Southern Cross bag

So, here's for those who asked for the pattern in English! As you might know, I'm not a native English speaker, and I'm only learning this whole Knitting vocabulary now. So sorry for my possible mistakes, and please let me know if you find them, so that I can fix them!

Here we go:


MATERIAL


For the Bag:
• Super Bulky Felting Wool (5-6 wpi): 600 – 630m (656 – 689 yards)
• Circular needles 8.0 mm (US 11), 80 cm (32 inches) long
• 2 double pointed needles 8.0 mm (US 11)
• Tapestry needle
• Zipper ~45cm (17 inches) long


For the Details:
• Felting needle
• Yarn of different color


Cast on 150 stitches onto the circular needle. Be very careful before start knitting! Make sure the stitches are not twisted! Knit until the tube is 60 cm (23 – 24 inches) long. When you're done, leave a long piece of yarn before you cut it. Use it to sew one side of the tube. Cast off.


Now make two I-Cord straps, one for each side of the bag. Use double yarn to make the straps stronger. Cast on 7 stitches onto a double pointed needle. Then slide the work to the right, and start knitting only the front of the work. Every time the finish a row, slide it to the right, and start over. You're not gonna work the wrong side at all. Like this:

Bring the yarn all the way to the right:

The wrong side is going to look like this:

When the strap is 90 cm long, cast off. Sew the straps, one on each side of the bag.

If you like, you can make pockets for mobile phone and other small things. Just knit squares/ rectangles 30% bigger than the desired size, and sew them inside of the bag. 

It's felting time!

It might be a good idea to put a plastic bag inside the bag, and sew it with a cotton yarn, to avoid the bag parts to stick together. Don't tighten it too much, or it will leave marks. Do the same in the small pockets, if you have made them.


But the bag to the washing machine, using the program recommended by the manufacturer. That should be normal wash with soap at 40°C (104°F). It's a good idea to put some other pieces together into the washing machine, like two pillow cases or a towel. But choose something of similar color, because the yarn color may bleed.


If, when you take the bag out of the washing machine, it looks like this:

 

...don't panic. It's time to mold it.

But if after washing it still looks too big, repeat the process. If it's too small, wet it thoroughly and pull into the right shape. Don't be afraid of using your muscles!

When the bag looks like it should, let it dry flat. Once it's dry, you can iron it (check the manufacturer's recommendations!)


By then, it should be looking like this:

 

This is pretty much it! You can stop here if you like. I preferred putting on a zipper. I also made a loop in the back, to hang the safety reflectors, so needed in Finnish winter.

Then you can make the details in Needle Felting (embroidering also works)! The Southern Cross was copied from the Brazilian Real coin. You can use any pattern you like. Simply draw it to a paper (or print it), cut it, place it on the bag and draw the contour. Place the yarn on top of the contour, and needle felt it!

Here you can see how it's done, from 2'10'':

And that's how it's done! Easy, uh? Well, if it doesn't seem easy, I didn't explain right, so feel free to ask!

€=== hugs ===3