Make Mine a Double Cocktail Purse – Knit version

Size varies depending upon yarn used & number of felting cycles.
Model is 4 ½ inches x 12 ½ inches around, not including handle.

10.5 (6.5 mm), 24 inch cable

Hobby Lobby I Love This Wool! [93% Wool, 7% polyamide, 219 yds/100 g skein]

Light Olive #175, approx 110 yds
Small amounts of red and green felt-able wool (optional bolo tie)

Notions:

Yarn Needle
Felting Needle
Thick piece of foam, at least 2 inches thick, to serve as a needle felting mat
Round balloon for blocking
Small amounts red & green roving
Small amount of polyester filling for optional bolo tie

• Purse is worked in knitted rounds on circular needles, with yarn held doubled throughout.
• Exact gauge is not terribly important as the purse is felted. However, it is important that you make sure to block the opening large enough to fit your hand inside. Purse may need to be felted several times to ensure the desired results, i.e., size & texture.
• The purse is secured by slipping the longer loop (handle) through the shorter loop (handle) and then slipped over the wrist.
• Repeat stitches in brackets around or as many times as indicated.

Cast on (CO)
Bind off
Knit (K)
Knit two together (k2tog)
Knit into front & back of stitch (kfb)

CO 6 sts and join.

Round 2

Kfb in ea st around (12 sts)

[Kfb, K 1] around. (18 sts)

Starting from the end of Rnd 26: Bind off 6 sts, place 3 sts on st holder, bind off 5 sts, place next 3 sts on st holder, bind off 6 sts ,place 3 sts on st holder, bind off 5 sts, with last 3 sts, begin working I-cord handle. Work in I-cord for 5 inches. Finish off & using a large tapestry needle, attach cord to next set of 3 sts on st holder. Weave in and trim ends.

Join yarn to next set of 3 sts & work in I-cord for 10 ½ inches. Attach to final set of 3 live sts by sewing as in short handle instructions. Weave in and trim ends.

Weave in all ends. Felt the purse by washing in hot water and rinsing in cold. Include detergent and a couple of towels to the felting wash. Warning: Do not use light colored towels with dark colored yarns as they may add unwanted lint to your project. Check progress frequently. Purse may need additional washes to achieve desired results.

1. Working on a sturdy table, place the thick foam inside of the purse.
2. Smooth the design area across the foam.
3. Take green roving and pull a small amount from the clump.
4. Lay the green in an oval shape directly onto the purse, making sure to tuck in ends.
5. Begin needle felting using a needle felting tool.
6. Continue adding roving, filling in “bald spots,” as needed.
7. Using a small pinch of red, repeat the process for the pimento.
8. Place olives in a random pattern over entire purse.

   -OR-

   Make purse into one giant olive by needle felting a large red circle on the very bottom of the purse.

Knitted version with needle felted pimento and crocheted olive bolo tie
(crochet instructions for bolo tie below)

Need MORE glam? – make entire olives out of sequins by gluing strands of green sequins in an oval design. Finish off with a pretty crystal pimento.

Needle felted olive with glued crystal pimentos

Need a feminine bag to take to a wedding, prom, or tea? Pin on your grandmother’s broach and tie a pretty bow onto the short loop handle. Or, instead of the broach, why not hang a charm or a bead or satin tassel, just underneath the bow for a bit of sparkle?

Don’t forget to have your continents oriented to the north! Needle felting the world is more time-consuming than it is hard & needle felting is forgiving as you can pull the roving out if you don’t like the results. I felted mine free-hand but if you want to be more precise planning your globe, try sketching the continents with a piece of chalk onto the bag first. Finally, this is a small bag & the earth design is more or less impressionistic, rather than realistic so don’t sweat the process, enjoy it!

Or just use your imagination?