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I posted this in another forum, but I'd like to ask all you fellow knitters here for input as well.
I have a kitty perch in one of my windows, that my kitties love. They lie on it and sun, or watch the birds outside.
The problem is that they've used it so much that it's misshapen, and covered with hair. This quite ugly, and I want to knit a new cover for it. The problem is that I'm not that good at improvising. I've always been the kind, who had to have a pattern written out to follow. Someone on the other knitting forum suggested knitting a rectangle, and felting it. Then I could just slip it over like a pillow case. I've never felted, so I'm not familiar with it. Would the finished product be stretchy, or would I need to knit the exact size?
Anyway, here's the perch. Please, ignore the snotty nose prints left on the window by my curious felines. No matter how often I try to clean it, they always seem to be there. lol
I've never felted but I'm pretty sure the process makes the piece shrink and be less stretchy than it was before it was felted. So you should probably experiment once with a smaller piece to see how much it shrinks, then use that to figure out how big you should make your final one.
Hi,
Actually felting is what happens to woven fabric, what you would be doing is called fulling. You have to use wool of certain types to get the fulled effect, and different wool (different sheep breeds) full more or less. also how the wool was process and spun into yarn affects the fulling process. some yarns that full well are 100% Shetland (Jamieson; Jamieson & Smith) but it's pricey; Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride (actually 85% wool and 15% mohair), and some others I can't think of right now. Cotton, acrylic, most acrylic blends, polyester, etc. will not full. Also, fulling will depend upon the temperature of your water in your washer (hotter = more shrinkage) and the length of time you leave the thing in the hot water and the roughness of the agitiation (rougher = more shrinkage).
But-- instead of fulling, you could double-knit (check a knitting book like one of the Elizabeth Zimmerman books or another resource) or use a sport-weight yarn and small (say size 3) needles. Get your final measurements, knit a swatch that's at least 30 stitches and knit for about 4 or 5 inches, bind off, pin to a board, and measure your gauge. Your gauge will tell you how many stitches to cast on. Or your could go for some type of faux fur yarn, again I'd recommend a somewhat tight gauge, and follow through.
There are some really good knitting forums on the web- knitty.com, knittersreview.com, and more. you can learn tons there about fulling and patterns and gauges and more.
Jdee, I wouldn't felt your knitting since it needs to be wool. Knit it in something very cleanable. YOu might want to knit a few samples of different yarns and put them on the perch to see how easy they are to clean. I find there are some things that seem to attract cat hair and it almost seems impossible to get the hair out. I saw some really large skeins of acrylic yarn at Walmart and I think they were under $4.00.
I assume you will knit a rectangle and sew up the end and side seams? I would think all you need is to know the gauge of the width of your knitting. Figure out how many stitches are in an inch and then figure out how many stitches you need for the dimensions. As you knit, you can check to see if it's long enough. I would make it bigger than you want it and maybe safety pin it closed and underneath the perch. If it ends up being too wide you can always make a deeper seam allowance. It will be on the inside so it won't show.
I have lots of acrylic yarn, saved up from when they put Red Heart on sale at Hobby Lobby, and at Walmart. I also have some Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. Hobby Lobby had them for 99 cents a skein a couple of weeks ago, and I stocked up. Both of these yarns are durable, and washable. I decided not to felt, since I wouldn't be able to toss a wool cover in the washer when it got hairy again.
No. The closest one is in Sherman. My husband and I go over there when we just want to get out of town, and I always want to shop there. That's why I have to stock up on things when they go on sale.
