It turns out I may have trained my family too well.

It took no more than 5 loads of laundry to get this dang swatch through the washer and dryer. Everybody kept pulling it out of the hamper (including my 4-year-old, who told me “Knitting doesn’t go in the laundry”). Which, I suppose is a good thing, in the long run. It’s nice to know that they all know how to treat knitwear.

But anyway. I made a swatch from Berocco Vintage. It’s half mistake-rib and half stockinette, worked on US5s. A nice sweater-y swatch. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

I took gauge and got roughly 5.5 sts/in in stockinette and mistake rib.

So, now it’s into the wash and…

Well, that felted up! It’s actually super soft and squishy, and I’m sure my 4-year-old would be very into a sweater made from this felted fabric. (They can truly never be “too cozy.”)

Just for science, I took gauge again and got basically 5.5 sts/in. Not much different gauge-wise, but the fabric definitely looks different.

I’m tempted to go ahead and knit up my first-ever felted sweater, but I wonder how much long-term wear a sweater like that would have. Would it felt more every time I washed it? Or, would I have to hand-wash a sweater for a preschooler?

Have you ever planned a big felted project?