Pirate Booty Bag!

I finished the Pirate Booty Bag last week. Here are the specs:
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Black and That's Red(3 skeins each)
Needles: Knitpicks Options size 8
Started: September 4, 2006
Completed: September 13, 2006

Things I learned: double knitting, i-cord edging, fulling


Notes:
I attempted to full/felt(?) this bag in the sink with dishsoap. We have a front loader washer and I wasn't sure how it would go in there. After around 15 minutes of vigorous squishing and scrubbing in the sink, I decided to throw the whole thing in the washer. I placed the already wet bag in a pillow case and secured that with a large rubber band. I made the mistake of adding some laundry soap and picking the longest wash setting. There were so many bubbles!!! I sat there and watched it the whole time for fear of the washer exploding from all of the bubbles. Another problem I had was that I couldn't check on the fulling process. I tried to stop the washer during the spinning out section of the cycle and the door remained locked. I tried to move it along and get it to the final spin. It still woudn't unlock the door. ARGH! I just had to let it finish the wash cycle and end on it's own. I was very surprised when I opened up the pillow case. It shrunk so much! I stretched it out over a plastic container loaded with large bottles of shampoo. It took a long time for the bag to dry.


Conclusion:
I really enjoyed double knitting. I'm not going to rush in and felt/full anything else anytime soon. I felt that it was a big waste of water. I did love the results of the bag though. I took the pirate bag out. I love the roominess of it. I did have to use some zippered pouches to organize my stuff in it. The bag is very sturdy and very strong.


Thanks to E for letting me use her as a scale reference.

Many thanks to kightp for designing the bag and offering it for free.