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Free Tutorial On Knitting And Felting A Small Decorated Purse
January 2011 More Knitting and Felting from Woolbrain
Small Garden Flowers Purse
This year I would like to share a little more of how I make the things I
do so for my first item I have chosen my felted change purse. This, of
course, is not its only use as it can be used to carry an i Pod or cell
phone, cosmetics, knitting paraphernalia, guitar picks and strings or
woodwind instrument reeds. Perhaps the most popular item to place inside
is a gift card for a friend or colleague therefore giving two gifts in
one! Each purse can be personalized to suit the recipient.
How to make a knitted and felted purse with a zip closure.
Knitted and felted with zip stitched in
The body of the purse is knitted either flat or in a round with a yarn
that is 100% wool that can be felted. The felting process is quite simple
and involves your washing machine and some laundry that needs a good hot
wash. I always place my felting items in an old pillow case and fasten the
end with an elastic band. Load the washing machine with the laundry and
filled pillowcase, don’t forget to add the soap and make sure it is on the hottest wash cycle then set the timer for ten minutes.
Using rubber gloves, remove the pillowcase and take out the purse to gauge
the felting. Some yarns take longer than others to felt so setting the
clock for ten minutes helps achieve a perfect piece. Experience will make
this task easier and quicker. The trick is to not make the purse too small
by leaving it in the hot water for too long!!
Once the felting is to your liking remove from the washing machine and let the washing cycle continue with the laundry. Rinse the purse in warm water and re-shape it as necessary.
Let it air dry on a flat surface, making sure it keeps its shape. Avoid a
rack or ridged surface as this can leave an imprint on the purse.
Various buttonhole threads
When the purse is dry, hand sew in a colour co-ordinated zip using two
strands of strong buttonhole thread. Now is the time to decorate the
outside, if you wish to do so. Choose a suitable cotton lining; I have
several fabric scraps from which to choose as only a small amount is
needed. Measure the purse and add about a quarter inch seam allowance plus
a little more for the top edge. This extra seam allowance allows the
fabric to stretch around the corners at each end of the zip. Cotton
fabric has a little give in it and so this works quite well however
t-shirt fabric works very well and because it has more stretch, does not
require the extra seam allowance at the top edge.
Fabric lining wrong side out
If you require an inside pocket, add this before sewing up the side seams.
A bottom seam can be avoided by folding the fabric along this edge thus
making a long rectangular shape. Adjust the lining to fit the purse and hand
stitch it in place, just above the zip stitching making sure that your
stitches do not show on the outside of your purse.
Pin in the lining and stitch
Ta Dah – your purse!
Although this picture shows the flowers on the table at this point they SHOULD be securely sewn to the outside of your purse.
I hope this helps those of you who would like to make your designer purses
for carrying small items from cell phones to jewellery. They are lots of
fun to make and give as gifts. Adding beads and trims will make each one a
designer original.
Inspiration
Most of my inspiration comes from the natural world, our garden and the surrounding beauty of Western Canada. We are fortunate to live near the ocean which can be a place of great serenity and chaos. I love colour and texture.
Knitting for me is a kind of meditative therapy that enables me to quiet my mind and explore my creative abilities. No matter what happens creatively, I feel a little magic comes into each design. I make every effort to create earth-friendly items for my shop. I like to use re-purposed, gently loved t-shirts and re-cycled natural and sustainable materials wherever possible in my work.
My favourite yarn is wool of any weight depending on the project. One day I hope to learn to spin and weave.
New Designs For My Felted Pouches
Just a little update on my knitting and felting adventures to-day. I felted three new style pouches they are made with different yarns and therefore will look slightly different.
This is the shape but the three to-day are different colours, lime green, earthy brown and a dark sea foam green, I love to buy new yarns and play with them to see how they will work out.
Finding good felting yarn can be a bit of a challenge around here I used to have a local yarn shop that sold great yarn for felting but unfortunately they no longer carry it.
We have also had a few car problems so knitting and felting have been somewhat sporadic due to the fact that we had to take the van to the garage for repairs. Thank goodness for my scooter !! I love it as you can see, it is pictured above with my knitting is knotty sticker and some skeins in lovely colours.
So my pouches are drying by the woodstove and I look forward to finding suitable buttons for closures although I did have a thought …to make funky felted buttons. Do you do that… have wildly creative thoughts when you are driving along and cannot write them down?… and my mind is not the sort that remembers all that well at the moment ! need I say more.
Steep Learning Curve
To-day has been a steep learning curve for me . I am not very “techie” but I am slowly making changes each day as I have time. I seem to be up late at night burning the midnight oil!
I have been able to work on two pouches and have two more ready to go on sale. I listed my favourite one today, Cream Bridal Felted Pouch with applique roses. I am thinking that it would be a good design to make a little bigger and therefore have a larger applique. I have pictures on Flickr with some of my colour choices. If you would like to see them just click on the Flickr link to the right of this.
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