Woolly Bully Bag

(with or without pocket)

Approx. dimensions before: bag is 14.5” wide x 17” long x 4.5” deep, each strap is 21”

long x 4.5” wide, flap is 9” wide x 12.5” long

Approx. dimensions after: bag is 9.5” wide x 8.75” long x 3” deep, each strap is 21”

long x 2” wide, flap is 4.75” wide x 7.5” long

Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool

Yardage: 440 yards (Additional yardage might be necessary if you add a pocket. The

bag I knitted with a pocket was with Lamb’s Pride Worsted, and I needed part of a 3rd

skein, BUT Lamb’s Pride Worsted has 190 yds/skein instead of Cascade’s 220 yards.)

Needles: US 11 29” circular

Bag is knitted holding one strand of yarn.

Base

CO 34 sts on US 11 circular needle.

Work back and forth in garter st (k every row) for 30 rows.

Body

K34 sts, place marker (pm), pick up and k1 st in each garter ridge on short side of base –

15 sts; pm, pick up and k1 st in each st along next long side of base – 34 sts; pm, pick up

and k15 sts along rem. short side of base as before, pm (preferably a different color to

mark beg of rnd) – 98 sts total. Join to work in the round, do not twist sts.

Rnd 1: P3, k28, p3, sl 1, p13, sl 1, p3, k28, p3, sl 1, p13, sl 1

Rnd 2: Knit

Repeat rnds 1-2 except on decrease rnds (see below) for a total of 62 rnds.

Decrease Rnds

Rnd 20: *K3, ssk, knit to last 5 sts before marker, k2tog, k3, K15*, repeat between * *.

(total sts – 32,15,32,15)

Rnd 40: (repeat Rnd 20) (total sts – 30,15,30,15)

Rnd 60: (repeat Rnd 20) (total sts – 28,15,28,15)

Set Up for Straps and Flap

Rnd 63: Bind off next 28 sts for top front opng. of bag, k15 and place on holder for left

side of strap, k28 for flap and leave on needle, place rem. 15 sts on holder for right side

of strap.

Flap

Work 28 stitches on needle back and forth as follows:

Row 1: (WS) Sl 1, k2, purl to last 3 sts, k3

Row 2: (RS) Sl 1, k to end

Repeat Rows 1-2 through Row 48

Row 49: BO

Straps

Place one set of 15 strap sts on needle and work back and forth in garter stitch until strap

measures 21” from beginning (approx. 99 rows). Place stitches on holder. Repeat with

other set of 15 strap sts. Use 3-needle bind off to join strap ends.

NOTE: If you use stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch, the straps may turn out

shorter than the “after” dimensions stated above.

Pocket

Turn the bag inside out. Pick up & knit 28 sts along the back bottom seam, centered.

(The side with the flap is the back.) Pick up through a stitch (2 strands of yarn).

Row 1: Purl (the side facing the back of the bag)

Row 2: Knit (the front side of the pocket)

Repeat Row 1 & 2 except for decrease rows.

Decrease Rows

Row 20: K2, k2tog, knit to last 4 stitches, k2, k2tog (total sts = 26)

Row 40: Same as Row 20 (total sts = 24)

Row 50: Bind off

With yarn threaded on a tapestry needle, sew sides of pocket to the back of the bag as

close as possible to the garter stitch edge.

Finishing

Weave in all loose ends.

Felting

Place bag in a zippered pillow case and machine wash with a pair of jeans (or something

similar) using hot water and a small amount of no-rinse laundry detergent. Agitation is

what makes things felt, but the hot water and detergent help to loosen up the wool fibers

to speed the process.

It’s better if you do not allow the washer to drain and spin -- you might end up with

permanent creases in the felt, particularly in the straps. But if you must (and I am one of

those who must!), as soon as most of the water has drained, stop the washer, take the bag

out of the pillowcase, and check it for size. Continue this process until you reach the

desired size. I needed to wash/agitate this bag twice to get a dense, felted fabric.

Additional Finishing

The flap will most likely not be perfectly rectangular. You can pull it in both directions,

and might be able to get it into some kind of reasonable shape, OR you can cut it to a

shape you like. As long as it’s a densely felted piece of fabric, it can be cut with no fear

of unraveling. I rounded the flap edge of this purse by cutting it with scissors until it

looked the way I wanted. I then added a decorative pin to add weight and pizzazz!

Abbreviations:

beg – beginning

BO – bind off

CO – cast on

k – knit

k2tog – knit 2 sts together

p – purl

pm – place marker

rem – remaining

Rnd – round

RS – right side

sl – slip

ssk – slip 2 stitches one a time knitwise from the left needle to the right needle, insert left

needle tip into front loops of both sts and knit them together through their back loops

st – stitch

WS – wrong side