Black Magic Felted Purse
Developed and knitted by Tanya Thomann Approximately $12^{\prime\prime}{\times}8^{\prime\prime}$ after felting
Materials:
2 Skeins of Reynolds Lopi (100yd.) 1 Skein of Cancun (93 yds) or other ribbon novelty yarn Size10, $^{16^{\prime\prime}}$ circular needle size 10 double point needles for strap Tapestry needle or crochet hook for weaving in ends Note: This bag is not knitted as loosely as a typical felted bag is. It will feel fairly dense as you knit it, and you will not loose as much size as it felts.
Handles
Cast on 5 sts. Knit 3 stitches, move yarn to front and slip remaining 2 stitches purl-wise. Turn work and repeat. It will take awhile to see the pattern emerging, but it will look like a flat strap with I-cord on each side and a garter stitch in the middle. Work for $26^{\prime\prime}$ . Repeat for second strap.
Body
Using one strand of Lopi, Cast-on 40 sts. Join into round. Row1: Knit. Place stitch markers after the 10th and 30th st. These will be the sides of thebag. Row2: Knit. Increase 1st before and after the stitch markers. (Plus 4sts, 44sts.) Row3: Knit. Repeat row2 and 3 until there are 80 sts on the needle. Begin knitting with one strand of Lopi and one strand of Cancun. Knit 15 rows. Start decreasing. Decrease 1st before and after the markers. (Minus 4sts, 76sts.) Decrease in this manner on every third row until there are 60 sts on the needle. Cast off using a three needle bind off.
Finishing:
Attach the straps to the bag on the front and back at the sides. You can also make and felt a loop of crochet, braid or I-cord and sew it inside center edge of the purse, then sew a button on the purse front after felting. Weave in all ends
Felting:
Put bag and handles into a 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 old jeans for agitation. Watch closely as it may felt quickly depending on your machine. Many Washers require more than one agitation cycle, watch your bag closely as it felts. You can control the amount of shrinkage by removing the purse when it reaches a size that is appealing to you. The body should shrink more in length way than in width. Many advise against letting your felted items spin dry as it may cause permanent creases in the felting. Spin at your own risk! Squeeze remaining water out of the bag as best you can. Dry I put rolled hand towels in the bag to shape it as it dries. It can also be dried flat.
