Before I get started on my real topic today, let me just say YAY, DH’s slippers are done!
Clockwise from the top, these are Mom’s, DH’s, and my slippers.
Anyway, as I was in the midst of this slipper frenzy, I started wondering about the details of how exactly this felting thing works. I know that it happens because of the scales on the fibers surfaces interlock and tighten their association with heat and agitation. What I didn’t know exactly was the effect that new cohesion has on the fabric. It’s very possible that this is all well known and I somehow just missed it, but I just wanted to fool with the possibilities myself to see what I could find out.
So I knitted two squares of each of the different yarns I used for our slippers. Specifically, DH’s and mine are of Ella Rae’s Classic Wool held double, and Mom’s is of Cascade Yarns’ Alpaca Lana D’Oro, which is 50/50 alpaca and wool.
Then I tossed one square from each yarn in the washer on hot, heavy agitation to see what would happen. Here are my results!
The pure wool went from 7″ high x 7″ wide to 3.5″ high x 5″ wide
and the alpaca/wool blend went from 6.5″ high x 7″ wide to 4″ high x 5.75″ wide
So what I am seeing from this is experiment is that the width shrinks less than the length, and that the blend shrinks less than pure wool. I further deduce that my next experiment will be to try this with pure alpaca, which I do have some leftovers of someplace. Stay tuned to the fascinating story of How the Wool Shrinks!
Good to know when you are knitting slippers. They have give but there is still such a thing as too small.
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Yes – yes there is 🙂
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I’ve been wanting to try getting!
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It’s kind of neat to play with! I followed a pattern for the slippers – I was just playing around with the swatches 🙂
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I’ll have to see if I have any pure wool in my stash:)
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Great slippers! Felting is fun but not always what you expect.
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Very true!
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