Patchwork Satchel ©marheck2022

 On a roll now.  A felting project for you.

This purse/tote/satchel is easy to make and is sturdy.  It can be knit on any gauge machine, but a midgauge or bulky machine is preferable; a midgauge was used for the sample.

In selecting yarns, be sure the yarns are 100% wool, not superwash or treated to be washable and dryable.  It’s best to use the same brand for all of the colors.  Even so, the colors will likely felt at
different rates.

I chose saturated colors that are considered to be “jewel tones”.  You may prefer earth tones or pastels.  It’s a good idea to put the colors together and study them a bit, perhaps removing some and adding others as you study the composition.  You could also knit with just two colors for a checkerboard effect.

The purse is constructed so that you attach pieces as you knit.  This eliminates seams. 

This is a good project to use up small amounts of yarn in your stash.

The knitting level is approximately at an advanced beginner level.  Some sewing skills are required.

I lined the bag for extra body, but this is optional.

MACHINE   Pattern is written for the midgauge but a bulky machine would work as well since the science of felting is not so exact anyway .

YARN  I used Paton’s Merino wool-  a medium worsted weight.  I used small amounts of 16 different colors, 2 skeins of the colors used for the hems and straps.  You could successfully use less colors and place them randomly.  If you are using up yarn from your stash, improvise as far as how much of any one color to use.   You can also use a thinner yarn and double it to approximate the medium worsted weight, but do this throughout, not for just selected patches.

GAUGE  Before felting, 4 stitches and 5 rows = 1 inch. 

FINISHED SIZE   14” high by 20 inches wide;  depending on how your yarn felts, it may vary some from this size.

OTHER MATERIALS  five ¾ inch beads for decoration and closure, ¾ yard coordinating lining material, small amount of interfacing for inner pocket, matching sewing thread, large- eyed sewing needle and sewing machine.

KNITTING NOTES

·        As stated above, this pattern provides directions for a midgauge machine.  You can modify for the machine you are using.  That is, if using a bulky, you could multiply stitches and rows by 80% or so, or knit it the same as the directions for a slightly larger bag. If using a standard gauge machine, I would multiply the stitches and rows x 140%.  Always use the highest tension (loosest) for best felting, regardless of which machine you are using.

·        It’s a good idea to do a tension swatch to see what you need to do for each patch. You may want to adjust the size of the squares.  I was aiming for square patches, but mine came out a little on the rectangular side.  Even though I did do a swatch, the knitting tends to shrink more in length than it does in width.   If you’re ok with this, follow the directions as written.  If you want squares, add a few rows to each patch to compensate for the extra shrinkage in length.

·       Examine the edge of the knitting.  You want to be able to identify the loops.  The knitting will have a loop and on top of that a knot.  You will hang the loops to attach one strip or piece to the next.

·       It’s not a bad idea to draw yourself a chart on paper and decide color placement ahead of time.

 

DIRECTIONS

Straps       Knit 2 the same

T 10.(loosest throughout) Ewrap 18 needles, knit 120 rows.  Bind off loosely.  (This size makes a comfortable shoulder strap.)  Fold in half and stitch shut with a mattress stitch.  Two layers makes it stronger.

 

Patchwork strips to make the rectangular sides  - Make two sides 

Strip one:  Cast on with waste yarn over 20 stitches, T 10. and knit a few rows.  RC 000. With main yarn, E wrap on and knit to RC 24.  Drop color one and knit 24 rows of color two.  Drop color two and knit 24 rows of color three.  Drop color three and knit 24 rows of color four.  (RC 96)  Take strip off on a few rows of waste yarn.  Tie yarn ends together so they don’t unravel.

 

Strip two:  Cast on with waste yarn over 20 stitches, T 10. and knit a few rows.  RC 000.  Ewrap on with main yarn.  With the wrong side of strip #one facing you, hang the first loop on the left needle.   With new color main yarn, knit 2 rows.  Pick up the next loop from the completed strip, hang it on the left most needle, knit 2 rows.  When you have reached 24 rows of the new patch, change colors and proceed in the same manner until you reach the top and have added 4 patches.  (RC 96)  Take off on a few rows of waste yarn. Try to make the colors come out so that they line up across from each other.  Fudge if you have to, but if you are picking up loops, not knots, it should come out right.

