Written in 2010... The knitting of the Shrek slippers was duly completed. Check.
Photo of said slippers; prefelting, was taken. Check.
Preparations for the felting sequence were initiated with great anticipation. Check.
However ... Pat and I were dubious about the size of the things ... they were simply massive! Some seeds of doubt wormed their way under my skin but I chose to ignore them ... for the time being.
We then prepared to have fun felting the clogs in the washing machine and the process of timing, agitating and checking repeatedly ensued. As it transpired, this proved to be a trifle challenging because it was so cold that night that the heat pump hot water cylinder struggled to make the water hot enough to do the job. Subsequently, after half an hour the expected felting process hadn't even been initiated and the clogs didn't seem at all keen to transform themselves into anything resembling potential feet warmer uppers!
Not one to be beaten by something as simple as a lack of hot water, Pat's 'Make it Work' gene kicked into action and a continuous round of kettle boiling and transferring said boiling water to the washing machine began. Another half an hour elapsed. Some felting was becoming evident but not enough for our liking - those clogs were still mighty huge! Admitting defeat we moved on to Plan B and shifted the entire operation to the kitchen. The stock pot was unearthed and filled with water and whilst we waited for it to boil we prepared a bucket of super cold water.
Pat attacked the clogs with some soap and then we plunged them alternatively into the boiling water then the cold water, before repeating the process quite a few more times. Felting magic finally became apparent and the clogs got smaller and more dense but it was hard going to say the least. Once the clogs had shrunk as much as it seemed they were going to we reassessed the situation, came to a consensus. The seeds of doubt had sprouted, grown and bloomed. We agreed the problem was two fold. I had over estimated both the length and width of Pat's feet so those clogs were never going to shrink enough to fit. GAAAARG! It seemed as if it was time to go back to the drawing board... and also to try to find someone who had feet of truly monumental proportions!
I cast on for my second attempt; this time in a smaller size, and got knitting. Once they were ready to felt we decided not to bother with the machine and went straight to the kitchen to begin the boiling / cold water treatment. With baited breath and much anticipation we did a great job of imitating the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth - Double, double toil and trouble ... We slaved over the boiling cauldron .... oh yeah - pot, muttering and with; in my case anyway, the occasional manic cackle erupting in what seemed to me to be an entirely appropriate manner.
Hmm, ok .... no felting action!! What the heck ???
Pat asked if the wool had been preshrunk and I assured him that this yarn is sold specifically as being excellent for felting - but I had to admit I was beginning to wonder. We finally got them to shrink a bit but they were still way too big and Pat threw in the towel - or perhaps that should be the clog ... and resigned himself to having cold feet.
I took a few days to ponder and ruminate and then decided that there was no way I was going to let something as simple as a pair of knitted clogs defeat me. I was going to make those bastards shrink if it was the last thing I did.
I had a load of towels waiting to wash so I decided I'd chuck the slippers in with them on a hot wash and simply keep repeating the wash cycle until I got the results I required. SCORE! Finally I got the clogs close to what looked like the right size - after 1.5 hours of hot washing. Leaving them to cool so that Pat could try them on I finished the wash and discovered the towels were really, really clean hehe. After a fitting session we decided the clogs were almost right and I waited until I had another load of towels to wash before I started what I hoped would be the last felting session. One more 1.5 hour session of washing did the job and the clogs finally fit. Oh JOY success at LAST!
Now, I have a question .... Riddle me this ...
How come when one accidentally puts a woolen jersey in with the normal wash it comes out looking like an elf's jersey after one wash yet after hours, nay days of abuse, these clogs only very grudgingly decided to felt ????
Photo of said slippers; prefelting, was taken. Check.
Preparations for the felting sequence were initiated with great anticipation. Check.
However ... Pat and I were dubious about the size of the things ... they were simply massive! Some seeds of doubt wormed their way under my skin but I chose to ignore them ... for the time being.
We then prepared to have fun felting the clogs in the washing machine and the process of timing, agitating and checking repeatedly ensued. As it transpired, this proved to be a trifle challenging because it was so cold that night that the heat pump hot water cylinder struggled to make the water hot enough to do the job. Subsequently, after half an hour the expected felting process hadn't even been initiated and the clogs didn't seem at all keen to transform themselves into anything resembling potential feet warmer uppers!
Not one to be beaten by something as simple as a lack of hot water, Pat's 'Make it Work' gene kicked into action and a continuous round of kettle boiling and transferring said boiling water to the washing machine began. Another half an hour elapsed. Some felting was becoming evident but not enough for our liking - those clogs were still mighty huge! Admitting defeat we moved on to Plan B and shifted the entire operation to the kitchen. The stock pot was unearthed and filled with water and whilst we waited for it to boil we prepared a bucket of super cold water.
Pat attacked the clogs with some soap and then we plunged them alternatively into the boiling water then the cold water, before repeating the process quite a few more times. Felting magic finally became apparent and the clogs got smaller and more dense but it was hard going to say the least. Once the clogs had shrunk as much as it seemed they were going to we reassessed the situation, came to a consensus. The seeds of doubt had sprouted, grown and bloomed. We agreed the problem was two fold. I had over estimated both the length and width of Pat's feet so those clogs were never going to shrink enough to fit. GAAAARG! It seemed as if it was time to go back to the drawing board... and also to try to find someone who had feet of truly monumental proportions!I cast on for my second attempt; this time in a smaller size, and got knitting. Once they were ready to felt we decided not to bother with the machine and went straight to the kitchen to begin the boiling / cold water treatment. With baited breath and much anticipation we did a great job of imitating the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth - Double, double toil and trouble ... We slaved over the boiling cauldron .... oh yeah - pot, muttering and with; in my case anyway, the occasional manic cackle erupting in what seemed to me to be an entirely appropriate manner.
Hmm, ok .... no felting action!! What the heck ???
Pat asked if the wool had been preshrunk and I assured him that this yarn is sold specifically as being excellent for felting - but I had to admit I was beginning to wonder. We finally got them to shrink a bit but they were still way too big and Pat threw in the towel - or perhaps that should be the clog ... and resigned himself to having cold feet.
I took a few days to ponder and ruminate and then decided that there was no way I was going to let something as simple as a pair of knitted clogs defeat me. I was going to make those bastards shrink if it was the last thing I did.
I had a load of towels waiting to wash so I decided I'd chuck the slippers in with them on a hot wash and simply keep repeating the wash cycle until I got the results I required. SCORE! Finally I got the clogs close to what looked like the right size - after 1.5 hours of hot washing. Leaving them to cool so that Pat could try them on I finished the wash and discovered the towels were really, really clean hehe. After a fitting session we decided the clogs were almost right and I waited until I had another load of towels to wash before I started what I hoped would be the last felting session. One more 1.5 hour session of washing did the job and the clogs finally fit. Oh JOY success at LAST!Now, I have a question .... Riddle me this ...
How come when one accidentally puts a woolen jersey in with the normal wash it comes out looking like an elf's jersey after one wash yet after hours, nay days of abuse, these clogs only very grudgingly decided to felt ????
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