Felted Fibonacci Bag

Continuing on with Slip Stitch Felted things. And my fascination with Fibonacci stripes... I have made a felted bag.

Done on my SK860 - Yoko in more of the 8ply Rustic I bought for felting. It was cheap, what can I say. And I don't always have to have bright stuff, I can do subtle.. Really!

The Fibonacci sequence is 21, 1, 13, 2, 8, 3, 5, 5, 3 8, 2, 13, 1, 21 rows in alternating colours. I don't cut the yarn, instead I pick up the colour from the side it was on last - much, much easier having no ends to weave in and the felting squishes them rather well.

The first thing to do is prepare the inside gussett.
T7: on WY cast on 70 sts, change to main yarn and do the EON slip stitch every 4th row. Work 20 (or more) rows. Take off with deckers, WY, garter bar - whatever and set aside.

Now the the bag itself.

T7 ***( I did 7, but if I make it again I'll try it on 6 for a tighter edge only for the folded hem on the top of the bag)
T ?6: C/O 80 work 3 rows,
1 row EON slip stitch, (RC4)
straight to RC7
1 row EON slip stitch (RC8)
straight to RC13
next row pick up slip stitch hem row (RC 14)
straight to RC18
pick up slip stitch row RC19
Knit to 20
Join to cast on row.
Change to T7 and work straight to RC31.
Every 10th Row, begining at RC31, decrease one stitch each end to 70 sts, and begin Fibonacci sequence. I didn't bother with resetting the RC, I counted the sequence while I was decreasing. The last one was on the last row of the 5/5..HERE IS THE LAST DEC.. before change of colour to 3/8.
OTHER SIDE BEGINS IT'S INCREASES at the same point.

When finished the Fib sequence. Change to the base colour, I decided to use the colour I started with (I had more balls of it is why...) Rehang the prepared base liner. (I used a different colour cause it was left over from the slippers and I only had enough for 20 rows).
It's on the inside of the bag so it doesn't matter.
work 3 rows , hang the slip loops every second needle and repeat till the loops are all worked, work 3 rows, join the cast on edge. I didn't offset the loops, kept them on the same needle every 4th row - yes it does make a difference to the finished felted result.

Next thing is to reverse the sequence colours, remembering to increase 1 st each end at the beginning of the ..5/5 row sequence.
Reverse the bag edge, REMEMBERING TO do the slip stitch row on the 4th row (and yes I did forget and have to undo the stupid thing and do it properly). Join again by either, slip stitch or kitchener it.

Sides and handles: RC000.

Pick up 10 stitches (the bars) from BOTH the outside and liner onto the same needle.
Using sew as you go, join as you work to the beginning of the folded hem. Stop and put on WY etc.
Do the other side the same.
When up to the Stop and put on WY etc, put onto garter bar and flip it over, to do the underside of the handle.
Move the carriage to the side that has the yarn joined to it.

Handle: Keep going with the sew as you go on the inside foldover and;
Work 3 rows
Work 1 row EON slip stitch ...But the next time alternate the needle it's going on. Exactly like the sock heel flap.. makes a big difference to the handle's finish after felting, so yes it's worth doing. I used the needle selector ruler, put it on the side that the first needle next to the carriage pushed up that sequence, then put it to the opposite side so the next turn to do the slip stitch row, the first needle on the other side pushed that set up.
keep going (alternating the needles being pushed) to RC 180 or more and begin the sew as you go on the inside of the fold over AND the slip stitches every 4 rows.
Take off the machine (garter bar is good) re hang, making sure it is NOT twisted, loop side is facing out, rehang the held stitches from the side.

Working sew as you go on the opposite side to the carriage the whole way, work 3 rows, pick up the loops to the end. take off and kitchener stitch to the other side so it looks neat.

Weave in ends. There isn't any sewing, it's all done. There aren't any ends from the stripes either, because the carriage is moved to the side of the next colour.

Felt.

I used the dryer as the front loader isn't as good for this.

Hand washed all the stuff I'd knitted for felting (a bit of red dye came out of the hats and slippers.) I washed in hot water, rinsed in cold, then hot, then cold until the water ran clear and chucked one bag, one hat and 8 slippers into the dryer, I stopped it every couple of minutes to check on things. The bag was done first. I didn't want to felt to too much, and it was done at a lower stitch size - I didn't give it as much room to felt down. (then the slippers and then the hat for 5 mins extra).

The wool I used last time to felt wasn't going to give it up and I had to chuck it in the front loader on hot wash with a pair of jeans. But the Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic is a dream to felt.