Also used 1740 size 8 Metallic Light Gold Round Japanese Seed Beads (from Fusion Beads, #SB0172)

9 days to knit.

Well, as luck would have it, I RUINED one of the most beautiful shawls I ever made! I am so upset at myself! I was soaking the shawl and couldn’t believe how much dye was coming out of it. So I kept soaking and rinsing and squeezing and re-soaking all day long. Finally, the last time I went up to rinse it yet again (in the evening), I noticed how weird the shawl felt. When I looked at it, I saw that it had felted!!!! I couldn’t believe it! I guess I must have “squeezed” it a few times too many. I didn’t wring it, I know that, and I only used cool water, but I guess the constant squeezing and soaking did it in. Lesson learned! I really think there’s something wrong with this yarn. I’ve never had a yarn bleed so much! With all the dye that came out during the rinsing, I’m surprised the yarn didn’t end up white! This has to be a defective cone.

I was ready to just throw the whole thing away, but I decided to try to block it despite the felting. I had to pull the shawl apart in several spots that had felted together, especially along the neck edge, where the “eyelet” border is. I couldn’t even see the eyelets! But eventually I got that edge all pulled out and got the shawl pinned down. But the beauty of my work is gone. You can see that it’s felted: there’s no definition of stitches and the shawl itself is WAY smaller (and denser) than it should be, more like a shawlette now. Normally, these shawls are about 72” x 36”. This one is about 60” x 27”. And it just doesn’t have the beautiful delicacy that laceweight shawls have. I really loved this shawl and especially loved the yarn-bead combination that I used (Cinnabar Zephyr with metallic gold beads). I may make it again in the future just because I loved the bead pattern in it. I’m just not sure. All I know is I am devastated about it.

Anyone else ever had a yarn where the dye just wouldn’t stop coming out??

Next day: Now that I see the shawl blocked & dried, I guess it doesn’t look that bad. It’s still slightly felted and much smaller than it should be, but I guess it’s OK. The beautiful gold beads don’t show up very well in the photos, but they look great in person.

Finished size: 61” wide x 27” long x 40” along sides