FELTED BIRD HOUSE HANDBAG by Christie Pruitt Materials: elann.com Peruvian Highland Wool: 2 balls Summer Sky, 2 balls Twilight Blue, 1 ball Sherwood Forest, 1 ball Natural, 1 ball Charcoal Grey. US Size 11 (8.0 mm) Circular Knitting Needle, 16” for body. US Size 11 (8.0 mm) Double-Pointed Needles. US Size 10.5 (6.5 mm) Double Pointed Needles. Size “K” Crochet Hook. Optional: Clover Needle Felting Tool, Fine Weight and Heavy-Duty Needles. 1 package Fiber Trends Colored Roving Variety Pack (available at elann.com). Gauge: 3 sts to 1” in the round. Finished Size After Felting: Bird House Body measured 6” tall, 18.5” circumference, 4.5” deep. Roof measured 6.5” tall, 22” circumference at widest point. Bird House Bag Body: With 2 strands of Sherwood Forest held together, make a large loop around three fingers and hold with thumb. (Short end of yarn should be in front of your hand, and working end from skein should be in back of your hand.) Remove fingers from loop and secure the circle between finger and thumb of your left hand. * With the working yarn and crochet hook, draw a loop through this large circle. Draw another loop through the loop just made. (One stitch on crochet hook.) Rep from * until there are 8 sts on your crochet hook. NOTE: After knitting a few rounds, you can then cinch up the bottom of the bag by tugging on the short end of the yarn. This makes a nice tight bottom with no holes! Divide these 8 sts onto either Double Pointed Needles or 2 Circulars. Rnd 1: Knit Rnd 2: k f & b of each st around (16 sts) Rnd 3: knit Rnd 4: *k 1, k f & b next st, rep from * Rnd 5: knit Rnd 6: *k2, k f & b next st, rep from * Rnd 7: knit Rnd 8: *k3, k f & b next st, rep from * Rnd 9: knit Rnd 10: *k4, k f & b next st, rep from * (48 sts) Rnd 11: Purl (turning ridge) You should be able to switch to one circular needle at this point. Work in rounds with Sherwood Forest for 2”, then attach Summer Sky and work until piece measures 10” (or desired size) from turning ridge. Bind off loosely. Roof: With Size 11 (8.0 mm) circular needle and 2 strands of Twilight Blue held together, CO 54 sts, join, taking care not to twist. Knit 4 rnds. Next Rnd: *k7, k2tog, rep from * around (48 sts) Knit 3 rnds Next Rnd: *k6, k2tog, rep from * around (42 sts) Knit 3 rnds Next Rnd: *k5, k2tog, rep from * around (36 sts) Knit 4 rnds Next Rnd: *k4, k2tog, rep from * around (30 sts) Knit 6 rnds Next rnd: *k3, k2tog, rep from * around (24 sts) Knit 3 rnds Next Rnd: *k2, k2tog, rep from * around (18 sts) Knit 1 rnd Next Rnd: *k1, k2tog, rep from * around (12 sts remain) Cut yarn and draw through rem loops to tighten. I-cord Perch: With a single strand of Natural and 10.5 (6.5 mm) Double-Pointed Needles, CO 4 sts. Work a 4 st I-cord for 5”. Before sliding to other end of needle, slip 3rd and 4th sts off the needle onto a scrap piece of yarn. Continue working 2 st I-cord for 1”. Bind off. Place rem 2 sts onto needle, attach yarn on WS, and work a 2 st I-cord for 1/2”. Bind off. Strap: With 2 strands of Twilight Blue held together, and Size 11 (8.0 mm) Double-Pointed needles, work a 4 st I-cord for approx. 30” (for handbag length) - or a 60” I-cord if you wish to carry the bag cross-body. Cut yarn and pull through sts to tighten. Felting: Place body, roof, strap and *I-cord perch into zippered mesh lingerie bag, and felt on a Hot Wash/Cold rinse, heavy duty cycle, adding a small amount of liquid detergent or dish soap. Check frequently as I-cord and strap will felt faster than body and roof will. Continue felting pieces until they have reached the desired size. Allow the pieces to run through the spin cycle to remove excess water. I stuffed my bird house body with plastic bags to attain the rounded shape and allowed it to dry overnight. * I-cord perch may also be felted by hand under hot running tap water. Assembly and Finishing: With a single strand of Charcoal, and the Clover Needle Felting tool with Heavy Duty needles, make a large bird hole outline approx. 1” or so from rim and approx. 1” - 1.5” in diameter. Then slowly punch down with the needle felting tool and continue to fill in this circle completely. NOTE: Make sure your bag is completely dry before beginning to use your needle felting tool. Needle felting onto wet wool will break your felting needles! Trust me, I did it! Perch: With a sharp pair of scissors, make a small hole about 3/4” of an inch below the bird hole. Insert the I-cord perch through that hole and adjust the perch to desired length. Tie a tight over-hand knot on the inside of the bag to secure. Trim any excess. If your perch starts to look floppy, you can thread a single strand of yarn into a yarn needle and run it through the perch and into the bag. Repeat this once or twice until the perch straightens. Attaching Roof: Place roof on top of bird house to get the fit you like. Make sure the roof sits on the bag evenly all the way around before making your holes for the strap. On one side of the roof, mark a spot about 2” down from the very top. With sharp scissors, cut a small hole in that spot. Feed the I-cord strap through that hole. On the corresponding side of the bird house bag, just below the rim, make a second hole with scissors and pull the I-cord strap through that hole, going from the outside of the bag to the inside. Tie an over-hand knot. Repeat this on the other side. Decorating with Wool Roving: It was fun to design these three-dimensional flowers. But you can decorate yours any way you would like! Beads, iron-on patches, glitter glue... the list goes on and on! But if you’d like to make the three-dimensional flowers, here’s some tips: Use the Fine Weight Needles in your tool when working with roving. Switch to Heavy Duty when working with yarn. Work with very small amounts of roving at a time. Take a small slice of roving, about a 1/4” wide and about 3” long. Fold it in half, fold it in half again, then shape it with your fingers into a petal. The wide end of the petal should be your folded end so that the petal holds its shape when pulled free from the bag. With your needle felting tool, tack down this petal - then make 3 more just like it. When you have them arranged the way you want, punch them down with the needle felting tool until each petal appears to have felted tight. Then with a very small ball of yellow roving, about the size of a pea, roll it into a tight ball and felt that into the center of the flower, making sure that this center grabs all the petals. When you are sure it has felted tight and secure, gently peel each petal back, toward the flower’s center. When your designing is complete, spray each flower with a light mist of a pump hairspray. Allow that to dry then mist once more. Mist every so often while using the bag to help the petals keep their shape. Abbreviations: CO - cast on, k - knit, k2tog - knit 2 sts together, k f & b - knit into front and into back of same stitch, rem - remain(ing), rep - repeat, rnd(s) - round(s), st(s) - stitch(es). Please note this pattern is copyrighted material and the entire contents of this pattern are copyrighted as a collective work under the copyright laws of Canada and the United States. You may print a copy of this pattern for your own personal use and enjoyment, but editing, publishing, transmitting, e-mailing, posting it to a list service or database, or otherwise commercially exploiting this pattern is strictly forbidden. Copyright Elann.com Inc.