So I added some washing soda to raise the pH, and agitated to the end of the cycle. Success, sort of :) It felted, and lost nearly all the gorgeous color it started with. I guess Ciba Kiton dyes don't like alkalis.
You are right. Washing soda neutralizes the acid dyes. It is used to set dyes on cotton and other plant fibers.
Patterns for felting that I have, say to add blue jeans in the wash for extra abrasion. They'll knock it around more. Fiber Trends has patterns http://www.fibertrends.com. But there are two books out that I know of - Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas (may be the Fiber Trend person). The other is Knit One Felt Two by Kathleen Taylor. You might find these in your library.
Some of the other factors that affect the felting are type of fiber- some felt easier than others and yarn size and twist. The more tightly twisted the harder to felt. Some of the Fiber Trend patterns run wool with a strand of mohair. I think what happens is the wool felts and the mohair ends up looping when the wool shrinks. Its very interesting. I guess the point is on twist you have to leave some fibers exposed to lock together and felt.
Jane in Northern Vermont where it is a crisp -10: F this AM. To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
