Originally Published for the Spring 2020 Ficstitches Yarns Kit Club.

A handy little bag perfect for small projects or an evening out. This style is often called a “Japanese Knot” bag because of the way the longer handle tucks through the shorter one, creating a sort of knot to close the bag. The finished bag is then felted or fulled to create a more solid fabric, keeping small items from falling through. Worked in easy half double crochet stitches, this project can be a nice introduction to felting as well as some basic embroidery stitches for an added embellishment.

When it’s time to go, I pull a gift from my bag and hand it to her.
It’s a crocheted version of her knot bag. “Grandma Lucy helped me figure out how to finish it,” I told her as she turns it over in her hands feeling the dense texture of the fabric. “It’s fulled, so things won’t poke through. I hope you like it.”
Her fingers find the delicate leaves I added on one side with embroidery stitches, inspired by the cherry blossoms on the bag she’d sent to me. When she looks back at me, there are tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Nedra. It is a gracious gift.”
-- Excerpt from A Fence Between by C. Jane Reid