We all know what felting is.. taking an item made from wool, or another pure animal hair fiber (most of them felt) and throwing it in the washer and shrinking it up.. ON PURPOSE.. this sometimes of course happens by accident when the unobservant throws a wool sweater in the wash and shrinks it down a size that might fit your toddler but is too stiff to be worn!
I love how Gina Wilde, the author of Shibori Knits: The Art of Exquisite Felted Knits
The idea for this book came about when a ‘happy accident’ befell the author. She accidentally felted her daughter’s hand warmers which were made mainly of a silk merino blend (feltable) and a silk yarn cuff.. the result was a felted hand part and a nicely ruffled un-felted cuff!
Shibori Knits takes you through the process of basic shibori, an art form that came out of Japan. Basically it is knitting pieces out of a feltable yarn and then using objects such as marbles and wrapping your finished piece around these things securing them in place and then felting away! The results are spectacular!
Then the author moves beyond basic technique and mixes feltable and un-feltable fibers together in the same piece. Sometimes for decoration, sometimes for shaping.
I sure wish I had a. been knitting and b. had this book when my kids were born.. I would have had one of these:
This is a wonderful primer on the art of shibori, chock full of tips and tricks that any knitter can use! And even if you are not a needle knitter, I would highly recommend getting a hold of this book as an inspiration! Pick it up at the library or see if you can borrow it from a knitting buddy if needle knits aren’t your ‘sport’ though .. I will warn you, you will probably end up wanting a copy for yourself!
On another note: I just bought my first Japanese knitting book.. (notice how I say first?) I will tell you all about it next week with some tips on how to use Japanese knitting books, since it looks like I have some learning to do too!
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