A few months ago I came back from Calgary with a number of skeins of Philosopher’s Wool 2-ply and 3-ply yarn leftover from various sweater kits, with the intention of experimenting with felting. My first attempt was the Sophie felted bag from MagKnits. I used 6.5mm needles and the Philosopher’s 3-ply wool, and did the shaping decreases every eight rows (instead of every 10 rows) for a shorter bag.

Of course I didn’t measure the bag dimensions before felting, or felt a swatch ahead of time, so I can’t tell you how much smaller the finished bag ended up compared to the pre-felting version. I ran the bag through the wash (in a pillowcase and with a few pairs of jeans, as the pattern suggested) twice in succession, then allowed it to dry, but I wasn’t happy with the results—it was too stretchy and the stitch detail was still evident. So I ran it through the wash another two times, and that was much better.

The finished size is 10" by 4" at the base, and 6" high. The top is about 2" narrower in each direction (8" by 2"). I lined it with leftover Prints Charming fabric from Sew U skirt number seven, and some lightweight fusible interfacing. It still needs a button and loop to keep it closed but I haven’t found the right one yet.

On the whole I’m happy with the results, but I’m not really a purse person so I don’t know what I’m going to do with it now!