Friday's Felted Freebie - Plymouth Yarn Magazine

As a few of you might know, I am a huge fan of felting. I talked about it earlier this week on Plymouth Yarn’s facebook page. Of course, my choice felting yarn is Galway. With over 120 colors in it’s catalog, you can felt a bag to match every outfit! Here are some pictures of my favorite felted patterns. You can find them at your local yarn store or you can find a shop on our website.

Just a couple of our many Galway felted patterns

Just a few of our many Galway felted patterns

Enjoy this free pattern for a small felted bag. I like to use these as gift card and cash gift holders. I also have made a couple for my niece for Easter, and a wedding. It’s very versatile and quick.

Pattern F319, Galway 2 Color Felted Bag

Before Felting

After Felting

Gauge: 10 sts = 4” in stockinette stitch before felting, done on a size US 13 needle; yarn used double stranded.
Materials: 2 skeins Galway—1 MC, 1CC. Before starting- double strand each color by dividing balls in half.
Needles: 24”-Size 13 needles, double pointed needles- size 11 or 13.
Finished Size: Approx. &” wide, 4” deep, 6” tall, not including handles.

NOTE: Make handles first and set aside. Use remaining yarn for the purse.
NOTE: Use double strand of yarn throughout.

Handles: With CC
Using double points- cast on 6 sts, leaving a long tail. Work in I- cord on the 6 sts. Work I cord until total length from beginning is 14”. Bind off leaving a long tail. Make second handle the same. Set aside.

Body of Purse:
With the circular needle and CC, loosely cast on 20 sts. Knit 22 rows. Bind off loosely. Change to MC, and pick up 21 sts along each long side and 11 sts along each short side: 64 sts. Place marker. Begin working in st st in the round (knit every round) for 8 rounds, ending at the marker. **Change to CC and knit 4 rounds. Next round: Change to MC and knit, picking up the back of the sts 4 rows below (first row of CC), and knitting them together with the st on the needle to make a large lump. Work 8 rounds total in MC, repeat from ** 2 times more (3 CC ridges total). Continue with the MC working: purl 1 round, knit 1 round, purl 1 round. Bind off loosely knitwise. Weave in all ends.

Sew the 2 handles along each long side- centered, with the ends about 5” apart. FELT THE BAG AND LET DRY.
After felting: Stretch over a box which is just slightly larger than purse to stretch the purse as it dries.
I-cord:
Work I- cord on the 6 sts as follows: **Knit across the 6 sts, then without turning needle, slide stitches to other end of the double pointed needle, wrap yarn around back of stitches and continue knitting from **. Repeat this process until desired length is reached.

Felting:
Set the washer to hot wash, cold rinse, and lowest water level. Add a small bit of laundry soap, not detergent. Do not put anything else in the machine with the purse- things can get tangled in the handles and can distort them. Check on the purse every 5 minutes. Felting could take 20-25 minutes or so. Keep setting back the timer to make the wash cycle longer. When desired felting is achieved, rinse and spin lightly. Spinning can set in creases. Remove purse, stretch it over a sturdy box slightly larger than the purse. Straighten handles. Brush to remove excess lint or shave with a disposable razor. Let dry, which may take up to 2 days.

We would love to see pictures of your Galway felted creations. You can post them on our Facebook page, contact us or email them to me, allisonp@plymouthyarn.com.

If you can dream it, you can felt it……..