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Sheep Bags
(138)I designed the sheep bag after being asked for a long time to design one. Choose from the Wooly Ewe and the Wooly Lamb - these two sizes are created by changing from a double-strand to single-strand of yarn and going down in needle size.
These two sheep are given their personality by the way you embroider on their faces, so use your favorite sheep as your model. Or, as I did, think of a celebrity sheep (Lamb chop) or the faces of your favorite illustrator (Maurice Sendak) to inspire your embroidery.
My little boy (4 when I first designed this bag) decided that the sheep should be his, which made me see that they would make terrific stuffed animals. Instead of putting a zipper in the back, simply stuff after felting and then sew closed for a wonderful wooly pal.
And, of course, you'll be the star of the Sheep & Wool Festival when you carry one of these bags with you!
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These little bags are just perfect for sunny spring days. Every time I look at these bags, they make my spirit feel younger. With room for all of the necessities, take them everywhere your flip-flops will carry you. As a Spring Basket, make felted and decorate with stripes, dots, or small field flowers.
Finished Dimensions4” (10cm)wide across the front/back at bag bottom
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EIGHT different versions! The itsy bitsy with no flap makes a great change purse.
Add the flap and you've got a purse for a wee little person who already loves bags (or a big person who loves wee bags!). . . The tiny bag with no flap is the perfect accessory for your knitting or cosmetic bag; with a flap, it's a great passport & money holder to be slung across the body under a jacket or around the waist.
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Finished Dimensions
Woolly Lamb Bag
10" (25.5cm) from chest to rump
8" (20.3cm) bag opening
15" (38cm) girth
Woolly Ewe Bag
22" (56cm) from chest to rump
10" (25.5cm) bag opening
22" (56cm) girth
Pattern Difficulty
Intrepid Beginner to Intermediate: Requires knitting, purling, working in the round on circular and double-pointed needles, some simple embroidery.
Gauge
Woolly Ewe
13 stitches and 16 rounds = 4" (10cm) in St st with a double-strand of worsted weight yarn on size 11 (8mm) needles.
Woolly Lamb
16 stitches and 22 rounds = 4" (10cm) in St st with a double-strand of worsted weight yarn on size 6 (4mm) needles.
Materials
Yarn Requirements
Woolly Lamb Bag
430 yds (393m) worsted weight feltable wool in white or black (A)
100 yds (91m) worsted weight feltable wool in brown (B)
Woolly Ewe Bag
1,260 yds (1,152m) worsted weight feltable wool in white or black (A)
150 yds (137m) worsted weight feltable wool in brown (B)
Field Flowers
1 skein of flower color will make a whole field of flowers. Each flower requires approximately 10 yards of yarn.
NOTE: The flowers you see on the ground on the front cover are Noni Forget-me-nots and are not included in this pattern.
Needles & Other Materials
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle
Sewing needle
Nylon beading thread
Noni 30" (76cm) custom YKK zipper with 2 bottom stops
Handful of polyester Fiberfill to stuff head and legs
Woolly Lamb Bag
Size 6 (4mm) 12" (30cm) or 16" (41cm) circular and double-pointed needles
Woolly Ewe Bag
Size 11 (8mm) 24" (60cm) circular and double-pointed needles
Field Flowers
Size 3 (3.25mm) set of double-pointed needles
Pictured Samples
Pictured Sheep were made with Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool in White and Brown.
Some First Edition Patterns
A few First Edition copies got out without enough detail about assembling & finishing the sheep! Here are the details we left out.
Felting & Finishing
I got so excited about releasing this pattern that I forgot to include finishing instruction in very early first edition pattern. Here is what I should have included.
Preparing your bag(s) for felting:
Step 1: Sew Legs to Body Use a tapestry Needle and like yarn to sew the legs to the body. I sewed them on so that unfelted they looked well-positioned.
Step 2: Sew Head to Body Before felting, sew head to body just in front of the body opening using a double-strand of yarn and a tapestry needle. If you are not sure which part of the body is the front and which the bag, just locate the little tail and use that as your guide. I designed the head so that there is a smooth, un-looped portion on the head underside: this is the part you sew down to the body.
Step 3: Sew ears to the face Fold the ears in half with the inside of the ear facing forward and then sew to the head using a tapestry needle and like yarn.
Step 4: Sew eyes to the face Using the cover photograph to direct your efforts, use a tapestry needle and a single-strand of like yarn to secure the eyes to the face. Again, I placed the eyes so that unfelted they looked good to me. I then used a tapestry needle and my eye-colored yarn to execute a simple back stitch to form eye-lashes (if desired) and the eye shape around the eye.
Step 5: Embroider Nose & Mouth Once eyes and ears are in place, use a tapestry needle and a strand of brown worsted weight yarn and a simple back stitch to form the nose and mouth as desired or as pictured. For sheep nose, I used a large chain stitch secured at one end for the nostrils and a simple back stitch to form the mouth.
Sew in Zipper: Pick a large-toothed plastic zipper (Vislon 5 by YKK) in a matching color that is 1"/2.54 cm or more longer the bag opening.
Step 1: Fit Zipper to Bag If cutting a longer zipper, use sewing thread to whip around the teeth at the desired length. Trim end to .5"/1.25 cm.
Step 2: Pin One Side of the Zipper & Sew In Place Unzip the zipper. Pin one side at a time using large pins. Use a double strand of sewing thread and sew one side in by hand using small, invisible stitches.
Step 3: Match the Other Side of the Zipper Zip up zipper and use pins to mark places on the zipper where it needs to be pinned to the other side. Do this in the beginning, middle and end of the bag opening. Unzip zipper again and pin entire side. Double check that the sides match without twisting by zipping the zipper while it is pinned. Make necessary adjustments.
Step 4: Sew the Second Side of the Zipper In Place Use a double-strand of sewing thread to sew the second side of the zipper to the other side of the bag opening. Again check that you have sewn the zipper in the right place by zipping it up and making sure the two sides meet correctly.