Recycled Sweater Purse

Awhile ago someone gave me a sweater, that someone had given them, that.....  

I liked the color, but it was just kinda shapeless, so I decided to give it a new life.  The sweater was 100% wool, which is great for making into felt.  (You probably don't want to felt anything that is less than 90% wool.)  After looking for some  felting ideas I decided that I wanted to make a purse with bobbles on it.  I wasn't sure how to make the handles- I thought I could maybe use some leather handles off a used purse for a more professional look, but I didn't have any old purses laying around, so I decided to just start the project and see what happened.  

First I laid out the sweater and got a feel for how I wanted to shape the bag.  I decided to have the bottom ribbing as the top of the bag, and to leave the sweater side seams as the sides of the bag.

For the bottom of the bag I cut the angle by the armpit area and then across. 

First I sewed the long bottom seam and then I sewed the angular portions the other way (at a T to the first seam) to make a flat bottom to the purse. I was a little worried because the seam was a little wavy as the sweater stretched slightly when I stitched it, but it all pulled together tight  in the felting process.

Next I got my glass pebbles and rubber bands ready.  I bought the glass pebbles where they sell fish tank supplies.   I found the  rubber bands in my daughters hair supplies.   

Next I took the pebbles and spaced them apart across the purse on both sides.  Each side ended up having three rows- 2 rows with 5 pebbles and 1 row with 4 pebbles. 

The cut of the sweater was such that the top of the purse felt much too open, so I stitched a seam curving in on the upper corners and cut off the extra.  

Then I took one of the sweater arms and cut out two strips each approximately 4 inches wide.  The sweater was already slightly pre-felted, so I didn't have to worry about the edges fraying.  I tied the cuff's together and sewed the ends into the sides of the purse.  

Next came the felting.  I filled up the washing machine with hot water and a few drops of dishwashing soap.  Then I let it agitate for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes.  I checked on it every 10 minutes or so to set the washing machine dial back so the water wouldn't drain and also to make sure none of the pebbles fell out.  I had two pebbles that fell out.  One I found early and was able to replace it again, the other one was along the edge and I didn't notice until it was too felted to re-insert it.  

After the purse was tightly felted I rinced it out in cold water, spun it out in the washing machine,  and streatched it over a cake pan while it dried to give it a bit of shape.  

I decided that the ribbing was still to big for the opening of the purse, so I hand stitched in two rows of thin elastic.  That was really an improvement- it stretches open when you reach in for something and then it pops back closed. Later I colored the elastic with green permanent marker to make it blend in better.  I also cut the rubber bands and removed the pebbles.  You can see above that there is just a tiny hole visible on the backside where they were.  

You can see here that the bobbles didn't felt like the rest of the sweater as they were stretched tight, so there is some interesting textures.  

This project was one of the fastest, easiest, and fun projects that I have done recently.  I think it took me less than two hours to complete it, and I've already gotten lots of use out of it!  If I can find a good deal on more old wool sweaters sometime I think it would be fun to make some for gifts.

Nuno Felting a Scarf

If you've never heard of nuno felting, it is basically taking a cloth, such as a silk scarf, and adding a thin layer of wool, then slowly working them together until the wool fibers work their way down through the cloth, making it gather up tightly as the wool felts tighter together.  This is the first time I have ever attempted nuno felting- I decided to try it after reading a book called Uniquely Felt by Christine White.

To get started I gathered up a piece of bubble wrap (2ft x 6ft), a piece of plastic (2ft x 6ft), an old sheer curtain, a pool noodle, a teapot, some rubber gloves, and some warm soapy water (dish soap). Also don't forget the 15 x72 inch silk scarf and 1 ounce of fine merino wool.

First I laid down the bubble wrap, then the plastic, and then the scarf.  

Then I measured off 1 ounce of fine Merino wool from my stash. You want to use a wool that will felt easily.  The last cobweb scarf I made was with Romney wool, which still felts, but with much more effort involved.  

I took the wool and carefully spread it out on-top of the scarf in the thinnest layer I could get without any open areas.  Apparently the less wool you put on the more the silk will gather up.  I also didn't want a heavy scarf.  

I would have preferred to work with colorful wool and silk, but white was all I could come up with. I did order some dyes, but it looks like you have to have good ventilation to use them and it is still a little cold outside, so..... maybe next time!  

