Using up some leftover wool from my Útivist … weaving Léttlopi on a TURTLE loom … wanting to try felting … all of the above lead to making this project/messenger bag.

Other materials

• tapestry needle, scissors
• (optional) design felt

Weave:

• (19) hexagons in white
• (17) hexagons in rust
• (12) hexagons in black

Assembly

• You can use the yarn ends to sew the hexagons together, or weave them in and use a separate thread for sewing.
• Use the chart to layout the hexagons. To create the most even fabric, have all hexagons face the same direction (starting tails facing up, ending tail facing one direction).

Tip: Use large safety pins to keep the hexagons in their proper place when sewing.

• I recommend sewing the hexagons into rows first, then connect rows to rows.
• Fold the body of the bag in half as shown, right sides matching, to sew the side seams.
• Some hexagons are “shared” between the front and the back of the bag. These shared hexagons are indicated by black lines along the sides. Fold those hexagons in half as indicated, then sew.
• Turn the tips of the top three white hexagons on each side as shown and secure them with a few stitches. This will even the top row and also strengthen the bag opening.

Sewing the straps
You have two options to sew the straps. The first version shows the seaming less, but is more effort to turn the strap after sewing it. The second version shows the seaming, but you don’t have to turn the strap. Either way is fine. I sewed one strap side in each version, and particularly after felting there is almost no difference.
(1) Fold and sew the strap hexagons as shown, then turn the strap inside out. Turn the bag, so that the right side faces out.
(2) Turn the bag, so that the right side faces out. Then fold and sew the strap hexagons as shown.
Once you have completed the two sides of the straps, sew the two straps together as shown, being careful to not twist the straps.

Felting
I’m not a felting expert, but here is what I did:

• Put the bag into a garment meshed bag.
• Using the hottest setting on a top load washing machine and soap, wash the bag with a few large towels for additional aggitation.
• Take the bag out of the mesh bag, and using the “normal” setting on the dryer, machine dry the bag.
• I steam blocked out some little wrinkles.