Felted Birthday Bag (Knit Pattern) — Easy Ruffle Purse Tutorial

This felted birthday bag is a charming handmade gift that combines simple knitting with a little finishing work to create a sweet ruffled purse. The project is suitable for adventurous beginners who are comfortable with basic knitting in the round and simple increases. Finished, felted dimensions are approximately 9" from top of ruffle to bottom and 7" side-to-side, making it a petite bag perfect for a toddler or as a small gift bag.

Pattern:

Materials needed:

• 2 balls Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Pink, 1 ball Patons Soy Wool Solids in Natural Snow
• Size 10 16" circular needle (Addi Turbo is perfect for this project, as the slippery metal helps keep the knitting nice and loose for felting.)
• Tapestry needle, measuring tape

Directions:

Base of bag: Cast on 34 stitches with Natural Pink and work 22 rows in garter stitch (11 garter stitch "ridges"). At the end of the final row of garter stitch, turn the work clockwise and pick up and knit 11 stitches along the short side. (You are picking up one "bump" from each garter stitch ridge.) At the end of this row, turn the work clockwise again and pick up and knit 34 stitches along the cast-on row. Repeat for the next short side (11 stitches) and again for the next long side (34 stitches).

Body of bag: You now have a total of 90 stitches on your needle. Knit in the round straight up for 14 inches, joining a new ball of wool when needed.

Ruffle: When you have reached the desired length, begin the next round by increasing every stitch. The author prefers to increase by knitting into the front and back of each stitch (kfb) for 90 increases, giving 180 stitches total. Knit straight up for approximately 1 inch or until you run out of your second ball of yarn. At this point, join in and begin knitting with the Natural Snow color. Knit another inch. Bind off loosely.**

**Before you bind off, read the additional optional step below. If you prefer to avoid purling/ribbing, continue knitting in the round until your ruffle measures 2.5–3" (you want the bag to measure about 16" from top of ruffle to middle of garter stitch base) and bind off. If you'd like a slightly firmer ruffle edge, bind off at the 2" mark, then pick up 180 stitches from the bound-off round. Work k1p1 rib for another 3/4" and bind off loosely in rib. This small bit of ribbing helps the ruffle hold its shape after felting.

Weave in all ends before making the straps.

Straps (make two): Cast on seven stitches using Natural Snow, leaving a tail of about 8 inches after you cast on. Work the strap as follows: Knit 4, bring yarn forward, slip next 3 stitches purlwise, turn; repeat this sequence until the strap measures about 16 inches. Bind off, leaving an ~8 inch tail. Using the tails at each end of the straps, sew straps to the bag. The author aligned each strap about 3" in from the outside edge of the bag and sewed the ends in two spots about an inch apart for extra support. See photo for placement:

Felting: The bag and straps are now finished and ready to be felted. The author measured the un-felted bag to be 16" from top of ruffle to center of garter stitch base and 11.5" side-to-side; felted items shrink more lengthwise than widthwise, so keep that in mind if you modify the pattern.

To felt this bag, zip it into a lingerie bag and put it in the washing machine with a few pillowcases. Set the water level to low and use hot water. The bag was fairly well shrunk and felted after one cycle; an additional half cycle produced the final size used for a toddler-sized bag.

After felting the bag measured approximately 9" from top of ruffle to bottom and 7" side-to-side. The author rolled the bag in towels to absorb most of the moisture and shaped the ruffle with fingers; the ruffle held its shape very well. Finish drying the bag flat or shaped as desired.

Notes and tips:

• If you dislike visible kfb bumps but plan to felt the bag, the little bumps will mostly disappear during felting, so choose the easiest increase for you.
• Gauge is not critical for this bag; bags are forgiving, but remember felting changes size unpredictably—more lengthwise shrinkage is typical.
• Secure strap attachments with multiple passes to ensure they stay in place after use and washing.