Felted Sweater!

My mom and I went to the Goodwill store about a week ago, just to look around and see what we could find. I got a cute set of placemats, brand new, for $1 and they’ll make a great purse – but that’s not the exciting part. We found a red sweater, 100% wool, with a really pretty fair isle pattern knitted into the neckline. I decided, since I had never felted anything before, that this would be a nice $4 experiment, and I was hoping to make a stuffed animal or something.
BEFORE
wool sweater before feltingI brought it home, stuck it in a zippered pillow cover, and threw it in the wash on hot. I added a few more clothes and some detergent.wool sweater before felting When it came out, it was fuzzy and had shrunk a bit, but I wanted it even fuzzier and tighter, so I put it in again. When I took it out the second time it seemed perfect, so I picked most of the little fuzz clumps off and stuck it in the dryer. When it came out, I was amazed! It had shrunk quite a bit, but since it was a large it was still plenty of fabric.. plus it was very fuzzy and soft.

AFTER
wool sweater after feltingIf you notice the yardstick, it started at 21 inches wide and ended up at 18!
wool sweater after feltingIt’s so pretty that I think I’m going to make a purse out of it.. probably upside-down D shaped with a rounded bottom. I think it’ll be gorgeous! I’m really excited to start on it, but I have a few orders to ship and a few other things to finish first.

My first felting experiment was a success!

2 Responses

  1. Michelle says:

    Felting is fun, isn’t it?! I think it works better when you don’t put it in a pillowcase or anything, though. :D

  2. Jenny says:

    Fun! I love felting. I use felted sweaters for lots of stuff. Last year around this time I got lots of wool sweaters for 25 cents each at the goodwill. That reminds me I need to look out for that sale again this year!

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