Funky Fulled Shibori Scarf Tutorial!
Ok! So I finished the funky scarf over the weekend and now I get to share the big secret.
First, the swap person I got
liked the color green
preferred a funky pattern to a funky yarn
wanted it longer as opposed to fatter
could use it for some warmth.
This reminds me of my beginner 3d design class assignments, how fun!! No really!
My thought process:
I had two skeins of some lamb's pride worsted in a dark forest green but they were leftovers from two different projects so two different dye lots.
I've been wanting to try this shibori resist method for felting since I read about it in last Fall's Interweave Knits. Well, technically when you knit something and change it into felt in hot water and agitation it's fulling but let's just call it felting to cut down on confusion.
So..the shibori felted examples I'd seen looked much better to me when they'd been used on stockinette stitches. So I'd want to use it in stockinette.
And since she wanted it longer I would need to knit it lengthwise - because the knit stitches felt more vertically, they don't felt as much horizontally.
So stockinette and lengthwise. I'd do it in the round! Easy peasy! Then cut it after I felt it! Woo!
So here we go..
Step 1 Knitting the scarf
I cast on 200 stitches using Lamb's Pride worsted onto size 11 denise needles using a very long cable.
Then I joined it in the round and knit a few rows of garter stitch. In this case it's a knit row, a purl row, a knit row, since it's in the round.
Didn't seem to make much of a difference the stockinette still curled. But it's ok.
Since I was using two balls with different dye lots so I alternated the skeins every row, carrying the yarn up on the inside seam. That created the striping effect. This was totally not noticable in the final product.
I continued knitting around and around until I ran out of the smaller ball of yarn, then I did three rows of garter stitch and cast off. I didn't bother sewing the ends in, just tied knots. That's why I love felting!
And now we have a giant knit circle that's rolling up into a tube! Yay!
Step 2: Adding the Resists
I'd been saving bottlecaps and lids for the last few months for this project. So I needed those, some rubber bands, and plastic of some kind. I found that cut up freezer storage bags worked best in the end.
I put the bottlecaps on the "wrong side" of the knitting, then covered the top, the "right side" with the plastic.
THEN I used old rubber bands to secure the knitting between the plastic wrap and the bottlecap.
This is what the "wrong side" looked like
I carefully planned out the shapes on both sides of the scarf while I was attaching the bottlecaps. I already knew where the neck was going to be and where I was going to "steek" it. So the bottom edges will have more bumps in them and slowly taper off up towards the neck.
I'm going to use larger photos so you can see the design.
Step 3: Felting
I put the scarf in a lingerie washing bag, you know the kind with the holes in it? (I use that to cut down on the chances of fluffy bits clogging up my washing machine)
And dropped it in the washing machine with my pair of "felting" jeans. These are some big old jeans of Cody's that have shrunk anyway so they make for great felting agitation in the machine.
I filled the machine to the small water setting on hot with some squirts of lavender baby shampoo. And ran it about one and a half washing cycles, about fifteen minutes, checking periodically to see how it was doing.
When it seemed felted enough, I ran it in a cold rinse and spin. People debate the spin cycle thinking that it causes creases in the felted product but I like to use it and I don't let it spin for that long.
Then I took it out and rinsed it again just to be sure the soap was out.
Step 4: Removing resists, trimming, and drying
Be warned, when it came out it was a MESS. The plastic hadn't stayed on all the bottlecaps and even a few bottlecaps had come off. THAT WAS OK! It still looked pretty neat and I liked the randomness of what had stayed and what hadn't.
I took the remaining rubber bands, plastic, bottlecaps, and lids out while the scarf was still wet and pliable. I also used this as an opportunity to reshape any spots that weren't right, felt any missed bits by hand, trim extra fuzzy bits I didn't like, and cut off the ends that I hadn't sewn in before.
I also cut the steek with a pair of scissors and fuzzed the end up a bit. Now it's an actual scarf not a big circle!
Then I hung it on a hanger and let it dry for a few days.
Step 5: Having a Funky Scarf!!
The "cut" end
ignore the painty spotty work short
I think she'll really like it. It's still really long, like four feet maybe longer. AND I found that I have an extra copy of last fall's Interweave with the shibori article so I thought I'd include that when I send it to her!
Gypsy Scarf Sets
So I've been going through all my yarn and putting these gypsy yarn kits together. I decided to guarantee the randomness (since this seems to be a challenge for some) by tying the yarn in at random times and skeining them up myself.
These will all come with my pattern for a "gypsy scarf" but, really, the way they're designed you can just cast on and knit and you'll get a helluva funky scarf. Each skein has a certain kind of color scheme but has a surprise or two to keep things interesting.
I have four so far but I'll put some more together if there's any interest. I brought them to stitch n bitch tonight and my friends there are predicting that there will be plenty of interest. :) They've also suggested the retail price of 35 dollars. What do ya'll think?
