Customer Reviews

Felt Frenzy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i just love this book. i have bought many, many books on this subject and this is by far the best. it covers 4 kinds of felting; felting knitted and crocheted items, wet felting, needle felting and recycled felting. i've been felting for a while - mainly knit/crochet felting and needle felting. but i am now going to try the other two methods after reading this book. one thing that i really liked is a full color page of swatches showing non-wool 'fancy yarns' felted with wool yarns. wow! what a time saver to be able to see what they look like w/o doing the swatches myself. also, the yarns used are not the obscure yarns you sometimes see in books like this. they are mainly Knit Picks (my personal fav), Crystal Palace, Cascade and Lion Brand. many of them are yarns that i wouldn't have thought of using as a 'drag-a-long' for felting. there are 40 swatch images in all. there are also some tips about knitted felting vs crocheted felting that i didn't know and that will be very helpful in my future projects. there is a bag in there that i am going to get to work on right away. it's called The Bag of Many Pockets and it's genius. can't wait to see how it comes out. i would recommend this to those whe are brand new to felting and also those with experience. i have bought at least 10 books on felting and this immediately became my favorite. oh, it is also beautifully photographed - all color photos for every item and for the instructions. did i say that i love this book?

This is a really fun book on making felt--which is a shrunken woven or non-woven fabric. Felt Frenzy contains a number of techniques to make felt; not only knitting and shrinking, but also recycling, needlepunch felt and raw fiber felting.


Some of the projects are handbags from recycled felt. If you find an attractive Fair Isle or patterned sweater at the Goodwill, you can felt it, and cut it up and add handles. Now you have a stylish knitting bag or even a purse.

Footies and socks can be made from felt--felt slippers are standard "save the floor wear" in many places.

By far, my favorite "I haven't seen THIS before" project is a pincushion of rolled wool that gives the effect of sushi rolls. How CUTE is that?!! A crafter could knock off these and give friends an adorable housegift.


This book has 26 projects with not only bags, but also flowers (felt makes good ornaments for other knitting and for bags,) pincushions (as I mentioned) and more. There are ideas other than the projects for the beginning felt maker. A really PRETTY book--very nicely done. I'd love to make a number of these attractive projects.

I own several felting books and other than Nicky Epsteins for reference, this book is the best I have found for actual projects and techniques. It is very well written, the projects are accesible such that you want to make them and can see the finished project being used by youself and friends. This book covers many felting types and gives great directions for knitting and wet felting and nuno felt. They also give lots of tips and ideas throughout the book to change a pattern or make decoration to personalize your project. Great book!!!

I try not to go crazy buying books, so I wanted to make sure to invest in a good one on felting techniques. I saw this one in a store and really liked how it described various methods for felting, with clear explanations of why things turn out the way they do. I also liked how it talked about felted knit vs. crocheted fabric. I didn't buy it right away, but looked around at other felting books to see if they held as much promise for a beginner. Although there were pretty projects in most books, I thought none of them compared in instruction to Felt Frenzy, so I finally ordered it. Some of the patterns look great, and some yield a finished product that looks a little ridiculous to me (old-fashioned, or just messy), but the key thing is that it gives the reader the skills to do whatever they might want to do with felting. I've already used this book for random instructions many times, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so. Recommended, especially for beginners.

Heather Brack and Shannon Okey, Felt Frenzy: 26 Projects for All Forms of Felting (Interweave, 2007)

Me old pal Shannon Okey has become something of a cottage industry in producing breezy, fun knitting books aimed at folks who aren't trying to make a vocation out of knitting. Felt Frenzy is the latest in the series (actually, by the time you read this, she'll probably have pumped out six more books; after all, it's been almost a week since I finished it), co-written with her Knitgrrl compatriot Heather Brack. As the title says, this one's all about felt--how to make it yourself and what to do with it once you've got it. This is a book for slightly more advanced knitters than her others have been; she doesn't go over the basics in this one the way she does in the other books of hers I've read. (Of course, if you need a refresher course, I'll point you to the Knitgrrl books she did a few years ago.) This one follows right along with the usual style of Okey's books; knockout models, fun projects you wouldn't be ashamed to be seen wearing (or carrying; a lot of accessory items in these projects) in public, and an accessible writing style that puts her books head and shoulders above the crop. I have to admit, though, I'm wondering how many people will actually get round to doing that French Press cozy. Or maybe I'm just behind the times, and everyone in the world but me has one. (I can't stand the taste of coffee. Never have, never will. A Diet Coke cozy is more my speed.) One way or the other, though, give this one a try if you're a knitter who wonders what to do with those sweaters that have shrunk down to doll-size when you weren't paying enough attention to the washer. *** ½

I've already started one of the projects in this book. Although I don't find it as colorful as I'd like, the patterned bags are really cute and offer some fun additions to just your plain knitted bag.

After having become enthralled with all the lovely little felted items out there; bags, hats, slippers and toys, imagine my dismay when exploring this craft to find there was a pre-requisite~of knowing how to knit!!. I had almost given up on my idea of learning about felting, until I came across this nifty little book at my small town library. I was hooked from the start as I rushed to Chapter Four: Recycled Felt, which describes the ways in which you can use "repurposed" knits, particularly of 100% animal fibers, after shrinking by machine or hand, to make your own felted fabrics.
The authors also offer examples and instructions for needle felting (Chapter Three), wet felting, using fibers (Chapter Two), as well as the more conventional knit and felt methods (Chapter One). Really a one-book-fits-many approach, for which I am very grateful. Now, to dig into my husband's closet and to browse my favorite thrift stores and begin collecting wool sweaters.

I was totally new to felting, and this book is great. Explanations are well written & the projects are fun. It's full of color photos, which make it easy to get excited about trying the projects. I recommend this book!

This book is the ultimate, beautiful pics, well written instructions, very easy to follow and great reading

This book gave great instructions for various methods of felting. I was a little disappointed in the projects.