Suzann’s Textilefusion

I made this Little Felt Purse to illustrate my article about Suzanne Correira and Fire Ant Ranch in the Fall 2005 issue of INKnitters, page 42. Several people have requested instructions. My notes are very sketchy, so the instructions below are extremely basic.

In exchange for these instructions, I hope you will call 1-800-628-8047 and order a copy of the Fall 2005 INKnitters, so you can read about Fire Ant Ranch. Better yet, subscribe to the magazine, because I will have a fantastic article in the winter issue (see hints here and here), and more great articles planned for 2006.

Little Felt Purse

You will need:

• one hank of hand-dyed, Handspun 1-ply Sport (bulky) from Fire Ant Ranch (I used the Grape colorway)
• size 10 knitting needles
• tapestry needle, scissors, pins
• measuring tape
• a couple of loads of laundry to be washed in hot water

GAUGE: oops. I forgot to write down the gauge. Gauge doesn’t matter much, because you are going to felt the purse anyway. Just strive to have a relaxed gauge (not too stiff), and have fun knitting.

FOR THE BODY OF THE PURSE, cast on 33.

Rows 1, 2, and 3: * k 1, p 1 * Repeat between *s across the row.

Row 4: knit

Row 5: purl

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until piece measures 15 inches in length. (You are working stockinette stitch all this time.)

Last 3 rows: same as rows 1, 2, and 3. Bind off in pattern.

FOR THE PURSE STRAP, cast on 10.

Work in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) for around 31 inches OR until you have about 1 yard of yarn left. Bind off.

FINISHING

1. Mark the center of each side of the purse body with a pin. Mark the center of each end of the purse strap with a pin.

2. Match one purse strap center with one purse body center. Pin with purl sides together. Pin purse body around the end of the strap and up the sides of the strap. Make sure the top edges of the purse body end at the same height on the purse strap.

3. With the remaining yarn, sew with a whip stitch or overcast stitch (in this detail, you can just barely see the stitching as little diagonal slashes between the strap and the body of the purse).

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other side of the purse.

5. Wash the purse with a couple of loads of laundry in hot water. When the purse is felted enough for you, shape it around a small folded towel and let dry.

I ran a row of decorative machine stitching around the top of my purse. It wasn’t very successful, because I didn’t stabilize properly. If you want to do that, I recommend tear-away stabilizer on the bottom and soluble stabilizer on top.

This added November 6, 2005. Woolwinder asked for the finished measurements. Measuring from the top of the handle to the bottom of the bag, and from side to side of the bag, it is 9-1/4 by 9-1/4 inches. If you leave out the handle, the bag measures about 9-1/4 x 5-1/4 inches.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2005 at 1:31 pm and is filed under KnitCrochet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.