Easy Felt Booga Bag Free Knitting Pattern
There’s something deeply satisfying about knitting a bag that transforms in the wash. You start with a floppy, oversized piece of fabric that looks nothing like a finished product, and then you toss it in the washing machine and watch the magic happen. What comes out is a dense, sturdy, beautifully textured tote that looks like it belongs in a boutique. That’s the joy of felted knitting, and the Booga Bag is the project that introduced countless knitters to the craft of felting.
If you’ve been wanting to try felting but weren’t sure where to start, or if you’ve been knitting for years and never made a Booga Bag, this is your moment. This free pattern will walk you through every step of making this classic, colorful tote from cast-on to finished handles. The pattern is designed to be approachable for knitters who have the basics down — if you can knit, purl, and increase, you have everything you need.
What Is a Booga Bag?
The Booga Bag is a felted knitting project that became a phenomenon in the online knitting community in the early 2000s. The original pattern was created by Kristin Spurkland and quickly spread across knitting forums and communities because it was fast, fun, and produced a bag that looked far more impressive than the effort required to make it.
The name itself has a playful, whimsical quality that matches the bag’s personality. Booga Bags are typically knit in bright, bold colors using bulky yarn, worked in the round on circular needles, and then felted in a hot washing machine until the stitches fuse together into a smooth, dense fabric. The result is an indestructible little tote that holds its shape, resists fraying, and gets better looking with every use.
What makes the Booga Bag particularly appealing is the flexibility it offers. You can stripe it, use hand-dyed yarn, combine solid and variegated colorways, or knit it in a single rich tone. Each bag comes out looking slightly different, which means the pattern never gets old no matter how many times you make it.
Why Felt Your Knitting?
Before diving into the pattern itself, it’s worth taking a moment to understand why felting produces such remarkable results. When you knit with wool (as opposed to superwash-treated wool or synthetic fibers), the individual fibers have tiny scales on them. Under normal circumstances those scales lie flat. But when you introduce heat, agitation, and moisture — exactly what happens inside a washing machine — those scales open up and interlock with the scales of neighboring fibers. The fabric shrinks and tightens as the fibers bind together, and the result is a material that is thicker, sturdier, and no longer shows individual stitches.
This process is also wonderfully forgiving. Tension inconsistencies that would be visible in a non-felted project disappear entirely once the bag goes through the wash. Uneven stitches, slight differences in gauge, minor mistakes — the washing machine smooths them all out. For this reason, felting projects are an excellent place for newer knitters to build confidence, because the final product looks polished regardless of small imperfections in the knitting itself.
One important note: not all yarn felts. You must use 100% wool that has not been treated to be machine washable. Superwash wool, cotton, linen, acrylic, and blends with a high percentage of plant or synthetic fiber will not felt. Always check the yarn label before you begin. If you’re unsure, knit a small test swatch and run it through a hot wash cycle on its own.
Materials You’ll Need
Getting your materials together before you cast on makes the whole project go more smoothly. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy felt Booga Bag.
Yarn: Approximately 200 to 250 yards of bulky-weight (size 5 or 6) 100% wool yarn. Popular choices include Cascade 220, Malabrigo Worsted, or Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool. If you want to stripe the bag, you’ll need two or more colors totaling that same yardage. Many knitters love using a hand-dyed or kettle-dyed skein for the main body because the color variation creates a beautiful effect after felting.
Needles: US size 13 (9mm) circular needles, 24 inches long. You can also use a set of double-pointed needles for parts of the project if you prefer, but circulars make this bag much easier to knit in the round.
Notions: A stitch marker, scissors, a tapestry needle for weaving in ends, and a few safety pins or locking stitch markers to mark increases.
Optional: A pillowcase or mesh laundry bag to use during felting, a wooden stretcher or inflated balloon to shape the bag while it dries.
Gauge and Sizing
Because this project is going to be felted, your pre-felting gauge doesn’t need to be precise in the way it would for, say, a sweater. What matters more is using appropriately sized yarn and needles so the fabric has enough drape before it goes in the wash.