Strips three and four:  Knit in the same manner as you did strip two.

Tie yarn ends together so they don’t unravel.

Make the second rectangle the same as the first. Hide yarn ends.  Remove waste yarn from the bottom of the bag.

 

SIDE GUSSETS

These are knit while hanging the bottoms and sides at the same time.  (See drawing below.)

 

Cast on with waste yarn over 24 stitches, knit a few rows T 10.  Change to main yarn, knit one row.  ( I knit the bottom of the gusset in one color and the sides of the gussets in a second color, but you can use just one color.)

With the wrong side of rectangle #one facing you, find the exact center of the bottom and hang that stitch on the leftmost needle.  With the wrong side of rectangle #two facing you, find the exact center of the bottom and hang that stitch on the rightmost needle.  Knit two rows.  When you get to the corner, knit 3 rows before hanging rectangle stitches.  (This helps the gusset go more smoothly around the corner.)  Check frequently that you are in the same place on both sides.  If you get off track, it’s best to redo or the bag will bias.  When you have knit the gusset and joined all the way to the top, take off on waste yarn.  Turn the piece around, pick up the bottom stitches from the waste yarn and knit in the other direction.  Difficult to explain, but it’s not hard to do.  When done knitting the second gusset, remove waste yarn.

TOP HEM

You should have 100 stitches on each side of the bag --- 80 from the rectangle, 10 for half of the gusset on both sides.  Hang  one half of the bag stitches, wrong side facing you, decreasing evenly across to 80 stitches.  With main yarn, knit 13 rows.  Pick up and hang first row to make hem.  Knit one row by hand left to right and bind off loosely. Repeat for the other side of the bag.

 

I CORDS

 

Side ties:  Set machine to slip one way, knit the other to make I cords.  Knit a 4 stitch I cord, changing colors as desired to RC 220. Bind off by placing the outer stitches on the center stitch and binding off the two remaining stitches. Make two the same.

Front closure:  Knit one four stitch I cord 80 rows long.  Bind off  as above.

Short I cord decorations:  With the wrong side of one side facing you, fold down the hem toward you.  Pick up 3 stitches from the right side, 2 ½ inches from the edge and immediately under the hem.  Set machine to slip one way, knit the other to make 3 stitch I cords.  Knit 40 rows.  Bind off as above to one stitch.  Repeat across the bag, staggering the I cords every 4 stitches or so and changing colors and lengths at random.  My I cords were 20, 30, 40 and 50 rows long using all the colors in the bag, one to each I cord.  Leave a 2 ½ inch space when you reach the end.  With a large-eyed embroidery needle, hide yarn ends by sewing up into the tube and snipping.

Repeat on the other side of the bag.

FINISHING

Sew the two sides together at the top hem with a mattress stitch, both sides.  Felt the purse, I cord side ties, front closure I cord and straps at the same time in the washing machine.  Hot/cold cycle with a small amount of detergent and a few other smooth pieces of clothing.  (No towels.)  Stick around to watch the progress.  Repeat cycle if necessary.  When felted to your satisfaction, stuff the satchel with scrunched up plastic bags and lay flat to dry.

 

Pinch the sides together at the top and with a large knitting needle (at least size 10) poke a hole through all 4 layers.  Thread the I cord side ties through these holes and tie a knot close to the purse.  This cinches in the purse at the top.  String a bead onto the end of each side I cord and tie a knot to hold in place.  Repeat for other side. If you don't cinch in the sides, the top is too wide open. 

With a sewing machine, sew straps to purse about 3 inches in from each side.   Sew a few times for strength. Fold the front closure I cord in half and sew the two ends to the top middle of one side, on the inside.  Sew a bead onto the purse, measuring  where it should be. 

Slip over the bead for measurement and sew together just above the bead with sewing thread so that the top stays closed.

