My cream colored sweater really needed a bath. Light in color and thrown on over EVERYTHING, it was starting to look a little dingy. From the beginning, the knitted fabric had more drape than what I preferred so I thought a run through the wash cycle would brighten and tighten up the stitches.Three years ago I bought a front loading machine and haven’t worked on a felting project since. I know, a really long time. This was the moment and the small experiment I’d been waiting to run. I looked at the pros and cons of this decision. The biggest concern was that I could ruin the garment by felting it into oblivion and then I’d be out one favorite sweater. On the bright side the stitches would tighten up and give the sweater more body; less drape and stretch. The fiber in the sweater is 60% cotton and 40% wool, so it might just relax a little as I’m wearing it. You know how cotton sweaters can get baggy. And, the yarn didn’t cost the earth.
One of the cardinal rules of felting is to avoid the spin cycle so the newly felted fabric doesn’t crease. I’ve had that happen and it pretty much wrecks the project. However, with this sweater I thought I would let it go on Low Spin because I intended to toss it in the dryer.The dryer? Yes, low heat, timed cycles and watch it. It worked. I grabbed the sweater out of the dryer when it was still a little damp (25%) and blocked it on a towel. The result is a one fresh, clean sweater with a heftier fabric due to the slightly tighter stitches. Yes! This sweater is a modification of the Transverse Cardigan featured in Interweave Knits magazine. I didn’t add the buttons because I like using shawl pins. Here’s the link: Transverse Cardigan pattern