Friday, September 14, 2012

Fiber Arts Friday: Shaving my Woolens

It's no secret that I like to make hats.  One look at my Ravelry project page reinforces that assertion.  But of all those hats I've made, only one is mine.

I wear it a lot during the spring and fall.  It's not really warm enough to wear in the heart of winter.

It was very enjoyable to make... a loosely spun merino single... very squooshy and I love the color, but it had become very pilly.


I started plucking it, but then I decided to try shaving it.


Which worked much better.

How do you keep your woolens looking polished?

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.
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16 comments:

  1. Claire DavenportSeptember 14, 2012 at 8:21 AM

    *Looks down at favourite (slightly bobbly) jumper* I had never thought of shaving woollens! *reaches for razor*

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  2. CarolSeptember 14, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    Brookstone makes a wool shaver that is great. I use it on a number of my wool sweaters,

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  3. Paula @ KnitandSeekSeptember 14, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    My mind is boggled. I had no ide you could do that. Cool!

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  4. AllyBSeptember 14, 2012 at 10:09 AM

    Wow, you got a great result. That's a cute hat. Have a great weekend! I hope it's still raining there.

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  5. Voie de VieSeptember 14, 2012 at 10:22 AM

    I would not have thought of the shaver either ... but of course, it's pretty much the same principle as "knit" shavers. It looks like a whole new hat!

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  6. VivianSeptember 14, 2012 at 12:19 PM

    I would've never thought of using a razor to shave woolen, I'd be too afraid of, what, tearing it apart? Come think of it, I'm not sure what I do with my sweaters. Sometimes I pick the little balls off, and they end up all over the house.

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  7. AmandaSeptember 14, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    I use a little fabric shaver that I bought in the laundry section of Target. Works like a charm on all sorts of fabrics not just handknits.

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  8. MarmePurlSeptember 14, 2012 at 3:07 PM

    Wow...what a difference a little shave makes. (if only, only, only I could convince all 3 of my 20something year old sons that a shave sure does look a whole lot better!)

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  9. Kathryn RaySeptember 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM

    Oh my gosh, you guys are making me laugh. I figured you all would be like , "Yea, we know that." ;-)

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  10. Ginx CraftSeptember 14, 2012 at 5:09 PM

    Didn't know that you could shave wool. Very interesting.

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  11. Cathy JohnsonSeptember 14, 2012 at 6:19 PM

    I never knew you could shave your woollens! Thanks for sharing, I've got a lot of shaving to do :P

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  12. WonderWhyGalSeptember 14, 2012 at 6:47 PM

    hmmm, I don't think any of my hats or scarves have pilled like that...maybe it's the Alpaca content?

    The razor is a great idea to use though.

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  13. Spinster BethSeptember 14, 2012 at 8:08 PM

    KKnitpicks just sent me an ad for a "Jumbo shaver." Guess I shouldn't have deleted so fast!

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  14. Heather WoolloveSeptember 15, 2012 at 1:20 AM

    Wow...what a difference! I know that others shave the 'hairy bits' from finished felt, but since I
    'oh-so-love' a wild look, I've never tried it! Giggle.

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  15. katie metzrothSeptember 15, 2012 at 7:47 AM

    Haven't tried anything yet, but I'm off to shave a scarf in one hot minute! thanks!

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  16. ChrisSeptember 17, 2012 at 12:45 AM

    Ok, I admit to being slightly worried when I read the title of this post. What a cool way to ditch the pil! I have a hat that I may just try this on, thankyou! ;)

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