I Knitted, I Felted, I Organized

I have a cute little clutch to show you today that I made by felting a piece of knitting. I wanted something to keep my knitting odds and ends in…scissors, yarn needles, emergency candy. You know.

Being a fairly new knitter, this was a technique I’ve long admired. Imagine how happy I was when it turned out the way (and size) I planned!

To make it, I first knitted a piece about 11” wide by 14” long. I used Paton’s Classic Wool in a variegated shade and size 10 needles, 16 stiches=4” in stockinette stitch (knit on right side, purl on wrong side). I cast on 56 stitches, began with a knit row, then purl row, and so on until it was 14 inches long.

I washed it twice in hot water with a couple of towels.

I dried it in the dryer the first time, but just blocked it to straighten out the edges and let it air dry the second time.

I found myself pretty fascinated by how it changes through washing. So I took a bunch of photos.

After it’s completely dry, use the yarn and a yarn needle to blanket stitch the edges together and outline the flap. I started at the fold on the left side and stitched up the side, around the flap, and down the other side. Here’s a great tutorial on how to blanket stitch, in case you’re like me and forget from one time to the next.

After it’s stitched, cut a slit for the button in the center of the flap and sew your button to the bag part. There you are, a pursemaker! How about that?

This was pretty quick and easy. It took a couple of evenings to knit, then time to felt (but not hands-on), and about half an hour to finish it. The final measurements are about 5″ x 8″.

I’m sure you have something that needs to be contained, so you should make one. It would be a super-cute crossbody bag, as well, if you put a cord on it, either an i-cord you knit or something from the fabric store. Or 550 cord, if you’re military. We always have that lying around!

Enjoy!