Spring-Colored Felted Bowl

This sweet little felted bowl is the perfect thing for holding just a little of something: a few balls of yarn, a couple of pieces of fruit, whatever you like. You could use it as a cover for an unsightly plastic flower pot. I'm sure you'll come up with a bunch of uses for it.

This bowl is very easy to knit--the only tricky part is picking up stitches around the bottom, which isn't difficult at all.

• one skein of Caron Felt-It, 93 yards (I used color 003, Wildflowers) or any comparable 100 percent wool yarn
• one pair size 11 circular needles, with 24-inch cord
• scissors
• crochet hook or tapestry needle
• washing machine or sink for felting

Gauge

Fifteen stitches and 16 rows equals four inches in stockinette stitch. Gauge is not critical, but you'll want to get somewhere close.

Size

Finished size before felting is 6 inches by 8 inches for the base of the bowl and 8 inches for the sides of the bowl. After felting, the diameter of the base is about 5.5 inches and the sides of the bowl are 5.5 inches.

1. Cast on 24 stitches.
2. Work flat in stockinette stitch for 32 rows.
3. After you knit the 32nd row, begin to pick up and knit one stitch for every other row of the sides and one stitch for every other stitch along the bottom of the piece, for a total of 68 stitches.
4. Join in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. Add a stitch marker before the last stitch to mark the end of the row.
5. Knit every row in the round until the piece measures 8 inches from the picked-up stitches.
6. Bind off. Trim any excess yarn and weave in ends.
7. Felt using your washing machine or by hand until piece is desired size.

• If you want to make and felt a gauge swatch before knitting this project, you will likely need just a little more than a skein of yarn, or you will end up with a slightly shallower bowl, which is perfectly fine.
• I felted this project in my washing machine on the lowest water setting and the highest temperature setting. It took about 10 minutes to complete the felting process.

Caron Felt-It is a relatively new entry on the yarn for felting market. It comes in six multi-color colorways, most of which have a pastel feel. It is 100 percent wool and comes in 1.76 ounce, 93 yard skeins.

Felt-It can be used with lovely results unfelted as well. To care for the yarn in its unfelted state or after felting, hand wash in cold water and try not to agitate the fibers as you wash. Gently rinse and lay flat on a towel.

Roll the towel to remove excess water and dry the item flat. Take care not to wring or stretch the knitted item, and do not hang it to dry.