LINING

Lay the bag on a piece of paper for a pattern and trace around it leaving room for 5/8” seams on all sides and a 2” hem on the top.  Cut out two layers of your lining with this pattern.

For pockets, cut two rectangles about 10” wide x 8” long out of the lining material and same out of interfacing.  With right sides of the lining material together and the interfacing on top, sew around 3 sides.  Turn right side out.  Stitch down the pocket to one side of the lining about two inches down from the top and  in the middle.  Sew vertical lines to divide the pocket for pens, cell phones, etc.  Embroider initials on the other side of the lining.  With right sides together, sew around the lining, leaving the top open.  Push into the felted bag, tacking the bottom of the bag to the bottom of the lining in a few places on the inside.  Fold under the top hem to cover up the machine stitching.  Hand sew with tiny stitches and doubled thread. 

I hope you enjoy this project. It certainly will be unique to you.

Fuzzy Feet Revisited

Wanted to make a specific size with different wool than I had used in the past on my LK 150 midgauge.  This exercise just reinforced the fact that felting/fulling is really unpredictable.  These are intended for my 8 year old grandson as a stocking stuffer.  Guessing the stitches and rows,  I did 50 stitches x 60 rows, every other needle. (I am counting the actual stitches, not total needles on the machine.)  On my bulky machine I could use every needle.  No go on the midgauge.  Since the midgauge didn't especially like this yarn or the fact that there were two strands (one wool and one fun fur) I kept the fun fur on the floor and hand fed it with the yarn in the mast, both going into the carriage together.  So far so good.  These take very little time to knit.  After aggressive felting in the washing machine, they turned out to be my size. Pretty large.

Back to the drawing board.  This time I used 25 stitches and 40 rows.  Wild guess.  8 rows each color: red, yellow, purple, green, royal blue.  Same method.  Yea! they turned out the right size for an 8 year old, about 9" long.  I bought some googly eyes and sewed them on, also adding a dot of permanent fabric glue to hold the eyes in place.  Don't know if the eyes themselves will withstand washing, but won't be a tragedy if they don't.  Non- threatening monster slippers!  The slippers are really soft and so cute!

Posting this so that you know--- if you make them--- the process might take a few tries.  Unfortunately once they are felted, you can't undo them.  But if they turn out a size you didn't intend, they should fit someone! Check out my previous post for more specific directions.

Need a stocking stuffer? Knit some Fuzzy Feet Slippers

Fuzzy Feet  by Mar Heck ©2019

 This pattern is adapted from an easy, old, hand- knit slipper pattern that for years has been passed along from grandmother to grandchild and probably has been knit a million times.   Adding three twists to the pattern:  they are done on the machine in lightening quick fashion in stockinette stitch, we are adding fun fur to tickle our fancy and we are felting them to make them extra warm. MACHINE:   9 mm Bulky or midgauge 

SIZES:

   Child to adult.  Adult in parenthesis.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

  3 (4) skeins Lion Brand Fun Fur™ (60 yards per skein, polyester), purple used for the sample

  1 (2) skeins knitting worsted weight wool yarn (Do not use wool yarn made to resist

   felting,  called superwash.) Light blue used for the sample.   Large eyed needle for sewing up

SKILL LEVEL:

    Beginner.

         Skills needed:  Making a swatch and determining gauge

                                E wrap cast on.               

                                Mattress stitch for hand sewing.

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Determine the recipient’s foot size by taking two measurements.  Measure the foot length from heel to toe and then measure around the instep close to the ankle.  The foot length will be the finished slipper length (number of rows)  and the width will be how high the slipper comes up each side of the foot on the sides of the heel/ankle (number of stitches).  The slipper is just a plain rectangle.

2.  Make a swatch .  You will make the slipper the size of the felted gauge. With one strand of fun fur and one strand of the wool held together, e wrap cast on 20 stitches and knit 30 rows at the largest tension your machine will do.  End with waste yarn and remove from machine.  The waste yarn will tell you which direction is the rows.  If it felts really well, it’s hard to otherwise tell which direction is which.  It will feel like a big waste of yarn, but you’ll only have to do this once for a particular brand of wool.  (You might be able to later think of a use for this little swatch.)  Throw the swatch in the washing machine until the wool felts.  Depending on the yarn you choose it may take a few cycles for it to felt.  After it attains the look you want, measure the swatch to determine stitches and rows per inch or centimeters, whichever you are more comfortable with.   Multiply the stitches and rows per inch times the dimensions you want to determine how many stitches and rows you will knit for your rectangle.  (See note below for calculating.) Note that it will have shrunk more in length than in width.

