Wow, I love the way the felted flowers came out! I hope you find a solution to the floppiness, be it more felting or interfacing or something else...

Not an expert felter by any stretch, so no help there, just wanted to say it looks very nice. The fowers are a perfect touch.

The felted flowers look great! I think it's the size - I bet if you put a nice stiff lining in there it will stand right up....

what yarn did you use? It felted beautifully!

My Mom just finished the Noni Garden Party Bag and she has the same concern too, that her bag is too floppy. She did get some of that thin plastic that's perforated that you use to do embroidery on, and put that in the bottom and it helped a bit. She also got a sheet of really thin flexible plastic and is thinking about sewing that into the bag along with the lining to help reinforce it. I'll let you know what she decides.

But I don't think it's the felting so much, it looks like you did a good job with that. In my experience with felting, bigger stuff like that just tends to be floppy because of it's weight. Whereas some felts become very sturdy and non-floppy, bigger ones tend to be heavier and more noodly in my experience.

But I think maybe with reinforcing the bottom and strengthening the sides before lining it, it'll be perfect. Good job!

LOVE the flowers. The felting looks great! I'm with the stiffer lining people. What kind of handles does it get?

I think once you line it and add some interfacing (maybe something for the bottom as well) it will be just how you want it.

the flowers are gorgeous!

It's great! Nice work. Stiffer lining is the best way to go. You can always add a piece of covered plastic canvas to the bottom for extra support, too.

Those flowers look really cool, where's the pattern from?

Good luck on the rest of the bag finishing!

Lining, lining, lining. That will stiffen it right up. Or perhaps some Viagra. ;-)
The felted flowers are awesome. And you look so cute in your pink suit.

Hmmm, what about using some of that Timtex stuff when lining the bag? I have the same thing happening with the kitty pi cat bed.. the sides don't want to stay up.

I can't see any stitch definition left in your photo, so my feeling is that you have felted it enough. I love the flowers - and I love looking at your photos. You live in such a beautiful place.

I think it has to do with the size and that it's not interfaced. I think if you add some interfacing to the lining it should be fine.. or sew in some handy dandy timtex. That actually might work better since the felted fabric is probably really heavy. And don't forget the false bottom! Wow, so much knowledge we gain from making the Weekender bag! oh, and the flowers.. I LOVE them.

Hehehe - I was going to suggest the same thing as Angela... Timtex to the rescue! Because we looove sewing with Timtex! ;)

I love the flowers - the bag would be infinitely less cute without them.

It looks great! I've felted a lot of bags and toys (some Noni bags, not the carpet bag though) and it looks like the bag felted well and I don't think you need to do additional felting. It's funny how felted material, although really thick, is quite lightweight and, as you said, floppy. The lining helps my bags and then when I fill them up with stuff they look great. I've never reinforced the bottom or sides, but the bigger ones don't stand up on their own when empty either.

I can't give any advice on felting but I second Angela's suggestion on using timtex or some plastic to stabilize it. The flowers look delicious, like sugar candy!

It's beautiful. I'm with everyone else on the lining. I think because of it's size, it's just bound to be floppy. I've noticed in felted beds people have sent for the charity drive the bigger the bed, the floppier the end result.

Love the bag!! The flowers add a lot of character and cuteness to it.

Wow ... the felting of the flowers is soooo lovely! I don't have much experience in felting ... but I would definitely try putting it into the machine again ... if you want it to be smaller, that is.

I think you need to be careful if you add interfacing that you don't cheapen the look. See how the bag works with handles and something in it. Which pattern were the flowers in, the Camelia pattern? They're wonderful!

Wow, that is big still. I guess it really is a large bag.

I am in no way shape or form an experienced felter, but the few things I've felted, okay, the one thing I've felted, was floppy and it was well felted. Maybe use some thick interface when you line it?

Love those flowers! The colors are great too. As to the floppiness - I've only felted a handful of items - but it looks pretty firmly felted. I agree with everyone on the lining!

The felted flowers look amazing and the color combo is fantastic.

I love it!! The flowers are adorable and the colors are fantastic. I'll just agree with everyone else that some interfacing should fix the floppiness.

I say go with Carole's suggestion and give it a couple viagra with a stiff shot of whisky, and I'll bet he'll stand right up for ya. lol!

The bag and the flowers both look amazing. I would imagine (all kidding aside) that everyone's suggestions for the plastic lining would help a lot. Whatever you decide - it's already gorgeous - you did a great job.

What handles are you using?

You could give it another round in the washing machine. That might help! Also you could use some iron-on interfacing on the wrong side of the lining and that will give the bag some "stiffness" that you might find helpful.
A bit of that "plastic stitching stuff" cut to the size of the bag bottom might help too, of course you could use it all round the sides but it might be unweidly inside the lining.
Love the look though, and those flowers are great!

Oh, that bag looks great! I'd guess that it is floppy because it is so large. If you want it stiffer you can always use some heavy duty interfacing when you make the liner...

First, the flowers are gorgeous! It's going to look great when all done. Second, I don't think it needs more felting. The lining is going to help a bit, but I'm really impressed with that fusible fleece (sort of like thin quilt batting)I told you about, and think that it would give just enough body to the inside. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll send you some.

I have nothing to add to all the good info that you've received from others, but I'm glad you've forged ahead with this. Now I know what to look for when I finish mine. It looks greats and I love how the flowers turned out too.

i love the flowers! those alone are worth the effort :) they would make great pins for a suit.

I agree with others that the felting is fine...I don't think any further washing would make a difference. I think the shape is what's causing the floppiness. Does the pattern call for double-strand knitting, or just single? The best luck I've had is when knitting double strands of bulky. The extra-thick lining should help a lot. It's totally adorable, so I hope you can get it to your liking!

Is it single or double stranded? Single stranded tends to be sloppy in my experience. Looks great, though, and you can sew, so I'm sure you can fix it.

Could be that you do need to immerse it once more, and see if it will tighten up, I did a binch of big tote bags last year, (Maggie's Tote from Fiber Trends) and I used Brown Sheep Worsted for Some and Elann's Highland Wool for others, and all the Highland Wool ones were a bit floppier, most likely cuz the yarn is "thinner" than the Brown Sheep. If I do more bags with the Elann I would knit with 2-strands to make a denser "fabric".

I did very successfully use the plastic embrodery sheets cut down to reinforce the bottom, and hand sewed that in on top of the lining with embroidery floss, so it gave the bottom 3 layers to give it a little oomph. Also, after I put in the lining, the sides were not quite as floppy, but did not stand up quite as well with the Elann as the Brown Sheep did.

Looks like you've gotten lots of good info, but thought I'd share my experiences, tho not an expert opinion...

I think it looks beautiful though and the flowers are stupendous.

That bag looks great, but also - way cute suit you are wearing!

The flowers are adorable. I'd suggest felting it more, the more you felt the more dense it will get.

I sometimes add an inch-wide strip to the top at each end (as if bracing the ends of a zipper) to strengthen and help form the shape. Haven't done a Noni, but if you like the way the fabric feels so far, I'd line instead of fulling more. It can definitely be overdone.

I didn't really like the flowers at first, but they are PERFECT fulled. Your making them a bit different was a master stroke.

I really love the felted flowers, they're so cute - all the best of luck on finishing the rest of the bag!

I love the bag, and you have some of the greenest grass I have seen in a long time.

That is AWESOME. Great job.