A Look At Felted Purse Patterns

by: Marjorie Tomlin

Felted purse patterns might be right up your alley if you're looking for a new and exciting craft challenge. They're beautiful and a lot of fun.

Are you skilled with a needle and thread? My sister-in-law is. She's able to make just about anything with her sewing machine and knitting needles.

When her son was in high school she volunteered to make many of the costumes for the community plays that were put on in conjunction with the high school.

She sewed beautiful costumes for Beauty and the Beast as well as Aladdin. And I was amazed that she was creative enough to make the costumes without patterns. The school, especially the drama teacher, is very appreciative of the time that she puts into the productions.

Last fall she started on a new project - making totes using felted purse patterns. When she completed the first one and took it to work she quickly had seven people place orders for one. She has used several different felted purse patterns and each one has turned out beautifully.

The surprising thing is that she did not knit prior to making her first purse. All she did was watch a DVD on basic knitting. Included with the DVD were several different projects including felted purse patterns.

She had seen felted purses, totes and backpacks at craft fairs and thought they were so neat that she wanted to make one. This kind of talent is so foreign to me. It took me the longest to master even basic stitches. I can't picture myself watching a thirty minute DVD and two days later producing a handbag that anyone would want to carry.

I can see why my sister-in-law wanted to learn how to make the bags. The patterns that can be created are fantastic and there are so many different varieties of yarns available nowadays.

Once she had mastered her knitting techniques she branched out into mittens that could be used as a liner for inside of leather choppers and also socks. The socks and mittens are especially nice for winter activities like snowshoeing or ice fishing.

The process of felting involves making the weave so tight that no air can get in. When using wool thread the mitten and socks are very warm. Wool is a great material to use for socks and mittens because it keeps the skin warm even if it gets wet.

Felting is done by wetting an item after it is finished and then drying it. The shrinking that occurs in this process tightens the weave of the knit creating a very dense fabric.

My sister-in-law enjoys making the felted purses most of all. She's used some great color combinations and patterns to make each purse unique. She was talking about making several for Christmas gifts.

After admiring her handiwork for quite some time, I asked her to show me how to do it. After a bit of trial and error, I finally made my first purse using felted purse patterns. And it looked pretty nice, I must say. I plan to do quite a few more in the future - they make such wonderful gifts.

Marjorie Tomlin is a married schoolteacher with three kids. She enjoys writing about education, arts, crafts and household matters.