches did felt but indeed, the pink became a thicker smaller piece more quickly than the white. With this information I had to consider now what color I would use to replace the white I wanted to use in the felted MOM potholder. I settled on pink. Because this was my first time felting an actual piece of work I did not know exactly how large I should make the original potholder. I made the pre-felted potholder in a rectangular shape, which, alas, even after several washes had to be cut to become potholder size. After I was satisfied with the trimmed MOM pattern I hand sewed a lining to the back. I also attached a loop from which the potholder can hang.
My first felted project. 85% wool 15% mohair.
BEFORE WASH:
AFTER WASH:
AFTER TRIMMING AND LINING:
FRONT
BACK
photos by
Sarah Swanson,
Berd Whitlock and Emily Popp
Some pattern grids:
by emily
by Levi