The Woolly Brew: a Felted Shoulder Bag

a step by step guide to making our Felted Shoulder Bag.

step 1 - knit it.

A how to knit guide is included in the kit.

step 2 and 3 - sow and felt

The bag piece and handle are completed. Now they need to be sewn together. Remember all the instructions on how to make you Felted Shoulder Bag are included in your kit (including backstitch!)

Now into the washing machine! Full felting instructions are included in the kit too!

step 4 - pegging it out.

Step 4 should have included a photograph of the bag when it first came out of the washing machine but I panicked. Even as a confident machine felter I was surprised at how small the bag looked after one hot wash.

I needn't have panicked - a quick pull and stretch and the bag turned out fine! SO DON'T PANIC!

The edges of the bag and handle will be curled when you take it out the washing machine. If you like this effect then simply pull and stretch you felted bag into shape and leave to dry flat.

curling edges

If you want to straighten you handle and top edge try using pegs...

We've shown how a row of pegs around the top can uncurl the edge, the same is true for the handle.

I've hung it up with a skirt hanger - this is not strictly needed but may help it dry quicker and give a slight A line shape to the bag. And it's left overnight until the bag is completely dry.

Step 5 - uncurled and steamed

Once the pegs have been removed (and after a wee press with a steam iron to erase any peg marks) the Felted Shoulder Bag looks like this.

step 6 - embellishing

The embellishment pack you get with your Felted Shoulder Bag allows you to personalise your newly felted bag. We've also included some ideas and instructions on how to add buttons and basic stitches to your bag.

I gave this bag has a buttonhole (tutorial here) and a large blue button.