After laying out the wool in a very fine layer, I covered it with a old sheer curtain cut to size.  Then I took a squeeze bottle with warm soapy water and let the water run over the back of my hand onto the fibers carefully, so as to not disturb the layout of the wool. 

After the wool and scarf were fully saturated I rolled it all up around a pool noodle cut to size and tied it shut with some knee high nylons.  Then I rolled it back and forth for about 5 minutes, unrolled it, rolled it up from the other end, and rolled it for 5 more minutes. 

At this point the wool was just starting to felt together.  It was also starting to work it's way through the scarf, but also starting to work it's way through the curtain, so I carefully peeled off the curtain.  

I gently tucked the ragged edges under so make a smooth edge and then covered it back up with the curtain and rolled it back up again. 

This time I rolled it back and forth for 20 minutes, unrolled it and rolled it up from the other end, and then rolled it for 20 more minutes. Some good upbeat music was helpful with this part :)

Then I unrolled it and gently felted it by hand until I was sure that it was really stuck together.  I didn't take many pictures at this point cause my hands were really wet and soapy, but I started out gentle, and continued working with it harder and harder until it was really shrinking good.  I had to spend extra time on the 4 corners for them to shrink the same amount as the rest of the scarf so the end of the scarf didn't look like a B (it shrinks more in the middle by nature). 

One of the last hardening techniques I did was pouring nearly boiling water on it and slamming it down into the table over and over again.  A great way to relieve all that built up tension in your shoulders!  

I was surprised by how much it shrunk!  Its about half as long as when I started!  

I decided to fold it in half and sew on a button. I made the button it a pottery class a few years ago.  I've been wearing the scarf with my V-neck coat. 

Here you can see how the wool worked its way through the scarf.  This would be the back side of the scarf- now the right side as it is the most textured side. If I make a scarf like this again, I think I will sew two of the silk scarves together so it is longer when finished- and use color! 

Felted Cobweb Wool Scarf

I've been reading all kinds of fiber arts books this winter.  I've read several on felting.  My favorite so far is Uniquely Felt by Christine White.  In that book there are instructions for felting a cobweb scarf.  Cobweb is a very fine see-thru felt.  I decided to give it a shot even though it said that it was an advanced technique.  I didn't follow the instructions completely... here's how it turned out. 

I started with washed Romney wool that I had dyed with vegetable matter.  I honestly can't remember what I dyed it with... that was a LONG time ago!! Possibly with the Weld plant. 

I had 2.5 ounces of wool. I didn't card it, but left it in lock form.  

First I laid down some bubble wrap and then covered it with plastic.  Then I measured out the dimensions I wanted on the plastic.  The dimensions for the scarf were 15 inches wide and 9 feet long.  Felt shrinks a lot so it turns out a lot smaller than that.  

Then I carefully laid out the locks of wool very thinly.  This takes a long time.  It's good to have some hot coffee in your favorite mug.  :)

This is how thinly the wool was laid out. 

Then I covered the wool with some fine tule fabric.

The solution in the spray bottle was homemade olive oil soap dissolved in hot water.  

The kids helped with this part :) 

Then I took off the tule and put on some 2 mil plastic.

The next step was using a sander (without the sandpaper) to start felting the fibers together.  This process took over an hour.  I'd definitely recommend ear protection!

The next step was felting by hand.  This is where things kinda started falling apart.  I probably didn't get it pre-felted enough with the sander.  Nevertheless, the kids had fun helping me rub the wool in soapy warm water.  

We felted the wool by hand for probably another hour and then gave it a good rinse and ironed it out.  

Wow- that's a little more see-thru than I had originally envisioned!  

Is it garbage or art????????  

Ah, what the heck, I'll go with art!!

I like the color- a little wild!

Here's the close-up texture.

I've actually worn it several times already, so I guess it turned out alright. :)

Felted Purse

Out of all my projects so far, this is probably the one that gets used the most often. I use this purse a lot- especially when I feel like showing off my creative side :)  

I dyed the wool for this project at the same time that I dyed the wool for my 2 sock projects which you will see further on down my blog.  

I hand spun the yarn and then crochet it into an open box shape (I don't do patterns!!!).  

I then threw it into the washing machine to felt.  

Afterwards I added a flower and and a button which I made in a pottery class I took. 

 I did purchase the handles for this one!

Before Felting (above)

After Felting- I didn't add the flower until after the felting.  

Oh! I also won Grand Prize on this purse at the county fair this summer :)