Sentimental Stripes Felted Tote Pattern

Someone asked about this pattern last week, when I brought my bag to S&B -- so I wrote it up. If you have any questions, feel free to email me...

If you'd like to see another version of the bag, check out the one I made for my sister-in-law.


Stripey Tote: Post Felting 

Sentimental Stripes Felted Tote

Materials:

For the main color (MC), I used wool recycled from a thrift store sweater (crafty of me, don’t you think?). I used around 750 yards

For everything else:
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes [100% wool; 110 yards]:
1 ball Blue Bonnet (CC1)
1 ball Tulip (CC2)
1 ball Avocado (CC3)

#10½ circular needle
stitch holders

Directions:

To knit the base, CO55 sts. using MC
Work in garter stitch (knit all rows) for 40 rows

Pick up stitches around the base of the bag: 19 sts. on the two short sides and 55 sts. on the long side. Place a marker to signify the beginning of the round. (You should now have 148 sts on your needle)

Join and continue in the round, working in stockinette stitch (knit all rounds). Now comes the sentimental part. I created my stripes based on important numbers/dates (for instance, I did 10 rounds of blue and 6 rounds of pink to signify my anniversary, October 6). You can pick your own numbers for your stripes (as long as they add up to 110 rounds), or you can follow my pattern, which is:

12 rounds MC
10 rounds CC1
5 rounds MC
6 rounds CC2
7 rounds MC
20 rounds CC3
7 rounds MC
5 rounds CC2
6 rounds MC
7 rounds CC1
25 rounds MC

(NOTE: If you decide to make up your own stripe pattern, keep in mind that 1 ball of Wool of the Andes adds up to about 20 rounds)

To finish the top of the bag:
K12 and place on holder
BO31 (I used an I-cord bind-off, but any old bind-off will do)
K12 and place on holder
BO19 (this is the short side of the bag)
K12 and place on holder
BO31
K12 and place on holder
BO19 (for the other short side)

To knit the handles:
Place 12 stitches from the first holder on a needle and attach a double strand of MC.
Work flat in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) for 170 rows (or desired length)
Graft stitches to the 12 stitches on the second holder, using Kitchener stitch

Repeat for second handle, working from the stitches on the third holder and grafting them to the stitches on the fourth holder.

Finishing:
Sew in all ends.
Felt and shape.
Stuff with plastic grocery bags to hold shape and hang to dry.