Jessica - A Felted Purse Pattern

Jessica - A Felted Purse My hairstylist is very big on pink (She had pink streaks in her hair when I first met her). She saw one of the felted bags I had made for myself and jokingly asked me to make one for her. I decided to design a little fluffy bag for her as a Christmas gift. It is, of course, very, very pink. Also, big, big thanks to Stitchcounter for test-knitting this pattern for me! Size: One Finished Measurements: 10" across opening, 8" across base, 8" deep Materials: Patons Classic Merino Wool (100% Merino wool; 223 yds per 100g skein), That's Pink, 2 skeins Lion Brand Fun Fur (100% Polyester; 60 yds per 50g skein), Raspberry, 1 skein, Soft Pink, 1 skein Size US11 (8mm) 16" circular needle, or size required for gauge Set of 5 stitch markers, one of which should be a different color to mark the start of the round. Gauge: 12.25 sts/32 rows=4" in St St post-felting with two strands held together throughout (Pre-felting gauge is not critical, but mine was 11 sts/16 rows=4" - this is knit VERY loosely) SSK = Slip, slip, knit K2TOG = Knit 2 together PM = Place marker Bag: Using 2 strands of Merino Wool, cast on 76 sts. Join to work in the round. NOTE: Follow desired stripe pattern while working below instructions. Round 1: K9, PM, K20, PM, K18, PM, K20, PM, K9, PM for beginning of round. Rounds 2-4: K all sts Round 5 (decrease round): *K to 2 sts before marker, SSK, K to next marker, K2TOG* repeat from * to *, K to end of round (The decreases will all happen in the 18-stitch sections – the 20-stitch sections will stay at 20 sts) – 72 sts Round 6-12: K all sts Rounds 13-52 : Repeat rounds 5-12 5 more times – 52 sts remain (You will decrease on rounds 5, 13, 21, 29, 37, and 45) Round 53: Repeat Round 5 – 48 sts remain Rounds 54-57 : K all sts Round 58: P all sts, removing 4 decrease markers (not beginning of round marker) Round 59: *K2TOG, K 20, K2TOG* repeat from * to * - 44 sts remain Arrange stitches onto 2 needles, and use 3-needle bind-off method to close bottom of purse. Handles: Usin 1 strand of Merino Wool, knit 4 24" pieces of 4-stitch i-cord (I used my Embellish-Knit cord maker). After felting, twist two cords together for each handle, and pin them down until they dry. Attach to inside top of purse. To felt bag: Put bag and handles into pillowcase or mesh laundry bag and run through wash cycle using hot water and lowest water level. You may need to add a pair or two of jeans for agitation. When the bag has reached the desired level of felting (Mine took 20 minutes), remove from the washer (do not let it spin). Squeeze out water using towels, and lay out to dry, pinning twisted handles as above. Once the bag is dry, you may need to trim the Fun Fur on the inside, or it may fill the interior of the bag. Once it is felted, this is no problem – just give the bag a haircut close to the inner surface. Striping Pattern Options: As pictured above: CO-round 7: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 8-10: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Raspberry Rounds 11-23: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 24-26: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Soft Pink Rounds 27-39: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 40-42: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Raspberry Rounds 43 – end: 2 strands Merino Wool Alternate version (more fur stripes): CO-round 7: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 8-10: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Raspberry Rounds 11-15: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 16-18: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Soft Pink Rounds 19-23: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 24-26: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Raspberry Rounds 27-31: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 32-34: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Soft Pink Rounds 35-39: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 40-42: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Raspberry Rounds 43-47: 2 strands Merino Wool Rounds 48-50: 1 strand Merino Wool, 1 strand Fun Fur in Soft Pink Rounds 51 – end: 2 strands Merino Wool ETA: Pattern now in sidebar in a printer-friendly .pdf format!