Homage to felting

Valentine's Day is coming, so I'm feeling the love. I LOVE felting. I heart it unconditionally. When I was a new knitter, unsure of my abilities, felting embraced all my faults . . . pesky holes (where did that come from?), irregular tension, schlubby yarn, rough texture, loose ends, curled edges, and miscounted rows. . . and transformed a ragged knitted form magically into lovely handbag and clogs.

When I pull a felted handbag out of the washing machine (toploaders only!) and tug and pull and stretch and work it into shape, I'm engaging in the most intimate relationship with my handwork.

There's a simple clutch pattern that I like to teach beginners. It encompasses garter stitch, casting on, binding off, and buttonholes. By the time a beginner has made a couple of these clutches - one for herself, one to give away, knitting feels comfortable and familiar. You're basically knitting a long rectangle with holes at the ends.

The pattern has made the rounds, so I'm pretty sure it's a freebie. (If it belongs to someone let me know and I'll attribute it to the designer!)

Here it is:

Easy Felted Clutch
Finished dimensions: approximately 12" wide x 8 " high

• Size 10 1/2 needles
• 1 skein (220 yards) Cascade 220 or Patons Classic Merino worsted wool in any color (my first clutch was black)
• 1 skein (180 yards) novelty yarn in contrasting color (I've used Squiggle, eyelash, etc. Each creates a unique effect)
• lining fabric - approximately 18" square
• Black frog for closing (optional)
  

With main color/wool, cast on 40 stitches using long-tail method.

Knit 8 rows (4 ridges).

Make handle: On the next row, knit 12, bind off 16, knit 12.
On the next row, knit 12, cast on 16 (using e-wrap), knit 12.

Knit 4 rows.

Add novelty yarn. Holding both yarns together, knit 40 rows (20 ridges).

Drop novelty yarn. Knit 8 rows (4 ridges) with wool alone (this creates the base).

Add novelty yarn. Holding both yarns together, knit 40 rows (20 ridges).

Drop novelty yarn.

Knit 4 rows.

Make handle: On the next row, knit 12, bind off 16, knit 12.
On the next row, knit 12, cast on 16 (using e-wrap), knit 12.

Knit 8 rows (4 ridges).

Bind off loosely.

Fold in half and sew up sides using tapestry needle and main color wool yarn.

Felt.

Line inside of clutch with your choice of fabrics I simply fold my fabric in half with right side together, seam sides and hem the top, then hand-stitch the lining to the inside of the bag. Make sure you anchor the bottom of the lining to the inside bottom of the clutch.

Sew frog closure to outside of bag, between the handles.

Enjoy!