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.

Exciting!

I was really excited last Tuesday when I typed my tea cosy pattern up and posted it on my blog. I also added it as a free pattern on Ravelry.

I was even more excited when I checked my pattern, to see that people had added it to their queues! When I last checked, it was in no less than 36 queues! I am amazed and will be very interested to see if anyone actually knits it. Being in 36 queues just means 36 people have put it on a list of things they want to knit and if they are anything like me, that list never gets any shorter - just longer. Oh well, I am just so pleased that fellow knitters have liked it enough to even do that. Which is more than I can say of 2 of my other knitted designs - more about that next time!

Tea Cosy pattern freebie

Here is the pattern for the tea cosy I made my friend. She asked me to knit her a tea cosy which was green and didn't have a bobble on the top! After searching among patterns, I couldn't find anything suitable so decided to create my own. The knitted fabric is lovely and thick and the lid is detachable. Here it is:



Size: to fit large tea pot. My tea pot measures approx 52cm round widest part and approx 34 cm round base.

Needles: 1 pair 5.5mm (straight)

Yarn: 1 strand of each of the following:

Sirdar Click chunky
Patons Studio Mohair (dk)

Other materials: 4 beads or buttons
Row counter

Abbreviations:

inc = increase (by knitting into front and back of stitch)

k = knit

p = purl

rep = repeat

sts = stitches

tbl = through back of loop

tog = together

Sides (make 2)

Using 1 strand of each of the yarns together, cast on 24sts

Rows 1 & 2: Knit
Row 3: k3, inc 1, k4, inc 1, k6, inc 1, k4, inc 1, k3 (28 sts)
Row 4: k3, p to last 3 sts, k3
Row 5: k3, inc 1, k5, inc 1, k8, inc 1, k5, inc 1, k3 (32 sts)
Row 6: As row 4
Row 7: k3, inc 1, k6, inc 1, k10, inc 1, k6, inc 1, k3 (36 sts)
Row 8: As row 4
Row 9: k3, inc 1, k7, inc 1, k12, inc 1, k7, inc 1, k3 (40 sts)
Row 10: As row 4
Row 11: knit
Row 12: As row 4
Rows 13 & 14: rep last 2 rows
Rows 15 & 16: knit
Rows 17 & 18: Rep rows 11 & 12
Row 19: k3, k2tog tbl, k to last 5 sts, k2tog, k3 (38 sts)
Row 20: knit
Row 21: As row 19 (36 sts)
Row 22: As row 4
Row 23: As row 19 (34 sts)
Row 24: knit
Row 25: knit
Row 26: As row 4
Next 4 rows: knit
Cast off

Lid (make 1)
Using 1 strand of each of the yarns together, cast on 15 sts
Knit 2 rows
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: k2, p to last 2 sts, k2
Repeat last 2 rows three times more
Next row: k6, cast off 3 sts, k6
Next row: k2, p4, cast on 3 sts, p4, k2
Rep rows 3 & 4 four times more
Knit 2 rows
Cast off
Make a loop on each of the 4 corners of the lid to fit over bead/button

To make up:
Using 2 sides of tea cosy and with wrong sides facing, sew row ends together for approx 3cm from cast on and cast off edges. Sew in ends. Turn right side out and place on tea pot with cast on edge at top. Place knitted lid on tea pot and mark positions to sew beads (or buttons). The knitted lid should be slightly stretched when loops are placed over the beads. Attach beads securely. Fit loops over the beads to secure lid in place.

Any queries, comments, errata, please email me. Address on right.