DIY Network

Knitting Party: Felt Bags From "Weekend Entertaining" episode WKE-309

Guests will be treated to a knitting lesson from DIY's Knitty Gritty host, Vickie Howell. Jeanne Benedict and Michele (the party host) make felt bags to hold knitting supplies that guests will need to complete the project.

This party is rated 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult, and is geared toward the skills of a frequent entertainer.

Hourly Breakdown

Felt bags -- 10 hours

Total Prep Time -- 22 hours

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	Create this pretty felt bag to give the guests at your Knitting Party ...
	and fill with knitting needles, yarn, scarf instructions and a pair of scissors.

Materials --

12" x 28" cut of blue felt
4" x 9" cut of blue felt
Multi colored felt (pink, navy, green etc.)
3" x 8" piece of stiff cardboard
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Steel yarn needle
Variegated yarn
Scissors
Ruler
Straight pins
8" D-shaped bamboo purse handles
Sizzix Die-Cut Machine
Doodles; flowers and leaf die
Circle die
Buttons (green, blue and pink)
Blue craft foam sheet

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure F

Felt Bag

1. Measure and place a straight pin at the 14" point of both long sides of the large felt piece, marking the center. Place the cardboard rectangle in the middle and hot glue it down to the felt. Glue the smaller blue felt piece to cover the cardboard (figure A).

2. Fold over 2" on each short end of the felt (toward the opposite side of the cardboard) and pin in place (figure B). Pin all the way past the cardboard to create a point at the bottom.

3. Whip-stitch up each side of the bag to secure the felt together. String a 2' piece of yarn onto the yarn needle. Double the yarn and knot the ends together. To begin stitching, push the needle from the inside of the point to the outside, hiding the knot on the inside. Whip stitch all the way up the side, through all the layers at the top folded edges. To finish the stitching at the top, push the needle through to the inside and knot. Push the needle through the inside of the next to the last stitch and cut the yarn. Repeat for the other side of the bag.

   Expert Tip: If you are having trouble pushing a yarn needle through several layers of felt, use a 1/8th" hole punch to create guide lines.

4. Fold the triangular shape point at each bottom side under the bottom of the bag and glue in place (figure C).

5. Lay the bag flat and place a purse handle along the folded edge. Make two cuts from the bottom of the folded edge to the top fold to create a flap equal to the purse handle. Unfold the flap and place the purse handle over it. Glue along the edge of the flap and fold over the bottom of the purse handle, gluing the flap to the body of the bag (figure D). Be sure to line up the bottom edge of the flap with the edges on either side. Glue down the fold pieces on either side of the flap to keep all edges even. Repeat on the other side.

6. From the pink, green and navy felt, cut 2" squares. Following the directions in the Sizzix machine, cut flowers from the pink, leaves from the green and small circles from the navy. To hide the cuts made to attach the purse handle, glue a flower. On top of the flower glue a navy circle, then a button (figure E). Repeat for all cuts.

   Expert Tip:In order to find die-cuts in your area, check your local scrapbooking, stamping or craft store. They will have actual machines that you can use, or you can buy a personal die-cut machine and use it in the comfort of your own home.

7. At a bottom corner of one side, glue an arrangement of four flowers. Layer onto each flower a navy circle and a button. Glue several leaves around the flowers to finish.

8. For a special piece that will keep the knitting needles in place, cut the craft foam into a 9" x 12" rectangle. Roll the foam into a cone shape, being careful to keep the point tight, with the top of the cone equaling about 3". Glue the edge to hold the cone in place. Trim the top edge of even it out (figure F). Glue the cone to the inside of the bag along one side, with the point touching the bottom.

Figure G

Tips from Vickie Howell (figure G), host of DIY's Knitty Gritty:

• There are a lot of great novelty yarns on the market and a tip for working with those yarns is to double strand them with another plain, smooth yarn. That gives you stability. If you want to bypass that altogether, just take a darning needle and few strands of the yarn and weave it through your already knitted piece.

  
  

• The best way for someone to start knitting is to go to a local knitting store to find a yarn fiber with a color and texture you are excited about.

  
  

• Decide on a project and then purchase a book.

  
  

• Find a knitting group -- search out the local Knitting Guild, or start your own group. It is fun to work with friends to help you down your knitting road!

RESOURCES :

EK Success Scrapbooking
EK Success Ltd.
Website: www.eksuccess.com

Whole Foods Market
Website: www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Create for Less
Website: www.createforless.com

Fabric.com
Website: www.fabric.com

PlumParty.com
30-00 47th Ave. 7th Floor
Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718-433-2434
E-mail: plumparty.com
Website: www.plumparty.com

Zwilling Cutlery
J.A. Henckels, Inc.
Website: www.jahenckels.com

Torani Watermelon Flavored Syrup
Torani
233 E. Harris Ave.
S. San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 650-635-1128
E-mail: sdent@torani.com
Website: www.torani.com

Bixby Knolls Party Rentals
2540 N. Palm Dr.
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Phone: 562-426-9437 or 714-891-4092
Fax: 562-426-0453
E-mail: bkparty@earthlink.net
Website: www.bixbyknollsrentals.com

Crystal Palace Yarns
Wholesale only; list of distributors on their Website.
Website: www.crystalpalaceyarns.com or www.straw.com

Ellison, a Proud Parent of Sizzix, LLC
Website: www.sizzix.com

Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, Inc.
Website: www.hamiltonbeach.com

Cost Plus World Market
Website: www.worldmarket.com

GUESTS :

Harry Schwartz
Culinary Expert
PO Box 1320
Yarmouth, ME 04096
Phone: 207-846-8881
E-mail: chefharry@chefharry.com
Website: www.chefharry.com

Marc Friedland
Image Expert
Creative Intelligence
4988 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019
Phone: 323-936-9009
E-mail: mf@creative-intelligence.com

Kevin Lee
Celebrity Event Designer
La Premier Flowers
Phone: 310-435-4286
E-mail: kevin@lapremier.net

Stephanie Barnard
Scrapbooking Expert
PaperKuts Scrapbooking Magazine
We apologize no contact information is available.