Materials:
2 balls (200 grams) Crystal Palace Yarns  Iceland in 5332, Nile Green (Color A)
2 balls (100 grams) Crystal Palace Yarns Musique in 2304, Misty Greens (Color B)
1 ball (50 grams) Crystal Palace Yarns Little Flowers in 9555,Tulips (Color C)
1 ball (100 grams) Crystal Palace Yarns  Iceland  in 1219, Fuchsia (Color D)
Crystal Palace Bamboo or DAISY Circular Needles 
1 US size 13 (9 mm) 26" circular needle, 2 US size 13 (9 mm) double pointed needles (for I-cord)
1 US size N (9 mm) crochet hook
6 Stitch markers, 1 of which is a different color to mark beginning of round
Stitch holder
Purse closure hardware, if desired

Gauge:
2½ stitches per inch and 3 rows per inch in stockinette stitch worked in the round

Dimensions:
Before felting 10" wide at bottom, 19" wide at top, 18" tall from bottom to bag to beginning of narrow portion of handle, 14" from bottom of bag to bottom of V at center of the bag front, 2" deep
After felting 7" wide at bottom, 16" wide at top, 14" tall over all, 10" tall from bottom of bag to bottom of V at center of the bag front, ½" deep

Stitch Guide and Abbreviations:
RS Right side; WS Wrong side; K Knit; P Purl; M1 Make 1 - here, M1 is done by casting on 1 with backward loop method; SSK Slip, slip, knit - Slip two stitches knitwise, one and a time, then knit them together through the back loop; K2tog Knit two together; K2togTBL Knit two together through the back loop; P2tog Purl two together; P2togTBL Purl 2 together through the back loop; Sl Slip 1 stitch purlwise; YF Yarn forward - Bring yarn from the back of the work to the front of the work when instructed; BO Bind off

Bottom of Bag:
Using circular needle and one strand of Color A, cast on 23 sts. Knit in garter stitch (knit every row) until 10 rows completed (5 garter ridges). With right side facing, drop Color A (no need to cut it), and use one strand of Color B plus one strand of Color C.
Work around rectangle as follows:
K11, P1, place marker for center front, K11, place marker for corner, PU5, place marker for corner, PU12, place marker for center back, PU11, place marker for corner, PU5, place different colored marker to denote beginning of round (56 stitches).
Body of Bag:
The body of the bag will be worked in 13 alternating stripes of 4 rounds each. Make increases on first round of each stripe. The purl stitch made at center of front and back will be used later to work an attached I-cord. Continue with strands of Color B plus Color C and begin 4-row stripe pattern is as follows:
Round 1 *K1, M1, K to last stitch before center marker, P1, pass marker, K to last stitch before marker, M1, K1, pass marker, K5* around.
Rounds 2-4 *K to the last stitch before center marker, P1, pass marker, K to marker, pass marker, K5* around
Repeat Rounds 1 through 4, alternating two strands of B + C with one strand of Color A. End after Round 4 of 13th stripe (108 stitches)

