Size: non-felted: approx. 40 cm x 43 cm

felted: approx. 24 cm x 26 cm

Material: Felting wool colour (company Gründl),

100 % new wool,

50 g approximately 50 m

Required quantity:

approx. 400 g

Needle thickness:

Circular knitting needle 8.0 – 9.0

Pattern 1: stocking stitch: RSR: knit

WSR: p st

in rounds: knit only

Pattern 2: small pearl pattern:

1st r: 1 est, * knit 1, purl 1, rep after *, end with 1 est

2nd r: 1 est, * purl 1, knit 1, rep after *, end with 1 est

always repeat those two rows

Tension sample

(stocking stitch, non-felted): 10 stitches x 15 rows = 10 cm x 10 cm

(stocking stitch, felted): 15 stitches x 27 rows = 10 cm x 10 cm

Knitting pattern:

The bag is knitted from top to bottom. At first cast on 8 stitches each for the two halves of the straps, and knit pattern 2 for approx. 65 cm, then leave stitches. Then cast on 34 stitches for the flap of the bag and knit 40 rows of pattern 1. After that, leave the stitches as well. Now continue in rounds for the bag as follows: first knit together the 8 stitches left from the first half of the strap, then the stitches of the flap of the bag and the stitches of the 2nd half of the strap; knit together the last stitch of the 1st half of the strap and the 1st stitch of the flap of the bag, as well as the last stitch of the flap of the bag and the 1st stitch of the 2nd half of the strap, and cast on another 32 stitches in addition (= 80 stitches). The round starts with the first stitch of the first half of the strap. After 60 rounds of starting the round mark the 4th and 5th stitch as well as the 44th and 45th stitch. For the curvature of the bag, decrease as follows on both sides of the marked stitches on every 2nd round 4 x 1 stitches: before the marked stitches: knit 2 together, after the marked stitches: slip off 1 stitch knit-wise, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over (= 64 st). Bind off the stitches after 8 rounds after starting the decrease. (= bottom of the bag)

Finishing:

Sew the bottom of the bag and the two halves of the strap together. (use felting wool for the seams).

Flower:

Cast on 50 stitches and knit 7 rows as follows:

1 est, * knit 2, purl 2, rep after *, 1 est

Fold the strip in pleats of approx. 3 cm, and use a thread (felt wool) to bind it off at about 1.5 cm to the lower edge. Now stitch the open sides together. Sew the flower directly onto the bag (use felt wool), or fasten it to a pin (available in arts and crafts shops) after felting, so that the flower can have a more versatile use.

Felting:

Put the bag and the flower (on its own) into the washing machine with 3 tennis balls and felt it at 40°C, colour wash. Please do not use fabric softener. After the washing: pull the bag and the flower into shape and let them dry.

Abbreviations:

RSR = right-side row • WSR = wrong-side row • ri = right • le = left • k st = knit stitch • p st = purl stitch st = stitch • r = row • rd = round • est = edge stitch • rep = repeat • bs = both sides • i. e. = in every k. tog. = knit together