***If you prefer not to make a swatch, for a rough reference:  using the largest tension, my child’s slipper turned out to be at T 10.. 44 stitches X 50 rows to fit an 7-8” foot.  My adult women’s slipper, about a size 9, turned out to be 50 stitches X 74 rows to fit a 9 -10 inch foot. Because felting is not an exact science, you’ll need to do a little experimenting with the yarn you choose.  If you use the same yarns for different sizes, you can knit a pair using your best guesses for stitches and rows then adjust for other sizes by adding or subtracting stitches and rows. This works fine if you would prefer not to waste yarn on a swatch.  (You can’t reuse yarn that’s been felted, so some people would prefer to just dive right in.)    Another thought: you will want the slipper to be a bit snug, so do not add any ease.

3.  Directions for knitting.  Knit one rectangle for each  slipper.

*  E wrap cast on loosely from left to right with one strand of each yarn held together over the number of needles  you have determined you need.  Leave a yarn tail at the beginning about 10” long to later sew up the heel seam.

*  Put the yarns together in the feeder and turn the dial to the largest tension number.  Set your row counter to zero and knit one row from right to left.  (May be a bit hard to push the carriage.)

*  Hook the cast on comb into the stitches.  Add as much weight across the knitting as you can. Use ribber weights if you have them.  For the first 2-3 rows, pull all needles out to E position each row to make the stitches knit off a little easier.  Yank the knitting down after each row so that the fur doesn’t get hung up on the gate pegs.  Knit the number of rows you have determined you need.

*  End with the carriage on the right side.  Take the yarn out of the feeder and cut a length of the two yarns about 1 ½ feet long which will be used for sewing up the top of the slipper. ( I sewed mine first then felted them. ) Thread both strands into a large eyed  needle and take the stitches off their needles, one at a time from right to left onto this thread.  When all stitches are off the machine, pull the stitches as tight as you can.  This will be the toe.  You will most likely have a little hole, so stitch across the hole from north to south and east to west a few times.  Neatness doesn’t count because the felting and the fur will hide your sewing.

* Don’t break yarn.  With this same length of yarn, sew up the top of the foot seam with a mattress stitch from the toe towards the back of the slipper.  Again, for reference, I sewed a 3 inch seam for the child’s slipper and a 4 inch seam for the adult.  Fasten off by sewing through your last stitch again and then hide the yarn tail inside the slipper by sewing through the backs of 5-6 stitches and cutting the yarn off.   You need a large enough opening to slip the foot into, but small enough to stay on snugly.

*   Thread both strands of your beginning yarn tail into a large eyed needle and sew up the heel seam. You will be folding the back of the slipper in half and sewing from top to bottom.  The stitches face each other, so you can’t do a mattress stitch.  Any seam will do. Sew twice for strength.  Hide the yarn tail as above.

*  Note:  the edge that ends up around the ankle needs no treatment.  When felted it lies perfectly flat.  No problem there!

4.  Felt both slippers at the same time in the same wash load(s) giving them the same treatment as you did your swatch.  My wool needed 3 hot/cold cycles to felt, but each yarn brand seems to behave differently as do different colors, so you just need to monitor it.  When felted to the size you need, scrunch up some plastic bags, stuff the slippers so they have a nice shape and let them dry for a day or so.  Petting them doesn’t prolong the drying period, so have at it.  It’s amazing how the wool pulls together and makes the non-felting polyester “fur” more dense.  People are kind of surprised you can do this on a machine.  Just one bit of warning, they’re slippery on smooth floors.

