Booga Bag--PWNED

I can't believe I finally finished it. I really can't.

First, the basics: 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon in 2 different colorways (one for the bottom third, the other colorway for the top 2/3 and the I-cord), size 10 1/2 needles, hand-fulled. It took me about two days of on-and-off knitting to create--LAST YEAR. The fulling part...well...

Here's the story as I told it on the punk_knitters community on LJ:

So I have this Booga Bag that I knitted months ago--no, make that a year ago at least. I used Noro Kureyon, which I know felts like crazy, but I had no access to a washing machine. Thus, I decided to try felting it by hand.

How hard could it be? I thought to myself. It's just moving it around in water--should be easy. I filled the sink with water, dropped the bag in, and started wringing away. I scrubbed, twisted, even tried using the ribbed handgrip of a broom to get the stuff to full. It sorta did, but the stitches were still very visible. All I had to show for my efforts were a sore back, aching arms, and a slightly fuzzier version of the unfulled bag.

I tried again a few days later, by dropping it in the shower and stomping on it when I was done washing. Aha, thought I, this will do the trick. I stomped and rubbed and smooshed the thing around...again to no avail. Disgusted, I gave up, hung it up to dry, and then put the thing away for a long time.



From time to time, I'd see it as I looked for another project, taunting me. Teasing me. It laughed in my face and knew it had defeated me. Time passed. I moved into a new apartment, another one without a controllable washing machine.

Last night, I washed some socks in the sink and happened to catch a glimpse of the bag, which had somehow worked free of the box into which I'd tossed it. And then a light bulb went off.



I changed the bulb, then looked over at the bag again. Stupid bag. I can make handspun yarn felt itself just from accidentally swishing it around a little too much while setting it, but I can't full a stupid bag? I wonder...

Grabbed the bag. Grabbed the soap. Got the water really hot, then plunged the whole thing in. THIS time, however, there was no scrubbing, no--this time, there was just swishing around, a gentle pedaling motion with the fabric held loosely in my hands. I twisted, folded, and pedaled until, triumphant, I lifted the PERFECTLY FULLED BAG from the water! YES! I DID IT!!

So the moral of the story is...you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Or, to put it another way, don't kill yourself when felting by hand. Just pretend that what you're working with is an heirloom sweater that MUST NOT FELT. Treat it gently, and the thing will shrink up in no time.

The end.