Felting the Market Squares Bag

I finally decided to felt my market squares bag. 

I filled the top loading washer with hot water, some delicate detergent, added a small rug and got out my zippered pillow case and, of course, the felted bag.

I put my hand knit market squares bag into the zippered pillow case (this serves 2 purposes - it saves my washer from all that felt and lint and it also keeps lint and fuzz from the washer off my felted bag)

I VERY CAREFULLY added a large pot of boiling water to the washer and crossed my fingers.  Afterall, felting is an art and not a science.  Then I went about my business and checked back on my bag periodically.  The trick about felting is that you never know exactly how long it will take.  I checked every 5 minutes or so and the progress was pretty slow.  So I turned the knob back to the beginning of the cycle (so it wouldn't drain and I'd have to start over with more delicate detergent and more boiling hot water) and waited some more.  Sometime between doing that and getting dinner on the table I lost track of time.

Oh no!  I over-felted my bag.  It turned out great.  It just turned out much smaller than anticipated.

I shaped it on a Charles Chip tin and then mushed it to the shape I wanted.  I stretched it over the tin so that the base of my bag would be round and flat.  I hate a bag that flops over and lets the contents spill out.  This photo is of one side of my bag.  Here's the other side.

One side has more of the purple and the other has more of the green.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out - even if it is smaller than I would like.

   

I ran out to Westport's Textile Store and picked out two different batik prints to line my bag.  I'm not sure which I like better.  I think I like the one on the right.  It doesn't have any purple - but I think the brown in the one on the left detracts from the bag.  Plus I like the concept of squares and circles. 

What do you think?

Comments

[Teresa]

I think you are spot on with the circles and squares!

[Cheryl B.]

What's wrong with me, I like the fabric on the left....actually I like them both (I'm a fabric whore), but there is something about the one on the left I really like with the bag.

[Charlotte]

Like everyone else, I like the fabric on the right best. I also echo the plastic needlepoint canvas covered in fabric for the bottom. It helps a lot. Frankly, I don't think you can over-felt something. The yarn shrinks until there is no more room for it to shrink so your bag turned out the size IT wanted to be. Be interested to know beginning and finished dimensions.

[Renna]

Both fabrics are gorgeous, but I also would go with the one on the right, which is slightly more subtle (not that it will get seen that much).

Your bag looks great. I have three things I need to felt. I'm dreading those moments of anxiousness in waiting to see how they'll look in the end. ;-)

[Lynn]

I like the one on the right as well. How big did the bag turn out to be? It looks lovely!

[rohanknitter]

The bag looks great! I think I like the fabric on the right best.

[KellyD]

Im thinking I agree with you on the fabric choice. Your bag looks great!

[Jennifer]

I love the bag! Very nice! I'd go with the one on the right too.

[Wool Winder]

Looks great! The fabric on the right is my favorite too.

[Estella]

It looks wonderful! I really need to try entrelac. I like the fabric on the right also. If you need more stability, you can get the plastic needlepoint canvas, cut it to size for the base, cover it in fabric and place that in the bottom as well. I do that for my felted bags - it also helps prevent sagging if you have something heavy in it.