#154D Big Vermont Felted Bag

by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
Finished Felted Size:

Sew bottom and sides of bag and weave in any ends with tapestry needle. Felting: Set your washer to hot wash. Place bag and straps in a mesh garment bag and add it to the washer, adding some hand dishwashing soap or baby shampoo. Check the progress every 5 minutes and continue to wash until the bag is thoroughly felted. It can some times take more than one wash cycle to felt properly. When its felted enough, let the washer cycle finish. Remove it from the machine and lay it flat to dry. Fold down the top garter stitch border to the outside. Sew the straps on the bag with the buttons.

Approx. 22w x 16h

Materials: Valley Yarns Berkshire (85% Wool/15% Alpaca; 141 yards per 100 gram ball) 3 balls of color A (Red Purple) and 2 balls each of colors B (Pale Lilac), C (Periwinkle)and D (Amethyst). #15 straight needles Tapestry needle 4 very large buttons Gauge: Approximately 12 sts/18 rows = 4 in stockinette stitch. Note: The bag is knit in one piece. First side: With color A, cast on 68 sts Rows 1-8: Knit. Row 9 (RS): With C, k34, with D, k34. Row 10 (WS): With D, p34, with C, p34. Repeat Rows 9 and 10 24 times more for a total of 50 rows worked in C and D. Row 59 (RS): With A, k34, with B, k34. Row 60 (WS): With B, p34, with A, p34. Repeat Rows 59 and 60 24 times more for a total of 50 rows worked in A and B. Base: Working in just color A, bind off 3 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. (62 sts) Work in Stockinette st for 14 rows or until the bottom measures approximately 6 . Cast on 3 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows (68 sts). Second Side: Rows 1-50: As Rows 59 and 60 of First Side. Rows 51-100: As Rows 9 and 10 of First Side. Rows 101-108: With A, knit. Bind-off all stitches. Straps (make 2): We recommend casting these handles on at the same time to ensure the lengths match. With A, cast on 8 sts Work in garter st for 5. Work in stockinette stitch for 16. Work in garter st for 5. Handle should now measure 26 Bind-off. Finishing: Pin bag together, bringing the outer bottom edge points to the center of the bottom of the bag. This forms a nice flat bottom.