Bex's Felted Bag Revealed

We've admired it since the Knitting Olympics, and now its secrets will be revealed!

Bex has agreed to offer a class on constructing her famous felted bag, being modeled to the left by our own Chrisma. Isn't it great to have our own in-house model?

The bag is knit from Brown Sheep wool in six colors (two shades each of three color families). One skein of each color is required (six skeins in all).

The type of wool used in the bag will have important effects on how it felts. Wool that is processed with certain chemicals and/or mixed with acrylics (known as "superwash wool") will not felt properly. Bleached wool also resists felting which may account for the fact that light colors are sometimes harder to felt than darker colors. The Brown Sheep wool has been tested in many projects, including my own infamous fuschia hat (now residing in Maine). I found it a very nice yarn to knit and it didn't make me itch, which most wools do. Other wools can also work, but be sure to check their ability to felt with a (dreaded) gauge square before committing to a large project like this one. If you measure your gauge block, felt it, and measure it again, you can check to see if your wool will felt the same as the one used in the pattern.

In the class, Bex will reveal the secrets behind the beautiful diamond pattern sides











And bulls-eye bottom.


This will be a three night class. In addition to the stitch patterns, Bex will teach us about I-cord for embellishment and finishing our bags. The class runs three Wednesday nights, October 11, 18, and 25th 6-8 pm. The cost of the class is $30, with 10% off on materials needed for the class. Space is limited and filled on a first-come basis so sign up early.

The pattern for Bex's Olympic Bag will not be available to the general public until after the class. Students will help to refine the directions for the pattern for optimum clarity through their questions during the class. How often do you get to work through a project with the designer as your co-pilot? It's a great opportunity.