Felting My Way Though Life

I now have felting fever! In all the years I've worked with fiber I had never thought much about felting, well,  until know, that is. Got hooked when I did my very first felting project just last month after returning home from Chainlink '09 in Buffalo.


My first attempt after that turned out like this:

 

I was happy with the bag itself, but the straps and closing I was not happy with at all!I should have crocheted the straps horizontally instead of vertically, same for the closure.

My next attempt was a bit better. Here's the bag2 (done in tapestry crochet style):

pre-felted bag,  11" x 17"

felted, 10.25" x 12.5"

Still, I wasn't happy with strap or the closure. The bag was still wide enough that having the strap on the ends gave it that curved in look ... annoying, and the closure ended up too off-center after the felting for me to put up with, sooooooo.....

I decided to re-felt! I cut off the off-center closure and the strap (an advantage of something felted... no unraveling!), crocheted two new straps, stitched them on and bag in the hot water wash it went!

 

after second felting, 9" x 10.5"

I also crocheted a closure separately and felted it along with the bag. That way I can sew it on exactly where I want it.

It's been a learning experience! I, of course, am not dissuaded. On the way home from work I picked up some more wool ... here we go again!