Can you Call it Shrinkage?

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 I loved making the Christmas Stocking.  I can't wait to cast on another, but I have to finish a yoga sock gift first. 

 Hmmm, My Cascade 220 was promised to felt.  I consider felting and shrinking the same thing.  Silly me.  The yarn felted the stitches together, after many washings.  Then I tried drying it each time.  This helped.  Felting is always a bit of a crap shoot, but I have good luck.  

 Nonetheless, the Stocking is still bigger than I would like.  Certainly it is usable and darling.  Next sock will be knitted in 
Lamb's Pride Worsted and Ella Rae.  

 I have another question.  If the next stocking has white next to red will the red bleed?  


Hello Day lily!  You are beautiful and you look like I planted a fresh new bulb in the ground.  HA!  I did not.  Enjoy the heat day lily.  You seem to.  


Comments

Kim in Oregon said…
Felting is always a bit of a gamble. I always put in a tennis ball and a towel to add some stuff to rough it up a bit. I also have a front loader that takes several cycles to felt something. Cascade 220 is a pretty reliable felting yarn!

I would do a swatch of 4 rows of white and 4 rows of red and then felt it and see if it bleeds. I would hope with a commercial yarn it wouldn't but one never knows!
11:02 AM
Vera said…
I think your stocking turned out great! And, bigger just means more room for stocking stuffers, right? I have only ever made felted bowls and had great luck with them...oh and a cat bed that doesn't hold the shape it should. I think Ki's idea to do a test swatch of the red and white is a good idea.
11:23 AM
KSD said…
I'm with my Twinnie on the testing. But, it seems to me that, if the red didn't bleed into the green, it wouldn't bleed into the white, either.
1:14 PM
Judy S. said…
Christmas stockings are supposed to be big, right? It looks great. I think some yarn felts smaller than others but haven't felted anything for a while. Love that lily! My Chicago daylily is blooming now; usually we've not been home to see it. Makes me think of you and Jill and family though.
1:57 PM
Teresa Kasner said…
Whoever gets that stocking will get lots of goodies in it. Nice daylily! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
2:03 PM
Tired Teacher said…
Throw a Color Catcher (sold in the laundry aisle) in the washer with the red and white stocking. I've never had a problem with bleeding when I use them when laundering quilts for the first time.
2:22 PM
Delighted Hands said…
You can always soak the red yarn in hot water and citric acid. It will set the color for sure and then you won't have to worry about bleeding!
The stocking is very nice-it looks felted. You're right, there is always the element of the unknown when you felt! (Swatching works well!)
4:09 PM
Caffeine Girl said…
I don't know anything about felting, but I have had red/pink yarns bleed. I had not heard of Delighted Hands' advice before, so I haven't tried it. I have talked to a couple dyers and they say there is always a risk with red and bright pink dyes. Yesterday I soaked a piece of lavender yarn in a class of water -- and it bled. I will have to find another use for it because I was going to stripe it.
4:45 PM
Anonymous said…
ADORABLE Christmas stocking. I wouldn't mind that it didn't shrink much. More room for candies and oranges!!! :-)
4:55 PM
elns said…
What a great stocking. I think it turned out really well! I'm excited to see what your next one is like. You sound like you have some great combos lined up. You keep trying to insert Christmas ideas into my knitting Kathy! Stop distracting me. ;)
5:01 PM
Betsy said…
I think your stocking turned out great. Sorry you were disappointed with the felting. I have found that my front loader didn't felt nearly as well as my top loader. I've had pretty good luck with using red and white yarn together but I think it does depend on the yarn. Wish I could be of more help.
Blessings, Betsy
5:55 PM
AsKatKnits said…
I would knit a test swatch and felt it to see if it bleeds. While it might not in a basin, it could be a different story in the wash. Better safe than sorry!
9:23 AM
Meredith said…
Felting is so unpredictable. I have felted the same yarn in different colors with very different results. Love your stocking.
Hugs,
Meredith
2:15 PM
Anonymous said…
That will be one strong stocking to hold Santa's goodies! I've never purposely felted before. As for white and red, I think it may depend upon what red yarn brand you use.
10:54 PM
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