154B Vermont Felted Bag - Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Berkshire

154B Vermont Felted Bag – Knitting Pattern by Kathy Elkins for Valley Yarns Berkshire

The 154B Vermont Felted Bag is a knitting pattern designed by Kathy Elkins, inspired by a charming leather bag she discovered in Vermont. Published under the Valley Yarns brand, this pattern produces a stylish, structured handbag with a flat bottom, two straps, and a bold striping color scheme. The design is classified as intermediate difficulty and is available as a downloadable PDF.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a single felted tote-style bag complete with two matching straps and button embellishments. The bag is knit generously oversized to account for shrinkage during the felting process. Before felting, the bag measures approximately 12 inches wide by 14 inches long by 4 inches deep. After felting, the finished dimensions reduce to a neat 10 inches long by 11 inches wide by 4 inches deep, producing a dense, durable fabric with excellent structure. Four buttons are added as part of the finishing details.

Techniques Used

• Worked flat: The bag body is knit flat in one piece on straight needles, simplifying construction while still achieving a three-dimensional shape.
• Seamed construction: Once knitting is complete, the bottom and sides of the bag are sewn together using a tapestry needle. The outer bottom edge points are pinned and brought to the center of the bottom to form a neat, flat base — a classic bag-shaping technique.
• Felting: The completed bag and straps are felted in a washing machine set to a small load on a hot wash cycle. The pieces are placed inside a zippered pillowcase or mesh bag during felting to protect the machine and control the process. Felting causes the wool fibers to mat together, dramatically shrinking the fabric and creating a firm, non-fraying material ideal for bags.
• Striping: The bag body features a structured color sequence worked across multiple row segments, cycling through four colors for a bold, graphic effect.
• Simultaneous strap knitting: The pattern recommends casting on both straps at the same time to ensure matching lengths — a practical technique for consistent results.

Stitches Used

• Stockinette stitch (St st): The primary stitch used throughout the bag body and the central section of each strap. Stockinette creates a smooth knit surface that felts evenly and cleanly.
• Garter stitch: Used at both ends of each strap — 3 inches of garter stitch at the beginning and an additional 3 inches at the end — giving the handles a total length of 21 inches before felting. Garter stitch adds texture and stability to the strap ends.
• Cast-on mid-row: Stitches are cast on mid-project to expand the bag from the bottom panel (28 stitches) to the body width (34 stitches), shaping the transition from base to sides.

Color Sequence and Striping Detail

The bag body is worked in a deliberate striping pattern using four colors of Valley Yarns Berkshire solid colorways:

• Color A – #7 Black: Used for the bottom of the bag and rows 1–14 and 39–50 of the body, as well as the final rows before bind-off.
• Color D – #19 Fuschia: Rows 15–26
• Color C – #10 Gold: Rows 27–34
• Color B – #32 Lime: Rows 35–38

This color rotation creates a vibrant, modern striped bag with endless potential for personalization by swapping colorways.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire [85% Wool / 15% Alpaca; 141 yards per 100-gram ball], one ball each in #7 Black, #32 Lime, #10 Gold, and #19 Fuschia. The wool-alpaca blend is essential for successful