Have you ever completely ruined a perfectly good woollen jumper? I’ve done it once or twice! When Jeff first retired and took over the laundry he did. I remember one of my jumpers and one of his. I wish I’d kept them.
Here’s my latest shrinker. This time it was deliberate! You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to really shrink something when you’re trying. Easy-peasy when you are doing the laundry in a hurry and in goes your woolly then you take it out and aargh, dolly sized!
Reading about felting I found that the garment should be at least 80% wool. When I decided this cardie was past it’s best I checked it out and it was 70% wool. Mmm? I gave it a go anyway and it actually felted up really well with a hot wash in the machine. Apparently you can improve the felting by taking it out and putting it in cold water and then back into a hot wash. The temperature changes enhance the process.
I cut it up like this
And sewed it together like this
I found the felt really easy to manipulate when I was sewing the strip to the circle, being used to working with cotton which is quite unforgiving. To get the rib and collar to the right shape I pinned it first and cut it when it was in place to get the tapering right and to place the buttonholes. I thought the fabric was quite thick but the lovely Pfaff managed perfectly.
I turned the brim out and pressed it into shape then sewed the original buttons on with a little bit of contrast. And there was my new hat.
I was meant to be quilting my juicy jelly quilt this afternoon, this was a bit of a spur of the moment whim. It was great fun. Now am I going to wear it or use it for storage?