Felted Crocheted (or Knitted) Kitchen Set Template

Whew, that's some title!  I am making a set for my friend to take to her daughter's wedding.  Her daughter has her own home, her bridegroom has his own home and they have everything they could possibly need, even money!  So I decided to make her a one-of-a-kind kitchen set.  I hope someone can use this and that you enjoy it. 
The first two pictures show the unfelted items.
Next pictures are the items felted.

FELTED CROCHET OR KNIT KITCHEN SET TEMPLATE  Designed by Linda Graimm, emmalemmon47@yahoo.com
Had a wedding shower coming up with no money and decided I would make something. This is the results. It can also be knitted if you use the template measurements.

TO SWITCH THIS DESIGN TO KNITTING: make any knitted items in the sizes listed, before Felting, and it will come out just as well.

Set consists of: Felted Oven Mitt, 4 (four) Felted Mug Rugs/Coasters, 2 (two) Felted hotmats, and a felted Bag/Large Hotmat that holds them all.

NOTE:  You could add any kitchen item to this set that you desire, such as, potholder (make at least 14” across so that there will be plenty of fabric to protect hands, place a hanger on the square…be sure to NOT use a granny square as the spaces could be hot!! Smile), fridgie in any shape (these would be easy to do as size doesn’t really matter), small wall hanging using a quilted pattern or your favorite potholder design, etc.

MATERIALS: Patons Classic Wool in 3 colors; Crochet Hook Size USA ‘J’ {Pic shows materials as: Patons Classic Wool, 2 skeins Dark Beige Marble, Patons Classic Wool, 1 skein Woodrose Heather, and 1 skein Patons Classic Wool Merino Winter White}


GAUGE This fits a general size for each piece—
Mitt: Unfelted = 13” long, 7” wide when flattened at cuff, thumb is 4-1/2” from start to tip; Felted =  10” long, 6” wide, thumb is 3’1/2”
Heart-Shaped hotmats (2): Unfelted = 10” at widest part, 8” from indentation down to tip; Felted =  6” at widest part, 6” from indentation down to tip
Mug Ruts/Coasters (4): Unfelted = 6” square, with circle being 6” across; Felted =  4” across
Bag/Large Hotmat: Unfelted = 14” square;  Felted =  10” square

INSTRUCTIONS:

MITT: Follow any bathmitt or mitten pattern that uses Double Crochet. Using Size ‘J’ Hook and hdc, follow the instructions, adding rows and a few more stitches to the thumb because it will shrivel up in the felting process.
     For the pattern I made, I essentially started with a progression of 12 Double Crochet, 24 Double Crochet, 36 Double Crochet, switched to Half Double Crochet (adding 4 more stitches) for 16 rows (changing colors as shown in the unfelted pictures).
     For thumb, I chained 2, put hdc in the first 3 sts, chained 12, skipped 10 stitches, hdc to end. Continuing up for 10 more rows, decreasing 2 sts over thumb area on first row.
     Place hdc around thumb opening (about 24) and work straight for 7 rows, then start dec’ing.

Mug Rugs/Coasters: Make any shape that you like to 6” across unfelted.

Hotmats: Again, make any shape that you like up to 10” across unfelted.

Bag/Large Hotmat: This is just two large granny squares 14” across including edging, with an edging of hdc in Contrasting Color and then sewn together with a chain for a hanger.

You can find felting direc-tions on the internet but I use a Wonder Washer that I bought for $50.00 through the internet. I fill with very hot water, let it agitate for 15 minute intervals and check the articles often until they are the size I need. Then I rinse the articles in cool water, absorb most of the water by placing the article between two towels and “pushing” on the towel until most of the water is absorbed. I then shape on another towel, put it in my bathroom and close the door…because my little cat loves felted articles and this is to keep him from literally eating them!