Felting always has a bit of a magical element to it. Sometimes your felting project will look downright ugly before it's felted, but after a little time in some hot, soapy water something completely different comes out.
Nicky Epstein takes this magical aspect of felting to a whole new level in her book Knitting Never Felt Better. This gorgeous book contains tons of ideas and a handful of patterns to get you thinking about felting in a whole new way.
A Bevy of Felted Swatches
As we've come to expect form Nicky Epstein, Knitting Never Felt Better features tons of different swatches that show you what just about any kind of knitting looks like felted.
Most people only think about felting plain knitting, but Epstein thinks way outside the box and shows us what it looks like to felt lace, colorwork patterns, textured stitches, cables and more. You'll be surprised at how the look of different patterns changes when you felt them, and how well some patterns hold up when felted.
Beyond felting different knitting patterns, the book also suggests ways to add texture and interest to "regular" knitting by pleating the knitting with binder clips, tying it together with rubber bands or even tying in unshrinkable objects like marbles or pecans to add bumpy, unfelted texture to a mostly felted object.
This book will get you thinking about felting things you never would have considered before, in ways you might never have imagined. You'll start looking around your house thinking, "I wonder if I could felt with that?"
Patterns
In addition to all the before-and-after swatches, this book also includes patterns for a hat, a needle holder, a few different wraps and scarves, holiday trees with puffball decorations, a couple of felted bags, felted flowers and an amazing felted floral coat.
There's a bunch of felted vegetables, a bowl and some cute toys made from a felted sweater and using a purchased pattern.
Most of the patterns are not for new knitters, but they are lovely to look at and inspiring for knitters of all skill levels.
She also throws in some ideas for knitting simple swatches and then cutting out shapes rather than knitting a complex shape and then felting it. This is a nice way for new knitters to show off their felting skills.
The bottom line is that this is a beautiful book that is full of inspiring ideas and beautiful photographs. If you've been ho-hum about felting so far, you'll have a new appreciation for it after looking at this book.
Publication date: June 2007.