Jackpot- 130 yds
this is jackpot yarn, it's all handspun. Some by me, some by others, and even a bit of Manos de Uruguay
Mostly blues and browns
Teaches of Peaches ~150 yds
Vintage cotton linen yarn, a bit of chenille, debbie bliss cotton, some berroco suede, weird ladder yarn, and omg there's some koigu in there too
Teracotta, green, blue
Blue with Suede Too ~196
There's probably enough here for two scarves or one shawl. Lots of cotton in different forms - chenille, plied, mercerized, there's also some ladder yarn, Berroco suede, and a great silk ribbon yarn from Artfibers
Mostly blues with creams and some greens too
Double Tall Vanilla Latte ~187 yds
Funky plied brown cotton (some of the first yarn I ever bought), burgundy wool, pink tufty rowan big wool stuff, lots of interesting textures in this one, I like this one a lot
Browns, cream, burgundy, pink
I'll put all these up in the etsy shop tonight. I'm also putting together some kits with full skeins, leaving the randomness up to the knitter. This is the first one of those
Mrs. Slocombe
Suri Alpaca (knitpicks), Nylon Novelty (Takhi Stacy Charles), Kid Mohair w/ Silk (Plymouth Kid Seta)
Get up with the get down
I want to thank everyone for their input about which yarn to choose for that sweater!! I think the main consensus was the darker brown. I agree that the darker color would be better and more slimming on the sides, reminds me of an old stage makeup trick actually. Chris brought up a great point about the weight and ply! What I spun is a single ply midrange worsted so I think the Lamb's Pride is probably the way to go. Thanks everyone!!
On with the funk.
As I've said (several times) before, I don't usually join swaps. I enjoy volunteering to be an angel for swaps (and in the end I really did enjoy running the back end of Dyeorama) but I don't usually do the main swap part. Scout caught me in a weak moment last week and talked me into joining the Funky Scarf Swap she and Beverly are running.
Ok that's not entirely true I was just in a joiney mood last week because I also joined the Knitflix swap. Movies and knitting? I'm so there.
To be honest the funky scarf swap is perfect for me. I'm all about the funky scarves. And shawls, and music, and clothes, and kitty cats. Yes! I even have a cat named "Funk" although I spell it a little phunqy.
But the term "funky" seems to be pretty subjective and for some funky could mean knitting in *gasp* the color red while others would go so far as to knit with yarn that has little plastic African animal toys tied to it.
I have a vague plan for what I'm going to do for my swap partner. Hopefully she's willing to go pretty funky as I'm already collecting bottle caps to do some shibori resistance felting with some yarn I'll spin up for her. Ooooh won't that be fun? I've been wanting to play with Shibori since that article in Interweave last fall!
So I'm supposed to answer these questions for my secret swap person that's sending me stuff. Hello secret swap person! Everyone else can choose to ignore the answers but scroll down a bit to see photos of my latest FOs as they're part of my answers :)
Lets get the allergy part out of the way. Are you allergic to any fibers?
Angora makes me sneeze a bit.
Do you prefer any fibers over others?
I like very soft fibers. I'm not big into the fiber snobbery but I've found that some novelty fun fur stuff can be very scratchy. I think that Icelandic wool can be very scratchy too. I'm good with felted stuff as long as it won't leave red marks. Whatever it is, please just make sure it's something that could be rubbed on your face without leaving welts.
Speaking of soft, this is a scarf I knit last night using Finn pencil roving that I kettle dyed and felted a bit. It's vera vera soft
It's also very short so I'm holding it closed here with a Brittany DPN
back to the questions...
Thinking back to Scouts post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky!
Well, um, I guess I have to brag here because that was my Drag Queen Grover yarn that she posted about ;) Here are a few photos of the finished product.
I love crazy insane insane crazy funky, funky stuff.
On the other hand, I'd be happy with simple yarn and a unique construction as well. For example, I love that new Swiss Cheese scarf from Morehouse Merino! I think that's pretty funky too!
To me the key part of funky is fun. Just something that's enjoyable to make and wear. Something that's different than what you see all the time. Really, it's just that simple.
Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern?
Either really. I think it should be one or the other though, not both at the same time. Big funky yarn tends to speak for itself and looks great with a simple pattern while a funky pattern would get lost in a funky yarn and usually needs a simple yarn to show the funk in the pattern.
What are your favorite colors?
I love good color combinations. As long as there are no fluorescents. I like bright colors but not like day-glo. You'd probably get a good idea of what kind of colors I like from looking at my stash photos!
My color tastes are usually very seasonal so since this will be in October I'll probably be in a real Harvesty Autumny color mood.
What is your favorite piece of art?
Van Gogh's 1889 Irises
What colors would you never have up close to your pretty face?
Day glo fluorescents. Really. Hate them. No matter what season it is.
Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl?
A scarf
When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf?
Either but I am a plus size so please consider the "Big Girl Knits" rules that I would need a larger proportion for it to look right and not like a tiny handkerchief.
Speaking of plus size proportions, Cody helped me take some photos of my big Artyarns souvenir shawl today to show how big it is
What is the climate like where you live?
It can change from super hot to super cold here in the high desert. I believe in wearing layers that can be easily removed.
Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe?
Probably one that's more funky than functional but it can still be warm it does snow here!
What else would you like your partner to know about you?
Please just have fun with whatever you choose to make. I think that if you enjoy making it, that will show in the work, no matter what yours or my definition of funky is. Just try something new for you and have fun!!
