We have a new puppy, a Maremmano Abruzzese boy. He's really lovely but oh, doesn't he have tons of extra energy! He's also a little rascal, doing quite constantly stuff he's not allowed to do - digging and running through the flower bed, eating the flowers, nibbling the carpet, jumping in the bed, stealing yarn and carrying it outside in the flowerbed! A hank of Nero Eco Cashmere had a little trip like this and you can imagine how it looked like - full of white dog hair, slobber, earth and hey seeds, beyond saving I thought. But then I looked at my potholders, which are in dire need of changing - I could use the yarn for felted potholders! I paired the black Eco Cashmere with white to disguise the white dog hair left in the yarn after the desperate cleaning procedure. Wasn't really sure how the yarn would felt but it turned out so pretty and now I don't know if I actually should I thank you Mr. Naughty Puppy as I have quite lovely Cashmere potholders!

If you don't have a dog or a cat who steals and somewhat destroys your yarn, the potholders are a fantastic way to use up all the leftovers you have which aren't enough to knit anything usable. In the picture the larger potholder is before felting and the smaller after. 

Happy knitting, 

Joanna 

FELTED POTHOLDER PATTERN

Size

Before felting app. 22x22 cm/ 8.75x8.75 inches, after felting app. 19x19 cm/ 7.5x7.5 inches

Yarn

40  g of Eco Cashmere (100% Cashmere of which 50% is recycled; 150 m/ 164 yds per 50 g), the sample potholder was knitted with colourways Alta and Nero. 

Gauge 

Gauge is not crucial for this project, mine was 14 sts x 26 rows in garter stitch

Needles 

8.00 mm/ US 11 circular or straight needles

Notions

Darning needle

Instructions

With yarn held doubled, CO 30 sts with long tail cast on.

Row 1: Slip 1 stitch with yarn in front, knit 1, slip one stitch with yarn in front, knit to last 2 stitches, slip 1 stitch with yarn in front, knit 1.

Repeat Row 1 until the potholder is a square or until desired length. Bind off all sts loosely and weave in ends. 

Felting

You can felt the potholder multiple ways - by hand, in the washing machine or in the dryer. 

If felting by hand or in the dryer, wet the potholder throughly with hot water and add generously soap or dish washing liquid and agitate the potholder a bit. If you use the dryer, rinse the potholder, put it in the dryer in a laundry bag with dryer tennis balls  and wet a towel or two, depending on their size, and put them in the dryer too. If you don't have a laundry bag or dryer balls, heavy wet towels will do the trick also. Put the dryer on high setting and let it run (checking the potholder now and then) until the potholder has felted to your liking. 

If you will felt the potholder by hand, it's good to use some rubber gloves to protect your hands. Keep the potholder wet and add soap or dishwashing liquid if necessary and start rubbing, beating, rolling, bashing, agitating etc. the potholder so long that it has felted to the size you want. 

If you use the washing machine, put the potholder in a laundry bag and put some heavy towels to the washing machine with it. Use around 60 C/ 140 F temperature and the highest spin setting your machine has and start the machine. 

When the potholder has been felted, shape it if needed and let dry flat. 

 


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