This bag is worked without shapingfrom the top edge to the center bottom.The tapered shape is entirely due to shap-ing by hand after the bag is fulled. Youcan knit stripes, or incorporate noveltyyarns as you knit, or embellish the bagafter fulling. Yarn quantities specifiedhere will make a medium-sized bag. Thebag on Spin.Oƒƒ ’s cover was knitted withtwo strands of millspun Brown SheepLamb’s Pride worsted-weight.

The circumference may be varied byadding or subtracting cast-on stitches inmultiples of four. Keep the marked cor-ner stitches consistent with the pat-

tern—that is, the eighth stitch on eitherside of a side marker. Bag height mayalso be varied; additional yarn will be re-quired for larger bags. Make a gaugeswatch and note the length and width,then full it following the directions onpage 3. Measure the swatch after it hasbeen fulled to determine the amount ofshrinkage you can expect from your yarn.

Cast on 82 sts a bit tighter than youwould normally. Join to work in theround. Place the green color marker be-tween the last and first cast-on stitches,marking the beginning of the round.Place another marker at the halfway

point, between sts 41 and 42. Knit untilthe length measures 21⁄4". Place markersaround the eighth stitch on either side ofthe previous markers. (You are markingthe stitch itself, and not the space betweenthe stitches.) These mark the corners ofthe bag. Move all the markers up everyfew inches as the knitting progresses.

HandlesRound 1: K11, bind off 19 (slipping the

first st of the bind-off), k21, bind off19 (slipping first st of bind-off), k10.

Round 2: K11, cast on 19, k22, cast on19, k11. (Cast on with reverse loopmethod—as firmly as possible.)

Round 3: K10, p21, k20, p21, k10.

BodyWork in St st until the bag is 14"–16"long from beginning (or longer if youryarn is very soft or if your swatch indi-cated that it would shrink dramatically).

BottomRemove second side marker. Starting atthe beginning of the round, *knit to thestitch before corner marker. Work a dou-ble decrease: slip 2 sts together as if toknit, k1, pass slipped sts over. The re-maining st becomes the new marked st.

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Finished size: 10" x 10" x 5" (after fulling). Keep in mind that fulling usually subtractsmore in length than in width—measure your swatch before and after fulling to estimate theamount your bag will shrink in the fulling process.

Yarn: 2 strands worsted-weight wool (600 yards total) OR 3 strands sportweight wool(900 yards total) OR 4 strands fingering-weight wool (1,200 yards total).

Do NOT use superwash (machine-washable) wool. The fiber must be almost all wool,alpaca, or a blend of these. Some mohair is permissible.

Needles: 24" circular needle, U.S. size 13 or 15.

Notions: 6 colored split-ring markers. One should be a different color from the rest (I like to use green for GO!); tapestry needle; mesh laundry bag.

Project Notes

A Fulled Bag with

Slot HandlesB Y J A N A T R E N T

WE RECEIVED SO MANY REQUESTS for the pattern for the bag embellished

with a Loom Bloom featured on the Winter 2005 cover of Spin.Off that we

contacted Jana Trent, who wrote the article “Loom Blooms: Accessorizing

with bits of handspun yarn.” She graciously provided these instructions.

©Copyright Spin.Off®magazine, Interweave Press LLC. Not to be reprinted. All rights reserved.

Jana Trent’sarticle aboutLoom Blooms in theWinter 2005 issue createda lot of excitement aroundembellishing small handknits with theselovely, woven flowers. This knitted and fulled bagfeatured on the cover was also very popular, and many readersasked for the pattern—so Jana wrote up the instructions for it.

Repeat from * to end of round. Repeatdecrease round on every round untilthere are no sts remaining between cor-ners at sides of bag.

Cut the yarn, leaving about a yard-long tail that you will use to thread a yarnneedle. Arrange half of the remaining stson each needle; hold needles parallel inyour left hand, with points pointed to theright as if to knit, and hold the threadedyarn needle in your right hand. Now graftthe two bottom edges together using theKitchener stitch to make a seamless bot-tom surface.

Grafting preparationPut the yarn needle into first st on frontknitting needle as if to purl. Pull itthrough, leaving the st on the knittingneedle. Put yarn needle into first st onback knitting needle as if to knit. Pull itthrough, leaving the st on the knittingneedle. Now you are ready to begin thegrafting sequence.

Grafting sequenceStep 1: Put the needle into the first st on

the front needle as if to knit. Pull itthrough, dropping the st off the knit-ting needle. Put the needle into next

st on same needle as if to purl. Pull itthrough, leaving the st on the needle.

Step 2: Put the needle into the first st onback knitting needle as if to purl. Pullit through, dropping the st off theknitting needle. Put the needle intothe next st on the same needle as if toknit. Pull it through, leaving the st onthe needle.

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 across the open-ing, pulling the yarn through but nottightening as you graft. Leave the graft-ing yarn loose and then adjust the ten-sion after the entire gap is closed. Everygraft will have a yarn tail going throughit twice.

Weave in and trim all yarn ends.

FullingPlace the knitted bag in a mesh laundrybag and set washing machine for a hotwater wash and cold water rinse. Addabout 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 cup of liquid laundry de-tergent. I leave my bags in the machinefor a complete cycle, and some even takeseveral complete or partial cycles to be-come fulled. Check often after the firstfull wash cycle (about 12 to 15 minutes)and remove the bag immediately whenyou are happy with the fabric. If the bagis still giving up detergent, rinse it in asink of warm water and then run the bagthrough the machine spin cycle. Shapethe bag and let it air-dry. c

JANA TRENT spins and plays with yarn inColleyville, Texas, where she teaches knitting

classes at the local Parks andRecreation Department, aswell as privately. Jana haspublished many fibercraft

articles in national magazines.Her latest adventure is a

website devoted to little looms and theirpossibilities, www.eLoomaNation.com.

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