On US 13 needles with bulky wool, you’ll typically get around 9 to 11 stitches over 4 inches in stockinette stitch before felting. After felting, the bag will shrink significantly — typically by 25 to 35 percent in both width and height. The finished felted bag usually ends up approximately 12 to 13 inches wide and 10 to 11 inches tall, not including the handles. If you want a larger bag, you can add extra stitches to your cast-on and extra rows to the body.
The Pattern
Starting the Bottom
The Booga Bag is worked in the round from the bottom up. Instead of casting on for a flat rectangle and seaming, you’ll use an i-cord cast-on technique that creates a slightly rounded base. This is one of the charms of the original design.
Using a backward-loop or long-tail cast-on, cast on 6 stitches onto one circular needle or two double-pointed needles. Knit an i-cord for approximately 17 rows. To work i-cord: do not turn your work. Slide all stitches to the other end of the needle, bring the yarn around the back, and knit across again. Repeat this for each row. After 17 rows, you’ll have a small tube.
Picking Up Stitches Around the Base
This is the step that turns your little i-cord tube into the foundation for the bag’s body. Knit across the 6 live stitches on your needle and place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Now rotate your work and pick up stitches along the side of the i-cord. Pick up 1 stitch for every ridge along the side — this will be roughly 17 stitches along this side. Knit across the cast-on edge, picking up the 6 stitches from the very beginning. Then pick up another 17 or so stitches along the remaining side of the i-cord.
You should now have approximately 46 stitches on your needle. Place a marker and join to work in the round.
Increasing Round
To shape the base of the bag, you’ll work a series of increases in the first few rounds.
Round 1: Knit all stitches.
Round 2 (increase round): Knit 1, knit front and back (kfb), knit to last 2 stitches before the center point, kfb, knit 1. Repeat this pattern on the second half of the round. You’re essentially increasing at four points to begin shaping an oval base.
Continue alternating plain knit rounds with increase rounds for about 6 total rounds, or until the base feels like it has a nice oval shape and lies flat without bunching or pulling.
Knitting the Body
Once your base is established, you simply knit every round in stockinette stitch (all knit stitches when working in the round) until the bag measures approximately 17 to 18 inches from the base. This seems very tall, but remember that the bag will shrink considerably during felting. Knitting the body is the most meditative and relaxing part of the project. Put on a podcast, settle in, and enjoy the rhythm of round after round of knit stitches.
If you want to add stripes, this is where you do it. Simply drop one color at the beginning of a round and pick up another. You don’t even need to cut the yarn if the stripes are close together — you can carry the unused color up the inside of the bag for a few inches before it becomes too tight. With a bulky yarn like this, wide stripes of 4 to 6 rounds look particularly striking after felting.
Knitting the Handles
The handles are worked as i-cord, just like the base. When the bag body has reached its desired height, you’ll set up for the handles by binding off and picking up stitches in specific positions.
For a standard Booga Bag with two handles, you’ll want to identify two points on the bag that are positioned symmetrically, roughly 3 to 4 inches in from each side. At each handle position, pick up 4 stitches along the top edge of the bag body.
Work each set of 4 stitches as i-cord for approximately 25 to 30 rows, or until the handle is about 10 inches long. After felting, the handles will shrink to a very manageable and sturdy length. If you want longer handles that can be worn over the shoulder, add extra rows before felting.
To finish each handle, bind off and then reattach the i-cord end to the bag using your tapestry needle, securing it carefully so the join is tight and won’t pull loose during agitation in the washing machine.
Weave in all your ends very securely. Felting is rough on loose tails, and you don’t want a loose end unraveling during the wash cycle.
Felting Your Bag
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Set your washing machine to the hottest water setting and the heaviest agitation cycle available. Add a very small amount of regular laundry detergent — just a teaspoon or two. Some knitters add a pair of jeans or an old towel to the load to increase agitation, which speeds up the felting process.