5.  I found this addictive and made several pairs. They are so soft and cozy! For your next pair, you can do stripes and/or embellish them with bows, eyes, ears, tails, whatever.  Baby booties would be really cute and easy.  Because of the slippery nature of the slippers  (is that how the word came about?), the pattern may not be appropriate for toddlers or older folk.  You decide.  Once you have your gauge, the next pair is a snap. They are so silly, they’re fun!

New Knitter Notes:

Ewrap Cast On:

Pull needles that are going to be in work out to E position.  Make a slip knot and hang it on first needle on the left.  Push the knot back to the needle bed.  Just as though you were writing a cursive “e”, wrap the yarn around each needle counter clockwise, from left to right up against the bed, not in the hooks of the needles.  Easy does it---don’t wrap too tightly.  No need to wrap the last needle on the right.  Just put the yarn in the yarn feeder and that stitch will knit automatically as you push the carriage from right to left.  After your first row, hang the cast-on comb.

One way to calculate the stitches and rows per inch:

This simple method works in this case since we are dealing in approximations anyway.  For a sweater, you would want to do a more extensive swatch.  In this example, you knit 20 stitches and 30 rows and then felt your swatch.  When it has felted to your liking, measure the width.  Say your swatch, after felting, measures 4 inches across.  20 stitches divided by 4 inches = 5 stitches per inch.  To get your number of stitches for the width of the slipper, multiply 5 times the number of inches you want.  Say the length ended up to be 5 inches.  30 rows divided by 5 inches = 6 rows per inch.  To get the number of rows for the length of the slipper, multiply 6 times the number of inches you want.

Hand sewing a mattress stitch: 

Have the right sides of both pieces facing you, side by side.  With your large needle, go under two bars on the right side of the first stitch of the piece on the right, then under two bars on the left side of the first stitch on the left piece.  Go back and forth repeating from side to side, pulling the yarn taut now and then.  The stitches from each side pull together making the seam invisible from the right side.

Mar's Magnificent Minnesota Midgauge Felted Mitts

Mar’s Magnificent Midgauge Felted Mittens   ©2015 rev.
I've edited the tops of the mittens to make them easier to knit and added a small size

Machine:  LK150, SR 860, Kx 350--no ribber required

Yarn:  Mary Lou’s Schuss Plus or any 100% wool that knits to the same gauge (If you use a different yarn and gauge I can’t guarantee they’ll come out to the same size as mine did). And felting adds another variable.  Schuss Plus is about the size of hand knitting sport weight yarn or light worsted.

Gauge:  At T10.. (loosest possible) 4.5 st and 6 r = 1” before felting

Other materials needed:  Size F crochet hook (or use the one that came with your machine), large eyed needle for seaming

Finished sizes:  Child 3-4, (Average women’s hand or older child, large) in parenthesis.  You should always felt both mitts at the same time to get the same result for both mitts.  You may need to knit a pair and see if you achieved the size you wanted, then do some adjustments for the next pair.

 

 

 

Directions:  (Both mittens are knit in the same way)

         BODY

1.  Ewrap cast on over 18-0-18 (21-0-21, 24-0-24) needles.  T10..  RC000.  Knit to RC 14 (18, 22) and put a yarn marker on both sides.  Knit to RC 30 (34,38) and put a yarn marker on both sides.  (This is the thumb placement.)
2. Knit to RC 50 (56, 62). If you think you need a longer mitt, adjust rows here. CAR.  Set machine to hold.  Put left 18 ( 21 , 24) stitches in hold position. 
3. On the half that is in work--*Decrease one stitch both sides, knit one row.*  Repeat  until you have 4 ( 5, 6) stitches left in work.  Bind these stitches off loosely. Note, it is not necessary to do a full fashioned decrease, because once felted, the stitches disappear.
4. Take machine off hold.  On the other half of the mitt, repeat #3.  Remove from machine.
   
