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
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!
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Comments
Okay. That just fucking ROCKS!!! You should be super proud of that. I think it came out so well!
Posted by: scoutj at October 3, 2006 9:35 PM
Very cool! I've been meaning to try that method too. I think that's a great idea to include a copy of the mag - very thoughtful, I'm sure she'll love it!
Posted by: Tracy at October 3, 2006 9:54 PM
It looks awesome!
Posted by: Ramona at October 3, 2006 11:09 PM
oh
my
god!!!!
That is so awesome!! I'm definitely going to try this!
Posted by: carole at October 3, 2006 11:15 PM
That's neat! I was wondering what you used for the resists, small balls or marbles. Neat that you used bottle caps and lids. I'd never thought you could use that! It was also a great idea to knit it in the round.
I'm pleased with myself that I recognized it as shibori as soon as I saw it.
Posted by: Pamela at October 3, 2006 11:53 PM
What a great tutorial -- you've really demystified the whole shibori thing more than that IK article did, and you've got a lot of super details about exactly how to do that. It makes me want to knit one of those babies Now!
I bet this would be a cool project to do with my 5 year old, from the collecting of the bottle and jar caps to letting her help place them on the scarf. I'd just have to knit and felt, and she'd end up with something she was really proud to wear.
Posted by: Susan at October 4, 2006 5:53 AM
Gorgeous!
Posted by: amandamonkey at October 4, 2006 9:45 AM
Zowie, that's sweet! Such fun bubbles!
Posted by: Morgen at October 4, 2006 10:33 AM
sooo cool, noelle! i just love how it came out, and the tutorial is super--I am definitely going to try that.
hope all things are good with you...
Posted by: aubree at October 4, 2006 11:28 AM
Please tell me I'm your pal. Please?
Posted by: beverly at October 4, 2006 12:22 PM
This is the funkiest! Puts a whole new spin on "bottle cap green".
Spin? Bottle cap? Whahahaha! I crack me up. :-)
Posted by: LaurieM at October 4, 2006 8:22 PM
This is by far the BEST shibori technique tutorial on the Web. Great job and thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Dottie at October 5, 2006 10:37 AM
Weirdly, that scarf reminds me of some of the mixed media sculptural work you did in college. I love it.
Posted by: Jocelyn at October 5, 2006 12:48 PM
i have been meaning to do some shibori felting. i want to add lots of sequins and little doodads to it to make it a bit delicate. i also want to do some wet felting with the silk backing.
anyway, gorgeous! very cool.
Posted by: natasha fialkov at October 5, 2006 9:01 PM
I love the look of it. That IK article was very inspiring -- I'm glad to see someone putting it into action!
Posted by: Gina at October 6, 2006 8:46 AM
This is really inspiring! I am going to start saving lids tomorrow.
Kathleen
Posted by: kathleen at October 7, 2006 6:44 PM
That's soooo cool and you are soooo creative. Keep up the good work
Posted by: Linda at October 8, 2006 10:52 AM
This is moving way up on my todo list! I love it and and thanks for the detailed tutorial!!!
Posted by: bongomama at October 8, 2006 1:01 PM
So my mind must be totally in the gutter because before I read the post, just looking at the pictures, I thought they were condoms! Really awesome scarf, great instructions!
Posted by: Eleni at October 10, 2006 8:42 AM
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