Bingo wings buster...

 I won't lie, there are times when I sit in my running gear, hook in hand and end up crocheting for an hour instead of going out exercising. Not particularly helpful for burning off mince pies... Now I am pleased to tell you that I have found a way of combining crochet with exercise!! Hand-felting crochet will have you breaking into a sweat and tone up your arms in the process.



Before felting...

I have recently felted the Herdy Wool granny squares I have been making. Herdy Wool is chunky and a 6.5mm hook is recommended. I used a 5.5mm hook as I wanted a firm felt without many gaps. It felts wonderfully.

Hand felting is a simple process and I chose hand felting as opposed to machine felting as I wanted control of the finish. I used Ecover washing up liquid as this is what I had to hand, and you need a supply of water as hot as your hands can tolerate.

I filled a washing up bowl with hot water and worked the washing up liquid into the crochet until it was in a lather. Now this is where the exercise comes in... once the lathered up crochet is in the hot water, vigorously rub the crochet between your hands. You can also make use of the bottom of the washing up bowl and rub the crochet on the bottom of the bowl as well. Keep topping up the hot water and soap. Every now and then I put the crochet under running cold water to shock the fibres and then re-lathered and placed back in the hot water.

 

It is now time to have a breather and a cup of tea.... and maybe a chocolate biscuit to help keep up your energy...

 

The more times you repeat the cold water/hot water process, the thicker the felt will be. Make sure to vigorously rub the joins of the granny squares to felt them together, as this will make your felt sturdy. It is a slow process and an energetic one, but it will allow you to keep some stitch definition, which is the look I was going for.

 

Once you are happy with the results, rinse the crochet well. Any soap residue left in the wool will weaken the fibres over time, so make sure you squeeze and rinse thoroughly. Roll the crochet in a towel to squeeze out excess water. I pulled the crochet back into a square shape whilst it was damp with my hands, and left it to dry lying on a towel. You could re-shape using pins and then leave to dry on a towel.

 

I made the felted crochet into a cushion cover and left the back un-felted, to contrast with the front. For the first time, I put a zip fastening in. This felted cushion is so soft and cosy and I love the colours... It was a lot of work to produce, but there is no doubt that this cushion cover will stand the test of time.


 

See the Avoca throw... lets just say there was a chilli spill near white sofa incident... hubby now sits on the throw and we only eat at the dining table!

So  here is my first piece of felted crochet... Herdy Wool would be fantastic for making a felted rug as it produces a lovely thick, warm felt and it is something I would love to make in the future for our bedroom. This cushion cover used £40 worth of yarn; it has made a such a beautiful homemade cushion and once I have recovered from the hand-felting process, I would like to make another!

Can I just also say "thank you" to Gwendolyn who left a super lovely comment on my blog, but is a no reply commenter. Gwendolyn, you brightened up my day x