    
   THUMB

1.  Locate the bottom yarn markers both sides.  With purl side facing you on the inside  and the cuff down, pointy tops up, hang this stitch so that the stitch from both sides is on needle #1.  You have the beginnings of a tube.  You can tell if you've hung it correctly when purl stitches are toward you on the inside of the tube and purls are what are about to be knit.  Confession;  i knit two thumbs upside down until I got a grip on myself...SO double check.  Twice!!!  Air was as blue as the mitt.
2. With your 3 prong tool, splay the sides of the mitt out, pick up 8 ( 9 , 10)  more whole stitches to the right, up to the top yarn marker and do the same for the left side, the same number of stitches.  You now have 17 (19, 21) stitches in work.  You will want to skip a few stitches as you hang because you are matching up rows to stitches.
3. Set the machine to hold.  All needles except the center doubled one are in hold.  Hang a claw weight under the doubled stitch.  Knit one row.  Push a needle opposite the carriage in the middle, next to the stitch that just knit, into working position. Knit one row.  Continue putting needles opposite the carriage into work one at a time until all needles are working.  (No need to wrap, but work slowly and check each row to make sure the new needle did knit.  If not, knit the stitch through by hand.)
4. Knit 6 (8) rows even on all 17 (19, 21) stitches. Adjust rows here if you think you need a longer or shorter thumb.
5. Decrease for thumb tip:  Transfer every other stitch to its neighbor and move all the stitches in so there are no empties.  Knit one row.  Repeat once more.  Take the remaining stitches off on a large eyed needle and cinch up.  Don’t seam yet.

         JOIN THE TWO HALVES AT THE TOP OF MITT

1.  With right side facing you, hang the top stitches you bound off of one side and then picking up whole stitches, pick up stitches down the curve.  Pick up the same number on the other side.  Hang a claw wt. (if you can’t get all the stitches on, do half and then the remaining half.) Push stitches to the back of the bed, needles all the way out with latches open.  Write down the number of stitches you  have hung so that you do the second mitt exactly the same.
2. Fold over so the purl side of the other half is facing you (purl side visible) and hang the same stitches as you did on the other side but into the hooks of the needles.  Hang another claw wt so the stitches don’t jump off. The right sides of the mitt are facing each other.
3.  Close latches.  With a straight edge that is at least as wide as the stitches you are working with, push the front stitches through the back in one fell swoop.  Don’t be timid.
4. Pull needles all the way out and stitches back to make it easier to bind off.  Bind off loosely with your favorite technique. (It won’t show.)
    
   FINISHING

1.  Seam all open seams from the right side by whip stitching just half of each stitch loosely.  The seam won’t show after felting, but picking up just half a stitch each side reduces bulk.  You could also mattress stitch from the right side taking just half a stitch.
2. Secure yarn ends and cut about 2 inches. (Can trim after the felting process.)
3. Crochet cuff edge:

1.  Single crochet into each stitch around
2. Secure to beginning stitch and chain one.
3. Single crochet in each of 3 stitches, then  4 chains.  Secure bottom of chain into same stitch.  Repeat around. (Picots made)
4. Secure to beginning stitch then single crochet in each stitch but do 2 sc into the picot point.
5. Pull points out hard.  A lot of the nice stitches will get obliterated, however, after felting.

1.  Put through as many hot/cold washes with a little bit of detergent as needed and a pair of jeans or material that won’t give off lint.  Keep an eye out so that they don’t get too small.  I checked mine half way through a hot wash and to my surprise they were done!  You can shape them a little and pull out the picots while they are drying flat.
   Scan of knitting before felting….
    
   NOTE:  If you don’t want to do the crochet edge, knit extra rows for the cuff.  Once you do that, you can turn the row counter back and follow the pattern.  When felted, the edge won’t roll.  Nice! Just make sure you do the exact same thing for mitten #2.
    
   NOTE #2:  I have been searching for a long time for the “perfect” felted mitten.  Tried lots, was disappointed lots.  Finally, I believe I have crafted up the perfect felted mitten.  In Minnesota, acrylic mittens don’t always fill the bill.  Even doubled.  Our winters are just too cold.
   The felted ones will keep you toasty, however.  You can do all sorts of things with these mitts as far as decorating if you are moved to do so.  Embroidery, ribbons, fairisle, more crochet, lace cuff, a cloth lining, etc.  I have to say, they are actually fast and fun to do.