Here’s the pattern I made up for the fabulous felted bag.
I call it Angela’s Fabulous Felted Bag.
Okay, so the title needs a little work.
Angela’s Fabulous Felted Bag
Project Measurements
Before Felting – roughly 21″ square
After Felting – roughly 15″ square
Materials:
32″ – 8 mm circular needles
MC: Cascade 128 [100% Wool; 128 yds per 100g skein] Colour #7803; 3 skeins
CC: Cascade 128 [100% Wool; 128 yards per 100g skein] Colour # 7814; 2 skeins
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Gauge:
14 stitches is 4″ in stocking stitch.
Gauge is not critical for this project.
Directions:
Base
Cast on 25 stitches in MC
Work 80 rows (40 ridges) of garter stitch (knit every row)
Body
Pick up stitches evenly around all sides – ~40 stitches on long sides and 25 on short (130 stitches on the needle). Place marker at the beginning of the round. (**be careful you don’t turn your project around…the next ‘side’ you will knit should be a long side**)
Knit 9 rounds in MC
Knit 1 round in CC
Knit 8 rounds in MC
Knit 2 rounds in CC
Knit 7 rounds in MC
Knit 3 rounds in CC
Knit 6 rounds in MC
Knit 4 rounds in CC
Knit 5 rounds in MC
Knit 5 rounds in CC
Knit 4 rounds in MC
Knit 6 rounds in CC
Knit 3 rounds in MC
Knit 7 rounds in CC
Knit 2 rounds in MC
Knit 8 rounds in CC
Knit 1 round in MC
Handle
(all in CC)
Rounds 1, 3, 5, 7: Knit
Rounds 2, 4, 6: Purl
(The following instructions assume that you’re about to knit one of the long sides…if you’ve managed to turn your work ’round and are about to knit a short side, adjust your stitches accordingly)
Round 8: Purl 11 stitches, bind off (in purl) 18 stitches, purl 47 stitches, bind off (in purl) 18 stitches, purl 36 stitches
(You should be back at the beginning of the round at this point)
Round 9: Knit 11 stitches, cast on 18 stitches, knit 47 stitches, cast on 18 stitches, knit 36 stitches.
(Again, you should be back at the beginning of the round)
Rounds 10, 12, 14, 16: Knit
Rounds 11, 13, 15: Purl
Round 17: Bind off (in purl) all stitches.
Finishing:
Sew in all ends
Felting:
Along with a pair of jeans (which help the felting process) machine wash several times on:
- high agitation (heavy wash, not delicate)
- high heat
- lowest water level
Air dry standing up, filled with (an) object(s) of the correct size/shape to hold it open.
The Half-Assed Housewife 
Love the bagI have an idea for a project title: Angela’s Awesome Agitated Attache!Hooray for Alliteration
Why haven’t I seen this bag before. Wow. This is a NECESSITY. lOVE IT!tHANKS A MIL!
Adore the bag! Question: Gauge is 14 st = 4 inch, and you cast on 25 st, that means the cast on edge and bound off edges is only about 3-3/4″. How do you get a pre-felted size of 21 inches? Even with 80 rows, I don’t see how you can come up with this number???Thanks for your help,Pinkadelic (ravelry)
Did you find out about how many stitiches to co??
Have made ten+ so far and everyone that I have given one to loves them. The last two have been knitted from all the leftover wool from the previous bags – just knitted in my own pattern until I had 90 or so rows. Have made a couple with longer handles for the shoulders and has worked well. Casted on 60 or so stitches for the handles. Have also purchased magnet closures and sewn them in so the bag closes which the recipients have loved. One lesson I have learned is not to fold the bag before putting in the pillowcase as it melds and cannot be separated after felting – one bag was put into the trash as it was impossible to separate. What a waste!! Have fun making these fabulous bags that all seem to love.
