Zakka is a Japanese term that loosely translated means ‘many things’ and refers to little (usually handmade) things that are practical and improve your daily life.
Here’s a quick, easy, and very tactile Zakka project that anyone can handle – A felted pincushion.
Grab some of Lincraft’s cosy wool (which felts up like a dream). Any wool will do as long as it’s 100% wool and isn’t labelled machine washable. Cast on 30 stitches and knit for 30cm – or finish the ball if you like. Cast off.
Throw your knitted piece into the washing machine with some soap flakes – or if you don’t mind waiting, just toss it in with each wash you do until you are happy with the amount of shrinkage and felting. A hot wash is best, but the friction of other garments against your piece will give you some degree of felting. This is a very forgiving project and a great introduction to felting. If you want to experiment with putting the piece into boiling water, in the dryer or rubbing it by hand in hot water in the sink – go ahead. Soap hastens the process and don’t forget to wear rubber gloves if you try the hand method.
When you are happy with the amount of felting you have achieved, hang it up to dry.
When dry, cut into circles (or squares), Stack them up and run a piece of embroidery thread (or wool) through the middle to hold your stack of disks together.
Variations: Knitting stripes, or changing colours every 10 rows to give you a variety of colours to work with. Just make sure the wool you are knitting with is natural (synthetic mixes do not felt as readily – or may not felt at all).
Zakka. Love that word. 🙂
readthread 