Mello - Heart felt knits: 25 fresh and modern felting projects

I met Tamara eight years ago at a party I was hosting. She was the tiny little bird in the corner sipping champagne (although she hardly looked old enough), laughing, smiling, and just being charming. We had a brief conversation, and I floated off to serve more cocktails and refill the cracker plate. To be quite honest, I assumed she was the young date of a friend, and that I would probably never see her again.

But I did see her again, several months laterthis time for a mini road trip we were taking to go see a mutual friend perform in a play. We hopped in the car, put on our seat belts, and both pulled out our knitting at the same time! I pulled out one of those shape-changing scarves you make when you first start to knit (due to unintentionally dropping and adding stitches every other row), and she pulled out the most stunning cardigan with a shawl collar. I could tell she was a pro, so I took advantage, and during the next few hours, she helped me fix all the mistakes I had made on my sad little scarf. She also revealed herself to be one of the smartest, wittiest, and warmest people I had ever met.

At one point Tamara asked, Do you want to start a knitting club with me? and I was immediately on board. We called some friends that we knew were beginning knitters, and it was on! We named ourselves the Knitwits. We quickly found out that our name wasnt all that original and that other groups in town had cooler names than us (the Shizknits, for example), but we didnt care; we were excited and felt that we were creating something special regardless of the name.

Over the next few years, Tamara and I patiently and proudly taught new members to knit and purl, cable, and yarn over. We inspired each other and learned and improved together, but above allsomething I hadnt expected going inwe created a new family, because we werent just knitting together. We were sharing our lives: our accomplishments, our relationships, our family feuds, and our hopes and dreams.

Would I have had a home to stay in when I was unemployed with nowhere to go? Would I have spent summers in Tamaras backyard picking fresh plums, painting my toenails, and sipping white wine? Would I have been in the delivery room for the birth of Tamara and Paolos beautiful daughter, Olivia? Would I have done any of these things if it werent for knitting?

Ill never know. But what I do know is that what seemed like a hobby turned out to be much, much more. Knitting is a lifestyle. A community. A group of people who take pride and comfort in creating one little stitch and turning it into something beautiful. Knitting taught me that taking the time to nurture something and make it your own, and ask for help from friends along the way, is what life is all about. And for that, I have Tamara Mello to thank.

Christina Hendricks

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I grew up in a home where we made stuff. Rainy days meant homemade play dough we could mold, bake in the oven, and paint. My mom was always whipping up elaborately themed birthday parties and gorgeous Halloween costumes fashioned from tulle and tinfoil. My father could build anything. He once made me the worlds greatest dollhouse and decorated each room with different wallpaper and carpet. I learned recently that one of my great-grandmothers and her sisters were wool weavers. I suppose my penchant for creating is in the blood.

Working as an actor, as I have for over a decade, one of the first things you learn is that there is a lot of downtime. A lot. As it turned out, the endless hours between takes and before auditions ultimately led me to crafting. While I was working on the show Popular, my amazing costume designer, Lou Eyrich, taught me the basics of knitting. Once I learned how to knit, I became obsessed, knitting in my trailer, on set, in line at the grocery store, in my car at red lights (not recommended)anytime I had an extra moment. Knitting was a satisfying way to fill the downtime, and I began to shift more and more focus onto what I was creating with my hands between the duties of my day job.

I quickly learned or taught myself most of the techniques involved in knitting. I admit that felting came a bit later. For a while, my only association with felting was fuzzy, misshapen handbags that did not appeal to me. Then one day, I accidentally washed a little wool hat that I had knit for my daughter, and out of the dryer popped the cutest little felted wool bowl Id ever seen. And thats all it took. I went into a frenzy, knitting various giant things and then felting them to see what they would become. Many of these early experiments were horrible disasters. But a select few came out well and became the foundation for Blackbird Design House, my online shop.

There are different types of felting techniques. For this book, I focus on the technique of traditional wet felting, which involves knitting with wool yarn to create different shapes and textures and then turning the knitted wool into a felted fabric. Wet felting is an ancient textile process that involves transforming knitted wool into a dense cloth by bonding and shrinking the fibers together using hot water and agitation. Wet felting is by no means an exact science and a lot of experimentation went into developing the patterns for this book. But unpredictability is part of the fun of felting. I also love the idea of using a centuries-old technique to create something that is both modern and timeless.

Felted wool is very dense and water resistant. It is also, amazingly, fire retardant and if protected from moths, virtually indestructible. This makes it the perfect material from which to create something that can be passed down from generation to generation. And because wool is a perfectly renewable, sustainable resource, the practice of knitting and felting is also incredibly eco-friendly. Felting by hand uses very little water and zero electricity yet creates something that can last a lifetime or more. Although felting by machine uses electricity and a bit more water, it results in a lasting and sustainable heirloom. I explain both hand felting and machine felting in the Felting 101 section; use the technique that works best for you.

The patterns in this book are fairly simple and are written for people with a working knowledge of knitting techniques and terminology. Many of my patterns begin with a simple circle base that is bound off to create a structure for the sides of the piece. Ive found that this leads to cleaner lines and an overall sturdier design. Ive included at the front of the book a handy Abbreviations guide to help you with the various abbreviations found within each pattern. Ive also included a section on Techniques with how-to photos and a helpful Tips, Tools, and Troubleshooting guide just in case you get stuck.

In the following pages, you will find projects that are both practical and whimsical. I hope you find inspiration here and use this book as a jumping-off point to create your own unique pieces. Many of my designs started off as mistakes, which turned into ideas, which turned into something not even remotely resembling what Id originally intended. Thats what I love most about the felting process: It is all about transformation. And really, isnt everything?