Bag of Fate pattern

Back in August, I was feeling ambitious. I wanted to felt something, I wanted to try intarsia, and I wanted to design something. Why not do all three in one project?


This is the Bag of Fate, a knitted tribute to Manos: The Hands of Fate. It's made with a total of 3 skeins of (what else?) Manos del Uruguay wool. New to intarsia? This is a great way to learn. Any less-than-perfect color changes will be hidden by the felting process, and you'll be able to learn the basic technique for use on future projects.

For a printer-friendly version, click here.


Finished size: 10" wide x 7" tall
Yarn: 2 skeins Manos del Uruguay wool, color 008 (black); 1 skein Manos del Uruguay wool, color 048 (red)
Needles: US #13 (9 mm)
Gauge: pre-felting: 3 sts/inch (12 st/4"), 3.5 rows/inch (14 rows/4");
post-felting: approx. 3.5 sts/inch (14 st/4"), 5 rows/inch (20 rows/4")

Notes:
* Because this does not have to be an exact size, the gauge is not crucial.
* You'll be using 2 strands of yarn throughout, including the hand design.
* If you've never done intarsia before, you can find a brief introduction to it here.

Instructions:
Using 2 strands of black, CO 34 st.

Work 37 rows in even St st. Place a temporary marker on each side of the knitted piece (this marks the halfway point).

Work 6 rows in even St st.

Work the charted hand pattern in 2 strands of red (25 rows), adding 6 black sts on each side of the chart to center the design.

Click for larger chart

[ 6 sts (black) | Hand design (22 sts) | 6 sts (black) ]

Once the hand pattern is completed, work 6 rows in St st in black. Bind off all sts.

Using the markers as a guide, fold the bag in half and sew up the side seams. Weave in ends. (Because you'll be felting this, the seams and woven-in ends don't have to be perfect. You can even simply knot the ends and cut off the tails after felting is done.)

Felt the bag and allow to dry.

You can attach store-bought handles, or add a length of I-cord (if you intend to felt the I-cord, take the shrinkage into account). I added 2 snaps to the inside of mine to hold it closed.