Felted Hats and Peyote Patterns

Vacation is over, now it is time to focus on some new Peyote Patterns and the hats for Fall/Winter 2013-2014 season!

I love this new pattern for felted hats and you can find it at Fiber Trends, although I must tell you that I had to do some alterations on the pattern to make it fit the adult size. My suggestion at the onset would be to use an 11 needle rather than the 10 ½ and do use the Lamb’s Pride. You might have to do some stretching even still. I like my felted hats felted tight so that you cannot see the stitches so I had to make some adjustments. If you are going to needle felt on it afterwards rather than using buttons/brooches you’ll need to adjust to make it a little larger so you can felt it down enough for the felting needles to go through without getting a lot of breakage.

I am in the process of designing some new Peyote Stitch Patterns so watch for those coming soon. Once I design the pattern I have to make the bracelet so it can be photographed and with each one taking between 6 and 8 hours it takes al little tine to get these on the website.

I had a wonderful reprieve and went to Boston for a bit to spend some time with my eldest daughter, a wonderful woman with a kind and living spirit. Prior to that I had the twins, now 10 for several days and there is no work when they are here! We did manage to make dream boards after watching the movie “The Secret”. I had no idea they were listening but they really picked up a lot.

While I was in Boston and the girls were at the Taylor Swift concert, my daughter and I watched the movie “Silver Linings”. My daughter and I both loved it…check it out if you have not seen it!

I had better get back to work. I have 2 hats drying now and am going to begin the first of the new Peyote Patterns.

Stop by Divella Delights to see all of my hat and jewelry designs!

Enjoy the day!

Felted Patterns Gone Bad

Have you ever purchased a pattern and made it up only to find that the size, despite the gauge being correct was way off?

Now, I can correct most any pattern to make it work but the yarn I waste in the meantime frustrates me because if you knit or crochet you know yarn, especially wool yarn, is not cheap.

Here are some tips on felted patterns. I have come up with these suggestions as a general guide after much frustration.

When you buy a pattern and it calls for worsted weight yarn be very careful to look at the gauge. Even so, I suggest you knit a swatch and felt it to see if you get the correct felted gauge. Worsted weight is so general and can be anywhere from 3-5 stitches an inch...big difference in the finished product. Even if you are using the same yarn they did keep in mind that everyone felts differently depending on the techniques, machine, water temperature, etc...

Here is a pattern I used recently.

It is a beautiful hat but it was supposed to fit a 23 inch head...it is 16.5 inches on the inside! I will have to make major adjustments to this one, not so much in the length because it is not too far off but the circumference is a mile away! That kind of tells me perhaps something is amiss with the pattern but there are no corrections listed.
 
That brings me to another point. If you ever purchase a pattern, look to see if there have been corrections before you begin knitting/crocheting.
When I create a pattern I write it down as I go along. After I am finished I write up the pattern so it makes sense to the community then I make another item following the directions to make certain there are no typos. I have found errors in doing this so I am very happy I included that step.
Be careful when you are making a knit or crochet item to felt that you use the same brand/weight of yarn so they (probably) felt us evenly. Even still, you should do a small swatch to make sure. If you are using different colors you also want to do a sample first to make sure the colors will not run together. I have had very good luck with Cascade 220 & Lamb's Pride by Brown Sheep but Patton seems to bleed more and the color also fades more...for me anyway. If you are making a solid color item this does not matter. I really love the Cascade 220 yarns, they have a wonderful variety of colors and I get very consistent results. If I am making something in winter white or natural I really love the Fisherman’s by Lion Brand. If you have ever tried to felt light colors you know it can be challenging and often by the time you have the correct size there is a lot of distortion. This yarn does not distort and it felts really fast...5 minutes in the washer with hot water and Dawn. Most fibers take about 20 minutes which means setting back the agitation...you cannot felt in a front loader, you have to have an agitator.
For more information on beading, kitting or crochet see my blog at  Divella Delights

Felted Oven Mitts

Although one normally thinks of wool as being used in winter designs such as hats, scarves and mittens this wonderful fiber has summertime uses as well. Because wool is naturally heat resistant, it knits up into a great hot mitt for taking things out of the oven or holding onto a hat pan.


For this one I used Lamb’s Pride Bulky yarn. I love the way Lamb’s Pride felts up, perfect for this project!

Fabulous Crochet and Knit Handbag Patterns

Get your Knitting Needles and Hooks ready!
To my husband and children I am known as the Bag Lady. Every week or so I cruise the Internet trying to find a fabulous bag to admire. I look around a lot and often find myself back on Etsy.
This week I was looking for knitted bag patterns and came across these. What wonderful bags for everyday and she has them in knit and crochet versions!

Whip them up in white, gray or black for a more formal version then embellish to your heart’s content.

Jo, the owner of Little Projects on Etsy has more delightful patterns for bags, hats, shawls and and scarves...go check her out!

I have purchased the knit version and will be back to let you know the experience level later today!

Golden Delicious Wool Hat

Oh so sweet, soft and warm. In the color of Golden Delicious apples this hat is just yummy! It is hand knit and felted to an average size of 21 inches. The beauty of wool is the memory it has. Get it a little damp and you can change the size a touch to fit you just perfectly.

Logan's Hat

A friend of mine at work did this painting and asked if I could put it on a hat.
It was my first try at something like this and I was tempted to say " I can’t" but I decided to give it a try. It did not come out exactly but I am pleased with it.
It was a challenge and a lot of fun so I plan to do some more of this type. Flowers are great and I like doing them but it is time to step out once again from the comfort zone and push myself a little…or a lot.
I used to do Sumi-e painting so I am thinking of doing some on my hats. They will truly be one of a kind pieces of wearable art. I should have some great hats next winter!

