Friday Fiber Fun

At the beginning of this week, I intended to post something every day. It's something I do occasionally, and I thought it would be fun for the first full week of the new year. Yesterday, though, I just couldn't. While I was not completely surprised by what I saw happening at the Capitol on Wednesday, I was still completely disturbed by it, and I hope it truly shocked some Americans who didn't see it coming.

After taking a day to reflect on it, I have decided that a little thing I can do in the face of such outrage is just continue to live my life, fully and unapologetically, and to find joy and pleasure where I can. Obviously, if you're reading this blog, then you know that my fiber pursuits bring me a lot of joy. So I thought I'd do a special Friday post about some fiber fun, something I may do from time to time in the future.

 
Today I want to share how I felt in the dryer -- well, technically, I'm fulling in the dryer (felting is done with fibers, fulling with fabric), but most people don't know the difference. This is the final step in finishing the two pairs of Snow Day Mittens I've knit in the past month or so. Many people do this process in the washing machine, but there are a number of reasons why you might want to do it in a dryer:

• You have a front-loading washing machine. Felting/fulling isn't an exact science, so often you have to stop the cycle and check your item's progress. That's something easily done with a top-loading machine, but most front loaders have a lock to prevent you from opening the door mid-cycle, and even if you can pause the cycle, that usually means draining the water and then restarting, which totally defeats the purpose of using less water with a front loader. By doing it in the dryer, you can stop the machine as often as you like without a risk of flooding and without having to wait for a cycle to finish.
  
• You don't want to clog up your pipes. One bit of advice that's often given about fulling or felting in the washer is to put your item into a pillowcase or other bag to catch all the fuzz that comes off of it as it's being washed. That fuzz can easily clog your pipes. But when you felt/full in the dryer, it all goes into your lint trap and can easily be removed -- and the whole project is much less messy as a result.
  
• You want to save water. While some never washing machines do have settings for small loads, many use the same amount of water no matter how much or how little is being washed. If you're washing in hot water, you typically don't want much else in the washer just in case you have issues with dye bleeding. To full an item in the dryer, you just need to make sure that the item itself is good and wet, which you can do in a small dishpan or the sink with a small amount of water. And if one cycle isn't enough, you can just get the item wet again and put it in for another cycle.
• You don't want your item to get permanently creased. Many washing machines rely on a strong spin cycle to get water out of the items being washed. That's great on the one hand because it means a shorter drying time, but if you're fulling something, that force can also sometimes cause the item to get a crease in them that can be difficult to get rid of. In contrast, the spin of the dryer is much gentler.
  

So, assuming you're going to try it, how do you do it? The good news is that it's simple enough that a child can do it (and you might want your kid to help you because it'll be an interesting and educational experience about why you should never put handknits in the dryer unless you're absolutely certain they're superwash!). First, get your item or items good and wet. I use a small dishpan that's kept on one side of our utility sink and is usually used for washing fleece.

You don't have to let the items soak for too long -- just squish them in the water until you can see that the fabric is soaked through. Next, squeeze out the excess (they should be wet, but they don't need to be dripping) and toss them in the dryer along with something for agitation. If you're worried about dye bleeding at all, make sure you're not putting in anything that could get stained or ruined. I tossed my mittens in with some old towels I use for blocking that are already stained and that I'd just washed so that I was doing double duty with my dryer cycle. I also added some dryer balls for additional agitation.

I ended up having to run my dryer through two cycles to get the level of fulling I wanted in my mittens. If you have to do this, I recommend that when you wet your knit items again, you also empty your lint trap, particularly if you have other items in the load -- you'll be surprised by just how much fuzz is in there! When you knit items are fulled to your satisfaction, take them out and lay them out to dry, taking a moment to shape them or stretch them if you need to. It's okay if they're still quite wet at this point. I like to set mine on the top of the radiator to dry in the winter.

All knit items have a point at which they will not full anymore, and sometimes you'll never get to the point where all stitch definition is lost. And while fulling is a one-way street, if at a later point you decide that you'd like to full your item some more, you can repeat the process (though be aware that it might not make much of a difference). Once you've reached that end point, you can safely toss your item in with your laundry and wash and dry as usual, if you like, and just like any knit item, if it fuzzes up, you can use a shaver or Gleener to tidy it up.

So that's it! This process takes some time, but it's largely hands off. I'll also note that while this process is usually done with items that are knit with the intention to be fulled/felted, it can be done just as easily with, say, a thrift-store sweater you want to cut up and sew with or some other knit item that has outlived its first use and is now being repurposed as a hot pad or dusting rag.