Pattern description from Interweave Knits, Fall 2004: “Virtuoso designer Nicky Epstein used tweedy shetland yarns to create a striking flowered handbag worthy of a queen. The floral pattern was inspired by Jacobean embroidery, and the intarsia leaves and flowers are embellished with hand-stitched accents. Nicky felted the completed bag to add density to the fabric and to give it the feel of a woven tapestry. Wooden dowels help stabilize the tops and a piece of buckram stiffens the base. The handles are made from twisted lengths of I-cord.”

Finished Size: About 17” (43 cm) wide and 9” (23 cm) tall, before felting; about 15” (38 cm) wide and 7.5” (19 cm) tall, after felting.

Notions from Interweave Knits, Fall 2004:

• Tapestry needle
• Two 0.5” (1.3 cm) diameter dowels, each 14” (35.5 cm) long
• Piece of buckram stiffener for bottom of bag 6.5” (16.5 cm) wide by 16” (40.5 cm) long.

Notes:

• “The chart is worked in stockinette-stitch intarsia. Use a different length of yarn for each color section, and cross yarns at the color changes to prevent holds from forming. Embroidered details are worked after the sides and base have been completed.”
• “The back, front, and base of the bag are worked in one piece, beginning with the top of the back, working down to the base, across the base, and up the other side for the front. To work the second patterned side of the bad, it will be necessary to turn the chart upside down so that the design matches on both front and back.”