Here are my thoughts on my first felting project.
1) I knit like a fiend, hours per night to be able to throw all my hard work in the wash. That may just be a definition of insanity for knitters.
2) I followed the pattern to a T, 85% of the way. The only change I made was to take out 30 rows. Yet it’s still too long!
3) I made a friend insane. I had her count all of my rows, hundreds of them to be sure I was doing this correctly.
4) I washed it a total of 5 times and threw it in the dryer and it still didn’t shrink enough.
5) You can tell what pattern I used, but it doesn’t match the pattern photo (shape wise) as much as I’d like.
6) If I were to cut say 4-6” off and then sew the parts back together it would be an exact match. Yes, I am actually thinking about doing this.
7) If I make this pattern again… I will shorten it by at least 30 rows. Perhaps as Much as 50, in the body length. I will also keep those 30 rows off the top. That’s up to 80 rows shorter. But I won’t change the width at all.
8) I know it doesn’t sound like it at this point but I REALLY did enjoy knitting this. I don’t mind mindless knitting at this point.
9) I’m just a little disappointed in the out come. I expected the perfect bag and it didn’t meet my expectations.
10) Cascade Pastazza felts beautifully and I highly recommend it.
11) The very first wash was nerve racking. A knitting friend of mine had me call her after every wash. She tried to hold my hand via the phone. I think she thought she was suicide prevention.
12) I will felt again!
This is how I shaped the top. Over a dining room chair.
I have yet to take a finished photo of Klepto. I may just use it as my Farmers Market bag. It's certainly big enough.