Felted bag pattern

I've been meaning to write up some more patterns recently so here is the pattern for my little felted bag. It takes no time at all and is ideal for a last minute gift!

Yarn: Debbie Bliss SoHo (1 ball)

Needles: 1 pair 6mm for bag and 1 pair 5.5mm for handle

Other materials: Button or toggle

Bag:

Cast on 30 sts.

Knit 6 rows

K14, YO, K2 tog, K to end of row (creates buttonhole)

Continue in garter stitch (Knit every row) until knitting measures approx 26 cm or desired length. NB make sure you have enough yarn left for the strap.

Handle/strap:

Using 5.5mm needles, cast on 3 sts. Knit until strap measures approx 50 cm.

To make up:

Fold up about 10cm from bottom of bag. Sew up sides and turn right side out. Sew ends of strap
to either side of bag.


Place inside a pillow case in the washing machine with an old towel or pair of jeans. Wash on short cycle at 40 or 50 degrees. NB felting is a trial and error process! This worked for me. It left some stitch definition but made the bag much more sturdy.
Attach button when bag has dried out. I placed newspaper inside the bag to help it dry.

Variation:

The blue bag was knitted using the same pattern but I omitted the buttonhole. Instead, I added a loop afterwards and attached the button this way. I also forgot to use different needles for the strap so the whole bag uses 6mm needles.

Hello again!

I'm back.

I have been so extremely, absolutely very busy (as Lola might say).

The month of October was crazy! Work was crazy - but things should be calming down now though so that's good. And I also went on holiday with my Brownies - very silly time of year but it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. A huge amount of work went into planning and organising the trip but I think it was all worth it. I am just SO glad it's all over with now! I caught up on sleep quite quickly (I am used to a certain amount of sleep deprivation these days) and have picked up the needles again.

I was doing brilliantly finishing off projects but have unfortunately cast on a couple more now. I can't seem to help myself! I even started and finished a scarf for my sister's birthday yesterday. I didn't even get time to take photos of it.

I also started a couple of halloween bags. One was a little pumpkin purse which I finished and the other was a black and green striped bag but I haven't finished that one.

I now have Christmas thoughts in my head but am not quite sure where to start. I really wanted to knit lots of little stockings for an advent calendar type thing so I suppose I should start on that first. There are a few presents I want to knit but I must remember not to get too ambitious because I will never have the time to get all my ideas done otherwise!

Anyway, apologies for the lack of photos. I hope to be back with more soon.

Oh yes, forgot to say I am thrilled with the responses to my bobble-less tea cosy pattern. It is now in 74 queues on Ravelry!