Yarns for Felting:
Brown Sheep Beauties
- Nature Spun
- Lamb's Pride Worsted
- Lamb's Pride Bulky
- Handpaint Originals
- Effective Yarn Combinations
- Where to Buy These Yarns
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Yarn Name: Nature Spun Fiber Content: 100% wool Ideal Gauge for Felting: 3.5 stitches per inch using US 10 1/2 needles Notes: Produces a light, soft, and malleable felt with no stray fur. Ideal for berets or any other project where a more refined look is desired. Felts quickly and easily. Our test swatch was fully felted in 15 minutes, the fastest of all yarns tested. |
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Yarn Name: Lamb's Pride Worsted Fiber Content: 85% wool, 15% mohair Ideal Gauge for Felting: Single strand, 3 stitches per inch using US 10 1/2 needles. If using two strands, knit at 2 1/2 stitches per inch on US 11 needles. Notes: Produces a slightly thicker felt than Nature Spun, but still soft and malleable with minimal furriness. Ideal for berets or any other project where a more refined look is desired. Our test swatch was fully felted in approximately 26 minutes. |
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Yarn Name: Lamb's Pride Bulky Fiber Content: 85% wool, 15% mohair Ideal Gauge for Felting: 2 1/2 stitches per inch using US 11 needles Notes: Produces a thick, dense felt with weight and heft. Ideal for mittens, rolled-brim hats, booties, or other projects where more durability and thickness are required. Our test swatch was fully felted in approximately 24 minutes. |
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Yarn Name: Hand Paint Originals Fiber Content: 30% wool, 70% mohair Ideal Gauge for Felting: 3 stitches per inch using US 10 1/2 needles Notes: High mohair content adds an exquisite softness and sheen, but it also results in an overall furry consistency if used alone. Space-dyed colors blur nicely when felted, making it easy to create attractive, unusual garments. This is a good yarn to blend with a single strand of worsted-weight for a thicker felt with less furriness. |
| Combining Different Yarns |
| You can achieve wonderful felting effects by stranding two different yarns together. The example below was made with one strand of Lamb's Pride Worsted and Hand Paint Originals. |
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Here are some more yarns you can blend with Brown Sheep yarns for successful felting.
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| Where to Buy |
| The following online shops sell most of the yarns referenced here. |
eKnitting.com: Classic Elite, Brown Sheep, and Cascade.
Green Mountain Spinnery: Only shop in this list that carries Green Mountain Spinnery yarns.
Halcyon Yarn: Classic Elite, Reynolds
Monarch Knitting: Carries Bryspun Kid-N-Ewe, Cascade, Brown Sheep, Classic Elite.
Patternworks: Classic Elite, Reynolds, Brown Sheep, and Cascade.Add your comments 
Reader comments "Enjoyed your review of Brown Sheep and felting. I have been felting for about 10 years and I believe that Brown Sheep yarns are the most consistant and reliable. Since I felted the garments for customers I needed something that was going to tulrn out the same each time. I am getting back to building my knitting business and hope to be able to afford to get Brown Sheep again. For machine knitter info it takes 2-3 cones of Nature Spun for a short to medium jacket. The handpainted yarn is most delicious and could be added as a yoke to keep prices reasonable." Yolanda D., 02/12/01 |