Felted Knits

Rating:
Summary: High marks for this gem of a guide
Review: I checked this book out from a local library 3 times before it dawned on me that I needed to just buy it. This is an excellent guide for a relatively new knitter who wants to try felting. The author has many great tips and useful nuggets of information about felting andknitting in general, as well as reassurances along the way for when a felting project turns into something unrecognizable! I've made several purses from this book as well as modified a few of the patterns for different sizes and shapes and found the patterns are easily adaptable for simple variations. This is a "must hav" as far as I'm concerned.

Rating:
Summary: good stuff
Review: As an overall introduction to felting, the book is great. The actual felting process, yarn recommendations, and gauge info is wonderful. I wish that the more complicated pattern directions included diagrams.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: I bought this as my first felting book, to teach myself how to do it. It was detailed and basically walked me through the entire process so that I really understood it and would not make a mistake. It also gives information about brands of yarn and the different results you get with each one. There are lots of interesting patterns including: clogs, baby booties, purses and totes, an oven mitt, hats, mittens, and more!

Rating:
Summary: One of my most used knitting books
Review: I love this book. The patterns are not only great to look at, but well written and easy to follow too. I made a couple pairs of the baby booties, and they were quite quick to make. And, felted up beautifully.

Same with the pocketbook. Not that the instructions are as critical there, but still- well written and easy to follow, again. And the results were gorgeous. People compliment me on it all the time. I've been inspired to begin a hat- but it's too early to discuss the finished results. Still- I have faith it will be perfect.

She tells you all about how to choose your yarn, what yarns felt well, gives suggestions for figuring out gauge and discusses washing machine vs. sink techniques. Lots of nice pics in the beginning to get a feel how much felting changes your fabric. I found that helpful, as I had no idea what novelty yarns worked in might look like. Given how gorgeous they are, and that I would have been afraid to even try, I feel as if it's almost a public service to include those.

Rating:
Summary: One of my most used knitting books
Review: I love this book. The patterns are not only great to look at, but well written and easy to follow too. I made a couple pairs of the baby booties, and they were quite quick to make. And, felted up beautifully.

Same with the pocketbook. Not that the instructions are as critical there, but still- well written and easy to follow, again. And the results were gorgeous. People compliment me on it all the time. I've been inspired to begin a hat- but it's too early to discuss the finished results. Still- I have faith it will be perfect.

She tells you all about how to choose your yarn, what yarns felt well, gives suggestions for figuring out gauge and discusses washing machine vs. sink techniques. Lots of nice pics in the beginning to get a feel how much felting changes your fabric. I found that helpful, as I had no idea what novelty yarns worked in might look like. Given how gorgeous they are, and that I would have been afraid to even try, I feel as if it's almost a public service to include those.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I made some things out of this book and felt they were quite easy to follow.

Rating:
Summary: save your money
Review: I own about 10 knitting books, and this one is the first one with which I am disappointed. Many of the patterns in here are quite intuitive; meaning, that one probably doesn't need a book to be able to figure out how to knit them. Books with felting patterns should highlight patterns that are difficult to create. Otherwise, what's the point of buying a book? The challenges of felting are in determining scale and ratio, and anticipating shrinkage when you felt the item. None of these patterns are particularly interesting or nice-looking.

Given its 2003 press date, I would have liked to see more fashionable items like a bucket hat, a striped felted bag with closure, and more useful household items, like a fruit bowl. Instead, the patterns include a bowler hat, felted mittens, dowdy looking slippers and several simple square bags. Its saving grace is a nice-looking felted rug, but I could have probably figured that one out as well. Isn't it just a rectangle?

Rating:
Summary: Get It
Review: If you want to learn to felt or learn more about felting, this is the book to do it. I had already done a couple of projects but now will have more control over the felting process becasue of this book. Excellent.

Rating:
Summary: How to do Felted Knits in your washing machine
Review: There has been a huge craze for felted knitting, a process where you knit a loose garment and then wash it in the washing machine to shrink and thicken the fabric. Things that are typically felted are clogs or slippers, tote bags and vests, but you can do a lot more.

Bev Galeskas has some great instructions here, including an invaluable gauge check. You knit a square of a particular gauge, mark it with thread and then wash according to instructions. The thread marks the shrinkage and tells you how to adjust your knitting to get the felt to result in the size you desire.

There are also instructions for how to leave button holes or eyelets in the knitting so they don't close up, what yarns work well and which ones don't, how to felt in a front-loading washing machine (hint: it has to be the kind that lets you stop and open the door mid-cycle. My American front-loader does allow this but my European one did not. If you have the kind that locks during the cycle, Bev suggests you find a friend with a toploader and borrow their machine!)

The only small disappointment was that a pattern for felted clogs was not included. But there is a pattern for "ballet slippers" which do look something like clogs, so I suppose they can be sized up for adults, even men. Just don't CALL them ballet slippers. Felted clogs are very popular to make for gifts and to keep by the door as shoe-replacements to save your floors and carpets from wear and tear.

Rating:
Summary: Great Photos, Ideas, and Inspiration for Felting
Review: This is a great book for learning about the art of felting. The illustrations are gorgeous and directions are very clear. However, the best component of this book is the discussion on how different yarns felt in different ways. Forinstance, there is a clear explanation that addresses how yarn may shrink in length rather than in width, suggesting that it is crucial to make test swatches.

Having tried some felting, I now understand the how's and why's of felting. This book provides a good list of available resources and is filled with projects that inspire. Enjoy!