question about felting

[mad cow]

well, I couldn`t resist the (knit) cowboy hat. It`s felted. I`ve never felted before, but I have charged headfirst into getting started. After I finish knitting the hat, I can start felting it. and my question is....to all you knitting mamas....

is felting this hat going to be a really difficult thing????? does anyone have any advice or tricks to share???? Am I wasting my time knitting on this hat and then eventually messing up on the felting and ruining it????

final question....... does all wool yarn felt???? should I have run a test patch first to see if it felts up nicely or is it a given that wool will felt well????

I`m looking forward to your replies!!!!!!!!!!!

[MaggieSqrl]

Hi Sounds like a cute project!

It totally depends on the type of wool you are using. Do you know what brand it is? Where did you buy it? It shouldn't say "superwash" on the label, or be machine washable. It should say "hand wash," but even some of those won't felt. I've been dissapointed before!

You probably have the right kind, but let us know what the label says. A test "felting swatch" is a great idea, but I admit I don't always bother...LOL!

Happy felting!

[MaggieSqrl]

BTW - forgot to add that felting is easy! I use my washing machine. With a hat you just have to definitely keep checking for size, though (unlike, say, maybe a purse or something). Just google machine felting.