Might As Well Face It…
I’m addicted to wool. 
I can’t stop FELTING!!! Oh boy, with a new baby on the way my crafting dream to-do list is growing leaps and bounds. There are so many things I want to make for this little girl and now that I have my new serger I am having such a hard time not just sitting behind it all day long.
Here’s my latest recycled wool sweater creation. Little bluebird recycled wool longies size 6-9 months…
On another note, Lucy over at Attic24 has made an amazing advent calendar that is making me wish that it wasn’t already December 12. Maybe next year. Gotta go check it out if you can…love it!
Felted OVEN Mitt
This week I’m sharing a pattern for a pretty nifty oven mitt. And yes, it does “work”! I’ve actually used it for standard baking pans and dishes. However, on some of my stoneware, I either have to work quickly or double-up with another mitt. Those baking stones get way hot!!!
I figured you could put some cute embroidery and such to add a personal touch. Also a simple knitted i-cord for a handy hanging loop would be easy and practical!
If you are new to knitting or rather new to the world of felting, this would be a perfect beginning project.
Here you go…Cheers!
Oven Mitt
Supplies for this project:
250 yards of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride (hold 2 together)
Small amount of contrast color for band, if desired
Size 13, 15, or 16 inch circular needles
Set of double pt. needles in size 11,13,15
Size 10 or smaller circular needle
Marker
Stitch holder
~~~HOLD 2 STRANDS OF YARN TOGETHER~~~~
Using larger circular needle, CO 35 stitches loosely (co 1 extra to join circle) w/ contrast color. Place marker and join circle by purling 1st two stitches together, then purl around. Purl 4 more rounds = total of 5 rounds. Cut yarn.
With spare circular needle, pick up lower loops of the cast on edge. PUT NEEDLE TIP THROUGH THE RIGHT SIDE TO WRONG SIDE TO PICK UP CAST ON STITCHES. Fold the cast on edge up to the inside like a hem. Join main color and work a 3 needle join (just like a 3 needle bind off BUT do not bind off).
Increase round: *Knit 6, inc in next stitch; repeat from * around—40 sts. Knit 18 rounds even.
Thumb Gusset:
Round 1: Knit 2, m 1 (make 1), knit to last 2 sts, m1, k2—42 sts.
Round 2-6: Knit
Round 7: Knit 4, m1, knit to last 4 sts, m1, k4—44 sts.
Round 8-12: Knit
Round 13: Knit 6, m1, knit to last 6 sts, m1, k6—46 sts.
Round 14-15: Knit
Divide for Thumb opening: Knit 1 round, ending 7 sts before marker. Slip the next 7 sts onto a holer, remove marker, and slip the next 7 sts onto the holder—32 sts remain on the needle, 14 sts on the holder. Replace marker and join the remaining 32 sts into round. Knit 10 rounds even.
Shape top:
Round1: *ssk, k12, k2tog; repeat from * once—28 sts.
Round 2-7: Knit
Round 8: *ssk, k10, k2tog; repeat from * once—24 sts.
Round 9: Knit
Round 10: *ssk, k8, k2tog; repeat from * once—20 sts.
Round 11: Knit
Round 12: *ssk, k6, k2tog; repeat from * once—16 sts.
Round 13: *ssk, k4, k2tog; repeat from * once—12 sts.
Round 14: *ssk, k2, ,k2tog; repeat from * once—8 sts.
Round 15: *ssk, k2, k2tog; repeat from * once—4 sts. Cut yarn and draw through all remaining sts. Pull together tightly.
THUMB: Slip the 14 sts from teh holder onto a double point needle. With second dpn, pick up 2 sts from body of mitten. Arrange sts evenly on 3 dpn’s, place marker between the 2 picked up sts fro beginning of round and join 16 sts. (Pick up stitches by putting point of needle from right side to wrong side), have your #1 needle start between the original 2 picked up sts.
Round 1-4: Knit (be sure flat side, knit, is facing you)
Round 5: ssk, knit to last 2 sts, k2tog—14 sts.
Round 6: Knit
Round 7-10: Repeat rounds 5 & 6 two more time—10 sts.
Round 11: * k2tog, repeat from *—5 sts. Cut yarn and draw through all remaining stitches. Pull together tightly and fasten off. Weave in all loose ends.
Felt away in some soapy water, agitated in your washing machine.
This might take a couple of cycles to felt down to the proper size oven mitt.
Phone Home….
Well, my main man recently got a funky but chubby cell phone. He bought a handy-dandy carrying case and broke the connecting belt clip his first day of use! With this being a new, non-standard sized phone there were no other carrying case options at the store. So in pops Chicken Hill to the rescue! I dashed on over to Goodwill and found an 100% wool navy blue sweater for a steal of a price. I also grabbed this super bright orange kid’s corduroy shirt. I ended up cutting a nice sized rectangular piece of wool and washing it in my washer for about 4 cycles to get a good density of felt. Then, with the proper phone measurements, (I made sure the phone was going to have a snug fit, as I was trying to keep it quickly accessible with a simple, drop-in design) I threw some orange corduroy inside for a fun lining.
For the belt handle, I think I double or triple folded the felt and stitched it up separately before attaching it to the main pod. I made sure to triple machine stitch everything to give my phone pouch some longevity, knowing my husband will probably accidentally abuse it.
Check out the final result! Mind you the picture is current…it’s been in actual daily use for about 6 months, not to shabby looking (I love how strong felt is). Like the energizer bunny, “Still going strong”!
more fun with wool
Definitely need more practice, but I had some fun with my new felting tool and made this cell phone holder from pieces of some old sweaters that I felted in my washing machine and then added the tree design with some leftover wool roving from my Lorelei project and the nifty punching tool. I stitched on some wool felt leaves and added the bird charm at the last minute. I had picked him up on sale at Michael’s some time ago and he was just sitting around looking for a place to belong. I think he likes his little tree and he now has a home with one of my dearest friends as this project was a Christmas gift as well.
My old sweater collection has grown a lot as I collect the holey ones from our local Goodwill clearance center. Making wool felt from them is so simple and a lot cheaper than buying it.
