My First Fulled (felted) Bag: Mag-Knits Sophie purse in Unikat yarn

I never really "got" the whole fulling/felting thing.

Some people say they knitted and felted one item and were absolutely hooked, couldn't stop felting everything they made, or making things that called for felting. The fact that it was becoming the "in" thing to do, bordering on a fad, is what made me hesitate to try a fulled-purse (or anything) pattern. But a friend's cute red bag changed my mind, and I finally gave in.

Well, I have to say I love this bag. And I LOVE the Unikat yarn, both to work with and in terms of the colors they offer. MagKnits' "Sophie" purse pattern is wonderful... chic without being too complicated or overdone.

And in the end, isn't that what chic really means? Some people say, "It's all in the details." And that may be true. But I like to keep details to a minimum and let the design and the yarn speak for themselves.

Here's how it turned out, after felting and blocking (shown, of course, with Maggie, who almost never plays with my yarn while I'm knitting!):



So in the end, I think my opinion on fulling (felting is actually what you do to unspun fibers) is that it's lovely for certain patterns. I can imagine the fulled vest in Sally Melville's Purl Stitch book, for example, would be cozy and would look great on my husband. And who knows, I may come across (or design) another pattern for something that needs to be fulled.

In other words, I like it. Fulling is fun, and the results look great. But I'm not likely to become a fulling fiend, throwing all of my hand knits into the washing machine. Unless I make something with a hideous mistake (like a hole) that needs to be covered up!

My First Fulled (felted) Bag: Mag-Knits Sophie purse in Unikat yarn