Hand-Made Hostess Gift

Hand-Made Hostess Gifts:
Sometimes coming up with an appropriate Hostess Gift is difficult at best. If they drink wine I can make some of those adorable wine glass charms with a theme to match a home or if it is a single woman I can make some sort of jewelry. If however, it is a couple and they don’t drink wine, as is the case with my brother and sister-in-law then those gifts are not appropriate. I wanted to come up with something for the home and I wanted it to be hand-made.
My sister-in-law is big on Victorian so has lots of pinks, creams and such in her décor. I make knitted hats and fulled bags in addition to my jewelry and had recently made a piece of fabric using some wool left-overs to cut flowers out of for my bags. This sparked an idea for the Hostess Gift I wanted to make.
When I got home I went to the yarn store and found some really pretty vintage rose colored wool and knit up a large piece and fulled it. I bought some creamy natural roving (unspun wool) for the needle-felting portion of the project. I thought about putting a little jeweled charm on the corner of each but decided against it because I was afraid it might scratch the wood on the tables. While the large piece was still damp I cut into 4" squares then let it dry completely.
I wanted to make them match but not exactly as is the Victorian era theme so I needle-felted hearts on each one with the cream roving making them each a little different. Then i just tied it up with a pretty satin ribbon...et voila!
I hope you like the outcome.
If you are going to make items such as these remember when you are knitting to allow for shrinkage. Generally speaking you are going to lose about 25%. The formula for that is to divide your finished size by .75. For example I wanted 4" square so I knit the fabric about 10 2/3 X 10 2/3. That gave me enough to get my coasters and trim them square. Or you could knit them at 5 1/3 each. I use a rotary cutter, which was a little pricey. If I did not have one of these I would probably make them one at a time, as scissors don’t really do a very good job.

New! Spring Knit, Felted Clutch

These beautiful bags measure roughly 10"x6"x2" and are felted very thick. First I hand knit them using exquisite woolen fibers then I felt them. After they are dry I add the embellishments.
I make the felted adornments as well and any items with needle felt are also done by yours truly. Naturally I also so all the beading. About the only thing I don’t do is raise the animals and spin the yarn.
This series will be going to the local shop when I get a dozen made. At that point they will no longer be available on line.
I am having a sale on my site at http://www.divelladelights.com/ on selected hats and jewelry so come by for a visit!

Handknit Felted Bag Clearance Sale

All my bags are hand knit using high quality wool then felted. Most are lined but there are few I did not get around to or that did not need it as I felted them 3 times for extra thickness. My hats really took off and are taking over my space so I need to clear out the hand knit felted bags and find them good homes. They start at $10.00 and are not small bags! So some on over to www.divelladelights.com and steal a handknit felted bag!

Hand Crocheted Hats for $8.00

I took some time out to make some crocheted hats as the weather is changing here in New England. In addition to gemstones, knitting and crocheting is an addiction of mine and one that I enjoy very much. Typically I am in my studio upstairs during the day making jewelry. When my husband gets home I sit with him and knit or crochet while we watch our favorite shows and work on our various projects; he with his wood and me with my yarn.
He will occasionally say to me "Can’t you just sit and relax?" My answer is that knitting and crocheting is very relaxing for me. It is very difficult for me to sit and do nothing; I even have a sock bag so I can knit in the car!
I hope you enjoy the hats and other hand knit and crocheted items I offer as an aside to my jewelry. I love making them! The hats like those pictured here sell for $8.00 n my shop so I think they are very reasonable. I also have some felted bags and other fibre goods in my shop. Cruise on by www.divelladelights.com and take a peek!
My favorite yarn store has a huge sale every January so watch periodically for more hand knit and crocheted hats!

Shop closed

Well, I did it, I closed the fiber site. All that is left is 6 or 7 ($5.00) crocheted bracelets and a couple of handbags priced really low. I won't be adding anything to it and when it is empty, that's it. My focus now will be on my gemstone line. Anyone who has marketing ideas or suggestions, PLEASE feel free to leave my some ideas.

Felted handbags and ID Lanyards

This was supposed to be the first bag for my Fall series but it has already sold and not even lined yet. I hope I can figure out how I made it as it came out really cute. My sweetie keeps telling me I have to write down what I do in case I really like it. I guess he is right (shhh). It is made of high quality 100% Peruvian highland wool, hand knit then felted, same with the flower. I am felting them much thicker this year so they keep shape much better. I have also bought some roving to begin some different needle felting designs I have had in my head, they need to get out! I am making ID lanyards for the local VA this week as well so I am keeping very busy and waiting for something to break.

Felted Accessories

Because I love artisans and I love Etsy I am doing a ittle diddy on different artisans I find on www.etsy.com where you can find just about everything you can imagine (and some things you could NEVER imagine). This sweet little felted hair accessory was done by Julie's Creation Nation and can be viewed and/or purchased at juliepersons.etsy.com. She makes a wide variety of felted objects including nursing dolls, hair accessories, tapestires and jewelry. This is no easy task either folks. It requires pain staking (at times literally) repeated poking thousands of times with a special barbed needle and wool. I love felted wool and make handbags and I am just begining to take this on and I can't tell you how many times I have stabbed myself! Julie does beautiful work, check out her shop!