Felted Bag - Pretty in Pink knitting tutorial

Westport, CT

Want to make your own felted bag? Check out my Felting 101 Pic-Tutorial at http://majorknitter.typepad.com/major_knitter/2004/09/how_to_felt_a_b.html#comments

If you make a bag, please send me a picture so I can post it and share it with others.

Happy felting!

Here it is! The much awaited primer on how to make a felted bag. I hope you like it.

These bags are made by knitting 2 strands of yarn at the same time with a size 13 needle. Start with about 5 skeins of worsted weight wool in a variety of colors. Whichever color is your base color, use 2 skeins of that. Otherwise, you can pull the yarn from the outside and the center to create the double strand. It's a little messy, but it will work. If you have a ball winder, you might prefer to wind some balls with double strands to start. I generally use Paton's Classic Wool - Merino or Lamb's Pride, or Plymouth Galway. You will have leftover yarn, but it will allow you to make a second bag (maybe even a third?) with the same stripe pattern.

Cast on about 30 stitches or so. Knit in garter stitch for 16 rows. This will create 8 ridges. Generally, for various bag sizes, you should make the bag approximately half as wide as it is long. KEEP IN MIND THAT BAGS SHRINK MORE IN THE HEIGHTH THAN IN THE WIDTH. If you knit a rectangular bag, it will shrink to a square when felted. If you only knit a square bag, it will shrink into a smaller rectangle when felted.

Bind off all the stitches except the final stitch.

Pick up 8 stitches along the edge of the base of the bag. (HALF THE 16 STITCHES - adjust accordingly if you use a different number of stitches).

Pick up 30 stitches (the same number as the length of the base) along the length of the bag.

Pick up 8 stitches along the next edge of the the bag.

Pick up the final 30 stitches along the final edge of the bag.

Place a marker and knit in the round for about 2-3 inches.

Start adding in alternating colors in stripes of 1-6 rows at a time. Experiment. Combine colors in ways that you feel will look nice. I recommend at least 3 colors for a striped bag. For the Tree Series bag, I used 5-6 colors.

Making candy flowers

2.

This gift for a friend who loves sunflower seeds - there is not even discussed.

3.

This bouquet for colleagues. Tulips from central floral corrugation, beautiful color with the transition, but it is very thick.

make button felt tutorial

How To: Make a Big Felt Button

Needle felting is a technique where you felt together wool fibres using a special barbed needle. By sculpting the wool as you poke it, the possibilities of what can be made are endless.

Pom Poms and Hearts

Earlier in the week, I showed the Girly Skirts I made for my girls.  But I wanted to add a little extra something sweet to the outfits for Valentine’s Day.

Making felt flowers tutorial

How to make a beauty flower

How to make Felt Poinsettia Ornament

I started with three felt circles: two at approximately 3 1/4 inches () and one at 2 1/2.



Mark at equal intervals: eight on the larger, six on the smallest. I've used an air-erasable marker on these, but you can actually cut these markings since they'll be cut here anyway. 

Holiday crafts

Cardstock Ornaments

I don’t have step by step pictures of these, but they are easy (if I can do it…). If you want detailed pictures, let me know and I can take some tonight.
You need:
Cardstock 
1” Scrapbook Punch 
Sequins 
Long sewing pins with pearl tips 

Le petit lapin

Making fabric toys: rabit pattern

Making gifts: round flower plant

 
Making gifts: round flower plant

Funny bracelet: Knot

Bracelet knot by wool

Bracelet knot by wool

easy bead tree

 easy bead tree

Tutorial: hairclip

 these flowers can make a bow on the elastic band, attached to a barrette, dress, yes anywhere.

2.

Blue cily of Jodhpur founded in 1459

Blue City 

Travellers journeying through the desolate landscape of the unforgiving Thar desert in the Indian state of Rajasthan would know when they had reached their destination. The sky would fall to the ground and everything would become a single color – blue. Jodhpur would lie before them, opening up like a blue treasure in the desert.

tutorial: Lovely Hair Clip Flowers

Holy cow, it’s almost time for my kids to head back to school… and that means one thing:
My project list is very long.
Since I might be the most hairdo challenged person on the planet (my girls can only dream of french braids), the only hope my girls have of looking cute is hair accessories.
Last spring I saw a darling headband made by Amy on Diary of a Quilter.  The rose tutorial had come from Betz White.  That little project has stuck in my mind all these months, and last night I made a few hair clips out of the roses.
I loved making these clips.  The roses are easy and so very pretty.  And any chance to use my scraps of wool is a happy day.

How to make Barbed Star

Making baby toys with felt

 

Sewing for baby

Crochet belt pattern

Crochet belt pattern

Lace work four seasons 100

Lace work four seasons 100 book

Last Minute Valentine Card Tutorials

Heartstring Gift Tags 

Use gift tag paper shaper and mini heart puncher to fashion cute valentine bakery gift tags.

1. Cut out paper tags using paper shaper.

2. Punch out heart design on paper tag.

3. Cut out small piece of fabric swatch and tape underneath heart window.

4. Cut out another paper tag and glue to  the back of the first paper tag. Punch out hole to insert bakery twine string.