Felted purses sound like they should be purses made out of felt. They’re not. On the contrary, it’s a process called 'felting' and consists of throwing a knitted purse into the washing machine. The washing “felts” the purse. So just a tip, when you see the terminology felt purse, it isn’t referring to a purse crafted from felt.

Felting purses can be an iffy process simply because the amount of shrinkage you get varies wildly depending on laundering conditions. So for your hand knit felted purse, you need to carefully measure what you need to make the finished size after washing it before getting started. Felt purses should be made with animal fiber that felts, for instance if your felted knit purse pattern calls for Lion Brand Fisherman wool, you’ll know right away it’s a felted purse pattern.

Knit your free felted purse patterns in any wool that felts. If you choose to use worsted weight yarn for your hand knitted felted purses, then allow enough yarn for the size of purse you are knitting. Felted wool purses can be quite attractive when done properly. You need to have enough room in your laundry tub so the purse has room to move, and make sure the purse and your laundry are done in similar conditions. Handmade felted purses will need to be shrunk to the size you specified when designing.

Looking for free knitted felted purse patterns? Ahhh, you’re in luck! Typing in a search for free patterns will give you hundreds of results for some of the neatest home made purses you’ve even seen. And there are lots of free patterns for felted purses, many suggesting 100% wool, alpaca, or mohair in order to felt. Worsted or DK weight works well, but bulky can be used, resulting in a much heavier bag. The long and short of it is, if you want felted purse patterns, you’ll have no trouble finding them.

Felting has been a very popular fabric technique dating back hundreds of years. Legends surrounding the origin of felting tell a story of Saint Christopher trying to escape from persecution. While on the run, he packed his sandals with wool to protect his feet. The constant movement of his feet and his sweat supposedly generated felt. The best legend is Noah lined his ark in fleece and the combination of urine and the trampling of animal feet turned into felted carpet.