Good to know (teaser crafts update)

I finished knitting a bag to be felted and gifted tomorrow this afternoon and took a couple of short-cuts that have really worked to my advantage.

• I love using bulky yarn and size 13 needles!
  The size 13's aren't too huge for the bulky so you don't end up with that really loose knitting and the felting resulted in a super-thick fabric. I'm still going to be doing lots of stuff with worsted and size 10's, but the bulky is definitely coming out for projects that need to stand up to a lot of wear and tear.


• Applied I-cord rights all wrongs!
  I've done several bags with flaps and no matter how closely I watch the felting, it always ens up a wavy mess that won't lay nicely no matter what I do. This time I slipped the first and last stitch of every row on the flap and then did a 3-stitch applied i-cord on the three exposed sides. Nice, flat flap with straight sides!


• Don't forget the simple bind-off!
  The opening of the bag is another place where the felted fabric always goes all wonky on me. My original plan was to do the applied i-cord all around the opening and the flap but I ran out of yarn (seriously - I have like 5" left). The only other time I've ever used a simple bind-off is on a linen-stitch towel because a plain bind-off makes the hem all wavy because the stitches are so compressed. I was seriously afraid it was going to be way too tight, but again, perfection! I have a bag that for once does not flare at the the top and become and unruly, wavy mess.

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That is all - I have felt to shave and another knitted item to wash and block. I'll post picks of the week's knitting frenzy tomorrow after they've been gifted.

TTFN!