WOW this is WONDERFUL, now if I hadn’t goodwilled all those outgrown HAND KNIT sweaters my mother made me!SIGHHHHHHHHHHHH
Question: I’ve started making one of these (and love the pattern!) and have just passed my first cc stripe, so I’m on about row 10 of the body. I’ve got the proper amount of stitches on my needles and am knitting every row with the knitted side facing outward. The sides seem to be curling quite a bit and I’m wondering if this is normal or if I’ve done something wrong. Will it straighten out as I proceed, or when I felt it? I’m a beginner and this is the first non-flat item I’ve made, so I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks!
Do you mind if I convert this to a loom knitted pattern? I probably wouldn't share it with anyone anyway, but would of course, give you credit for the original pattern.
OMG! I just finished this bag. My first felted bag. Found on Ravelry. Just LOVE it! Great pattern, easy…. what can I say. You Rock! Also, Thanks for the funny and interesting blog, funny lady!
Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I love felted bags, myself and have made MANY.
Happy knitting!
~A
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I am trying this bag right now, so far it looks amazing. I am tweaking it a bit, as I only have 1 kind of wool right now, (Patons Classic Wool in Rosewood, it reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice cream) Also, I am making it a bit larger because I only have 1 set of circs that are long enough and they are size 10s.
I will send you a link to a pick when I get it finished, I think I found this on Rav, so I’ll also send you a pic on there. Thanks so much for the pattern.
To be honest, this is the first project I will have made that was not a scarf needle knitting.
I can’t wait to see pictures. I get such a kick out of seeing what people do with my patterns, and I love when people change them to make them their own.
Enjoy!
~A
I have added my WIP pics of this bag, it is on my flickr, and I also put it on my Ravlery. Please check it out. I have also decided to add a button closure and a webbing strap instead of the handle in the pattern.
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inskeindesigns/4412734202/
Ravlery: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/shadedfears/angelas-fabulous-felted-bag
Hope you like how it is turning out!
Echo
The bag is looking great!
Hey, I hope you don’t mind that I linked this pattern over to my blog. I thought everyone should see your work. I also linked it to your pattern link on ravlery. I am almost finished with it, I have newer pics on the blog.
http://in-skein.blogspot.com
Thanks again for such a great pattern.
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I am working the handle of this bag and unfortunately my round begins on the short side. The pattern says if that happens I should “adjust stitches accordingly”. I’m a beginner and not sure what that means. Help please?
I’m glad you noticed! So many don’t until AFTER they felt.
If you’re about to begin on the short side, you just have to shuffle the stitches around so that the stitches you cast off for the handle are centered on the long side, rather than the short.
SO…knit across your short side stitches – 25 stitches, if you’re following the pattern – and THEN begin the handle bit.
Make sense?
~A
thanks so much, makes perfect sense.
I love the bag and can’t wait to finish it.
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A co-worker found your pattern and issued a challenge to knit it. I did, LOVED THE PATTERN, I posted my bag on Ravelry (giving you the well deserved credit) and on Knitting Paradise. Many, many thanks!!!!!
You’re very welcome! What is your name on Ravelry? I’d love to take a look at your finished product.
I am listed as Bedardhobbydiva. If you go onto “Knitting Paradise”, it’s there as well. One really nice comment about having the handle knit it. I also now have a request to make another one in different colors.
This pattern is so easy and my 1st real experience with felting. Even though I used worsted weight yarn (I used Lamb’s Pride worsted weight) instead of bulky (our challenger used bulky) mine came out just as perfectly as hers. But prettier. I may be a trifle prejudiced though. Thank you again for such a well written and wonderful pattern!
I’m a new knitter and will be using the circulars for the first time, so forgive me if this question sounds dumb. The pattern says to work 80 rows of garter stitch, and to knit every row. If you knit every row in the round, wouldn’t that be stockinette stitch? To knit this in garter wouldn’t you have to knit one row, purl the next?
I’m so confused…
You do not work in the round until after the 80 rows are finished and you pick up stitches on all sides. Until then you are knitting flat garter stitch.
I’m confused: after the completing the 80 rows, you *still* have 25 stitches on the needle. Are they meant to be co? And *then* pick up stitches on *all* sides? That’s the only way it makes sense in order to start the round on the long side. Thanks (I hope someone responds to this … it’s been a couple of years since the last post.)
