Sunday, May 21, 2006

Felt Balls from Yarn Scrap


I have been knitting predominantly with wool and alpaca yarns lately. It occurred to me that I do not have to throw away all those little scraps of yarn because they will felt. So, I started collecting a pile of loose yarn scraps to make into little felt balls. They can become beads, cat toys, or whatever you like.

How to:
Wad-up the scraps of yarn, reserving a few longer strands. Wet the wad down in very warm water, squeezing out some of the water. Use the reserved longer strands of yarn to help firm up and bind the ball together. Pour a little liquid dish soap on your palms and gently begin to rub and roll the ball around in your palms. Keep running the ball under hot water and adding soap as needed. As the ball begins to shrink and get firmer, use a little more pressure as you roll it around in your palms. When the ball seems solid, rinse in cold water to remove any excess soap. Rinse again in vinegar. Squeeze out any excess moisture and set aside to dry. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there.

Loving the cat toy idea.

I'm a fellow Altadena knitter. Saw your wig got boingboinged.

Greetings!

Jodi said...

great idea - thanks for sharing! need to see if I have any wool yarn that would work - I'm guilty of buying and then never doing...ugh!