Top Shaping:
Shape the four points and bind off tops of the sides as follows, leaving all stitches not used resting on cable of circular needle until they are needed. Shaping will being at first stitch of round.
Right side facing, top right corner of bag, use Color A to work following four points –
Row 1 K1, SSK, K18, K2tog, K1, turn and leave the rest of the stitches resting on the cable until needed
Row 2 P19, P2togTBL, P1
Row 3 K1, SSK, K15, K2tog, K1
Row 4 P16, P2togTBL, P1
Row 5 K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1
Row 6 P13, P2togTBL, P1
Row 7 K1, SSK, K9, K2tog, K1
Row 8 P10, P2togTBL, P1
Row 9 K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1
Row 10 P7, P2togTBL, P1
Row 11 K1, SSK, K3, K2tog, K1 (7 stitches remain)
Row 12 P7
Handle – Continue with Color A and work following 2 rows for a total of 12"
Row 1 K4, YF, Sl3, turn
Row 2 K3, P1, leave yarn to the front, Sl3, turn
When the handle is knitted to a length of 12", place sts on a holder to be grafted later. Break yarn.
Right side facing, beginning with next stitch resting on cable (the center purled stitch before the marker), attach Color A and work second point as follows:
Row 1 BO 1 stitch. The stitch remaining on right needle is now stitch 1. SSK, K18, K2tog, K1, turn and leave the rest of the sts on cable until needed
Row 2 P1, P2tog, P19
Row 3 K1, SSK, K15, K2tog, K1
Row 4 P1, P2tog, P16
Row 5 K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1
Row 6 P1, P2tog, P13
Row 7 K1, SSK, K9, K2tog, K1
Row 8 P1, P2tog, P10
Row 9 K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1
Row 10 P1, P2tog, P7
Row 11 K1, SSK, K2, K2tog, K1
Row 12 P7
Break yarn, leaving tail long enough for grafting 7 remaining stitches to 7 held handle stitches. Graft two pieces together using Kitchener stitch.
Attach Color A to next stitch on cable and BO 5 stitches across top of gusset, removing markers as you encounter them. There is 1 stitch on right needle after binding off gusset. This is now stitch number 1. Continue to work back of bag as follows:
Row 1 (Stitch 1 already on right needle), SSK, K18, K2tog, K1, turn and leave the rest of the stitches resting on the
cable until needed
Row 2 P19, P2togTBL, P1
Row 3 K1, SSK, K15, K2tog, K1
Row 4 P16, P2togTBL, P1
Row 5 K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1
Row 6 P13, P2togTBL, P1
Row 7 K1, SSK, K9, K2tog, K1
Row 8 P10, P2togTBL, P1
Row 9 K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1
Row 10 P7, P2togTBL, P1
Row 11 K1, SSK, K3, K2tog, K1 (7 stitches remain)
Row 12 P7

Handle – Continue with Color A and work the following 2 rows for a total of 12"
Row 1 K4, YF, Sl3, turn
Row 2 K3, P1, leave yarn to the front, Sl3, turn
Left side of bag back –
Row 1 BO 1 stitch. The stitch remaining on the right needle is now stitch 1. SSK, K18, K2tog, K6 to the end of the live stitches on the cable, turn
Row 2 BO 5 in purl, the stitch remaining on the right needle is now stitch number 1, P2tog, P19
Row 3 K1, SSK, K15, K2tog, K1
Row 4 P1, P2tog, P16
Row 5 K1, SSK, K12, K2tog, K1
Row 6 P1, P2tog, P13
Row 7 K1, SSK, K9, K2tog, K1
Row 8 P1, P2tog, P10
Row 9 K1, SSK, K6, K2tog, K1
Row 10 P1, P2tog, P7
Row 11 K1, SSK, K2, K2tog, K1
Row 12 P7

Break yarn, leaving a tail long enough for grafting the 7 remaining stitches to the 7 held handle stitches. Graft the two pieces together using Kitchener stitch.

Embellishment:
Use 1 strand of Color D and double point needles. Begin at center bottom of front of the bag and work an applied I-cord on purl bumps in following way:
Cast on 3 sts with Color D. Holding needle with sts in your right hand, pick up purl bump, and then slide all sts to right hand end of needle. Use free needle to work I-cord. The stitch pattern is K2, K1TBL, pick up next purl bump. Continue until the I-cord is completely up center front of bag. Repeat for back. Use crochet hook and Color D. Work 1 round of single crochet around bottom of bag, around top edge, and around each handle opening on front and back.

Felting and Finishing:
Felt bag using your preferred method. This bag was run through two complete washing machine cycles to get a lush, dense fabric. Shape bag and let it dry completely. Add closure hardware if desired.

Pattern Copyright 2007 Crystal Palace Yarns/Straw Into Gold, Inc. - We are happy to share this pattern with knitters. The pattern may be used for non-commercial personal or knitting guild use. It is not to be used in any publication in print nor should it be reproduced in electronic/digital format without permission. Knitting shops carrying CPY Yarns Iceland, Musique & Little Flowers are welcome to print and share this pattern with customers of our yarns.

Designed, knit and felted by Terry L. Ross for Crystal Palace Yarns Be sure to look for Terry Ross' felted bag book: Twelve Bags Fulled at your local yarn shop. Here's information about Terry's book.

Retail shops in the USA should contact CPY Wholesale for information on purchasing Crystal Palace Yarns and Terry Ross' book
- email cpyinfo -at- straw.com

or write to:
Crystal Palace Yarns, 160 23rd St., Richmond, CA 94804
phone: 510-237-9988, fax: 510-237-9809

Last revision of this page August 21, 2007