I knitted mine in the round on 1 large circular needle and yes, going back and forth would make it a garter stitch while knitting in the round makes it stockinette stitch. I found knitting it in the round to be perfect.
What are the dimensions of the bag. 21″ makes no sense to me. Is that 21″ circumferance
I believe that 21″ is the circumference. I can go measure my finished bad if you’d like, but remember, size will be dependent on yarn used (bulky or worsted weight) knitting tightness (my co-workers knitting can ward off pygmy darts, unfelted. Felted, it’s like steel) and a host of other things. My advice, knit till you are tired, then felt. It will resemble a good sized large bag (mine can hold 2 loaves country kitchen bread, side by side and not get squished). I can give you the dimensions of my finished bag, just let me know. Super easy pattern. I’m making my 2nd one right now.
Do you bind off stitches after you’ve finished the base? Otherwise I can’t see how “the next side you will knit should be a long side”. But then again I’m a newbie knitter and haven’t started the bag yet, lol.
Go to Youtube, search KNITFreedom/how to pick up and knit stitches. Watch that video, it will help you to understand the basics. This is a very easy pattern when you think in terms of knitting an old style paper grocery bag. Remember them? Once you open them, you’ll see that the bottom is a rectangular piece that is then folded up on 4 sides. You aren’t binding off any stitches, you are just continuing knitting down the side, across the cast on edge, back up the other long side and then you are back at the beginning. I just made my 2nd bag with this pattern and it is so loved Keep us informed of how you are doing.
That I understand, but the beginning is a short side, isn’t it? So that’s why I don’t understand how “the next side you will knit should be a long side”. But anyways, I don’t think that’s crucial for the pattern as long as you keep track of where you are and where you should place the handles.
Just to clarify, I’m assuming the designer means “the next side you should knit AFTER you pick every stitch should be a long side”. But if by “knit” she means “pick up and knit” then I see what she means. But as I said, that doesn’t seem crucial anyway. I’m out of feltable yarn, can’t wait to start it! 🙂
Yes, you are correct! Sorry, I thought you didn’t follow with her saying “the long side”! You pick up and knit the stitches on the long side, pick up and knit the stitches from your cast on edge and then pick up and knit the other long side, which should bring you back to where you started. Please put a picture of your finished product on Ravelry or somewhere, we all would love to see it!
This is a perfect tote for carrying my 13″ Asus laptop.
would I be able to download this great pattern on my kindle, and where is it listed to download? thanks, want to try this one, as I am a beginner/easy knitter, so this is perfect for me, and I like larger purses.
Reblogged this on stephanieradakovich.
Hi Angela,
I’ve enjoyed knitting this and am almost finished but I just realized that I made the long sides 80 stitches each resulting in 210 stitches on my needles instead of 130. Feel silly catching this only now, but the dilemma is this: rip out to base OR keep going as is and felt. Any thoughts or recommendations?
Hi Anegla
I used 85% wool and 15% mohair.. I seem to have a hard time to felt the handle part and what do you use to stuff it with to dry?
Susan,
I’ve felted with 15% mohair/wool combo and have found the product needs more washing to achieve optimal felting. As far as shaping and drying plastic grocery bags or fluffed tulle works, but my best results were when I placed the bag over a plastic container that was the desired size and shape. I believe it was a plastic cascade pod container.
Have fun!
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How do we wash in front load machine and get enough agitation to felt?
It’s a bit more bother, for sure, but I’ve had good luck by putting the bag in with a pair of jeans or a pair of old running shoes. You might have to run it a few times, but that seems to beat it up, just enough.
Ii knit mine a few years back. Used our front load Samsung. Bag, 2 tennis balls, a couple of towels. Washed twice. Beautiful. I made mine with Lamb’s Pride. Love this bag.
How do we get enough agitation to felt if only have front load machine?
I need help. I need to add stitches but don’t end up on long side. Add stitches 3 sides then back to the original 25 stitches. Do I just knit across these 25 stitches?