Felted Knit Eggs
by Sara Hills
Materials
·US #8or #9DPNs · wool yarn scraps-- worsted or bulky wt ·stuffing Because these are intended tobe felted, 1 didn't worry about gauge. If you prefer a nonfelted egg, use a smaller needle size.
Egg:
CO 12 sts, and divide evenly onto 3 needles. Place marker, and join and knit one round. Round 1: \*Kfb, k3\* repeat to end. (15 sts) Rounds 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 11: knit Round 3: \*Kfb, k4\* repeat to end. (18 sts) Round 5: \*Kfb, k5\* repeat to end. (21 sts) Round 7: \*Kfb, k6\* repeat to end. (24 sts) Round 9: \*Kfb, k7\* repeat to end. (27 sts) (begin decreasing) Round 12: \*k2tog, k7\* repeat to end. (24 sts) Rounds 13, 15 and 17: knit Round 14: \*k2tog, k6\* repeat to end. (21 sts) Round 16: \*k2tog, k5\* repeat to end. (18 sts) Round 18: \*k2tog, k4\* repeat to end. (15 sts) Round 19: \*k2tog, k3\* repeat to end. (12 sts) Round 20: \*k2tog, k2\* repeat to end. (9 sts) Round 21: \*k2tog, k1\* repeat to end. (6 sts)
Cut yarn and thread through remaining loops to close, and weave in the end. Fill your egg with stuffing moderately full-- be careful not to overstuff. Then thread your yarn end through the CO edge, pull it closed, and weave in the ends. Voila!
A word about stuffing:
If you use wool stuffing, both the egg and the stuffing will felt together and create a nice weighted egg that bounces. You can also use fiberfil, but the egg itself won't felt as well as the wool-stuffed egg. Use fiberfil if you want to create a hollow egg, as shown above, for hiding little trinkets in. Once it's felted, just make an incision and remove the fiberfill.
Felting instructions:
Throw your eggs in a pillowcase or garment bag and wash in HOT water in the washing machine with some jeans or towels. I only ran mine through once because I ran out of laundry to wash, but feel free to do what you need to do. Alternatively, you could try felting them by hand. Don't forget to allow enough time to dry before the big hunt begins. Abbreviations: DPN: double pointed needle CO: cast on kfb: knit through the front and back of a stitch k2tog: knit two stitches together sts: stitches