Place your bag inside a pillowcase or mesh laundry bag. This prevents loose fibers from clogging your washing machine’s drain and helps the bag maintain its shape slightly during agitation.
Run the bag through the wash cycle, but do not let it go through the spin cycle if you can help it — spinning can cause creases to set permanently. Stop the machine to check on the bag every few minutes at first. You’re looking for the stitches to disappear into a smooth, unified fabric. The bag will shrink and stiffen noticeably.
Once the bag looks felted — dense, even-textured, with no individual stitches visible — remove it from the washing machine. It will be very hot and wet. Rinse it in cool water by hand, then squeeze out the excess water gently. Do not wring it.
Shaping and Drying
While the bag is still damp, shape it with your hands. Pull the sides out to their final width, push the bottom into a flat, even shape, and make sure the handles are even and not twisted. If you have a box or other object approximately the right size, stuff it inside the bag while it dries to help maintain the shape.
Some knitters stuff their felted bag with plastic bags, newspaper, or a small cardboard box. Whatever you use, make sure it’s something that won’t transfer color or stain the damp wool.
Let the bag dry completely in a warm spot, ideally with good airflow. Depending on your climate, this can take 24 to 48 hours. Resist the temptation to use it before it’s fully dry — a damp felted bag can lose its shape and develop a musty smell.
Once it’s dry, your Booga Bag is finished and ready to use.
Customizing Your Booga Bag
One of the best things about this pattern is how easily it lends itself to personalization. Here are a few ideas to make your bag uniquely yours.
Color: The most obvious way to customize is through color. A single skein of hand-dyed yarn produces a bag with gorgeous depth and variation. Contrasting stripes give a graphic, bold look. A neutral base with a bright pop for the handles creates a sophisticated effect.
Embellishments: After felting and drying, the surface of the bag is like a blank canvas. You can add embroidered flowers, felted-on shapes (simply cut pieces from a felted swatch and stitch them on), large buttons, or iron-on patches. Because the fabric is so dense, embellishments stay put extremely well.
Lining: A fabric lining turns the Booga Bag into something truly special. Choose a cotton or canvas fabric in a coordinating print, sew a simple rectangular bag shape, and stitch it inside the felted bag by hand. This adds structure, hides the inside of the handles, and gives the bag a finished, polished interior.
Size: There’s nothing stopping you from making a miniature version as a coin purse or pouch, or a giant version to use as a market tote or beach bag. Simply scale the stitch count and row count up or down.
Tips for Success
A few additional notes that will help your project come out beautifully.
Always buy a little more yarn than you think you’ll need. Running out mid-project when you’re working with a dyed lot can result in a color mismatch that will show even after felting.
If your bag comes out of the washing machine and still shows stitch definition, run it through again. Some yarns take more than one wash cycle to fully felt. This is normal and not a problem.
If your bag felts too small, it cannot be unfelted — this is the one irreversible part of the process. Knit the body longer than you think necessary. It’s much easier to throw a slightly-too-large bag back in the wash for more felting than to deal with one that felted down too small.
Make sure your yarn is not superwash before you start. If you’re in doubt, ask at your local yarn store or email the manufacturer. This is the most common reason a felting project fails to felt.
A Project Worth Making Again and Again
The easy felt Booga Bag has earned its place as a knitting classic for good reason. It’s fast enough to finish in a weekend, beginner-friendly enough to be a first bag project, and impressive enough to give as a gift or keep for yourself with real satisfaction. Once you’ve made one, you’ll find yourself thinking about the next colorway before the first one has even finished drying.
The felting process itself carries a particular kind of excitement — that moment when you pull the bag out of the washing machine and see how it’s transformed is genuinely thrilling every single time. It’s one of those rare knitting projects where the finish line delivers something bigger than the sum of its parts.
So gather your yarn, get out those big circular needles, and cast on. Your new favorite bag is only a weekend away.
