How to Make a Felted Wool Purse From a Sweater

After years of keeping you warm, that old sweater should be turned into a purse.

That strangely patterned wool sweater has been hanging at the back of your closet for years but you cannot quite bring yourself to send it to the trash. Show off your recycling savvy and give the sweater a new life as a fashionable felted purse. Transform an old 100 percent wool sweater into a felted purse for a creative travel accessory that stands out from the rest. The project is simple and requires just a basic knowledge of simple stitching.

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4 tbsp. dish soap
Washing machine
Scissors
Towel
Rolling pin
Sewing machine (or needle)
Thread
Plastic bags

Instructions

- 1
  
  Add 2 tablespoons of dish soap to the washing machine and wash the sweater in hot water on a medium-duty cycle. (Yes, ignore the dry cleaning instructions and throw the sweater right into the washing machine.) Remove the sweater from the washer just before the spin cycle. Reset the washer and repeat one more time.
- 2
  
  Cut a 12-inch by 20-inch rectangle from the still damp sweater and lay the rectangle on your work surface in between a folded towel.
- 3
  
  Roll over the felted wool rectangle with a rolling pin. This will make the felted wool rectangle slightly larger.
- 4
  
  Fold the felted wool rectangle in half and sew a zigzag stitch along each side seam. Invert the purse through the open end. Stuff plastic bags into the purse to add shape as it dries. Fill it with as many bags as you can possible fit and then allow the purse to dry for 1 to 2 days in the sun or 2 to 3 days indoors.
- 5
  
  Remove the plastic bags.
- 6
  
  Measure across the top of the purse and find the center. Draw a 2-inch-long line, with half of the line on either side of the center.
- 7
  
  Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut along the line through both layers of the purse. Slide your hand into the slit and pull upward on the fabric above the slit to make a handle shape for the purse.

"Pursenality Plus: 20 New Felted Bags"; Eva Wiechmann; 2006
"Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things with Old Sweaters"; Stefanie Girard; 2008