I made this bag almost two years ago and have used the picture at the top of my blog since then. I use the bag every day and it has stood the test of time, the felting has ensured that it is sturdy enough to withstand regular use with just the odd bit of bobbling here and there. My bag has attracted a lot of attention – I have had people stop me when I’m out and about asking where I got it from (it’s lovely to be able to say ‘oh, I made it myself’)!
I wrote up the pattern a couple of months after I made the bag. Then I started to worry about it. What if I made it available and it didn’t work out when people made it? I used handspun yarn – if it was made using commercial pure wool yarn would it make a difference? Felting is something that doesn’t offer many guarantees when it comes to consistency! So, the finished pattern has sat on my hard drive for all that time – and that’s just plain silly, isn’t it? The worst that can happen is that your bag will turn out to be a different size than mine!
So, here it is…. The “Don’t Worry” Felted Shoulder Bag
Spinstar Creations 
This is perfect, just what I have been looking for!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just one question, do you use double yarn? I have some wonderful wool, but don’t want to do all the work and find out that it should have been doubled, Can’t wait to get started on this project.
Thanks Julie, my yarn was handspun, about an aran/worsted weight and used as one strand rather than doubled. My bag is two years old now and still in daily use, although some of the buttons have disappeared over the past few weeks so I might have to do some repair work!
Thanks for your response, and so quickly! Ok, will use single strand, just want to start this project as it is for my sister-in-law who is going on a walking tour, what a perfect bag for this purpose. Cheers
I hope it goes well! I was really nervous about putting the pattern up because everyone knits at different tensions etc and then felting can make a lot of difference!!
It is a great pattern, just working on the strap. Let you know how it turns out. You did a great job……..you’re right everyone is different when it comes to knitting, but your pattern is easy to follow, Cheers, Julie
This looks like what I am needing for a tablet bag. Mine would need to be bigger and I have felted before so I understand something about the sizing. Like you, I am sort of making up a patten, but following your basic pattern. Thanks for inspiring me to begin this project — I’ve had some Elegant Yarns Kaleidoscope wool yarn waiting! I made a laptop bag from the same yarn & have been using it for 4 years.