Do you ever have a project that looks fantastic in your mind but doesn't turn out quite like you expected?? Happens to me all the time. But this bag is EXACTLY how I pictured it. I'm just so thrilled I could scream!! Don't get me wrong, there's a few things I would change about it, but overall, I'm am loving my fabulous new purse!!
I didn't have a pattern for this one, I just made it up as I was knitting. I've made lots of purses, so I had an idea of what I wanted, just no actual pattern. To create the base, I knit 10 stitches (garter stitch) for about 10 inches. Then I picked up 48 stitches on each of the long sides, and my original 10 cast on stitches for a total of 116 stitches (on circular needles). I knit 5 rounds in black and then started my stripes. Each colored stripe is 10 rounds, with 2 rounds of black in between.
I knew I wanted a shoulder strap, so when casting off, I placed the 10 "end" stitches on a stitch holder and knit the other 10 end stitches to create the strap. I also placed 12 stitches on a stitch holder to create the flap. The strap was about 34 inches pre-felting. It was a bit hard to determine how long to make it, but it worked out perfectly.
The 12 stitches for the flap were also an arbitrary number I came up with. When I came to actually knit the flap, I decided that was not quite enough and so I picked up a stitch on each side for a total of 14. To make the point, I just Ktog the first 2 stitches at the start of each row until I was down to one stitch. I think I would make this flap differently next time. It looks abit askew after felting - but I might be the only one that even cares!!
Here are a few pre-felted pictures. The first one shows the stitches fairly well, but it's hard to judge the size of it. Sorry. The second photo shows the bag hanging from my banister. That one it's a little easier to determine size from.
These next photo's are post-felting. I took a close-up so you can see how the stitches fused themselves together in the felting process.
And here it is hanging from my banister again. This makes the size change from felting look a little more obvious.
I picked up a "horn" button from Jo Ann's last night. I'm not convinced it's really horn, but I like how it looks with the bag. I just cut the button hole where I wanted it placed - no fear of unraveling!
All materials came from KnitPicks - see the link on my sidebar. I used all Wool of the Andes for this project. Unfortunately, one of the colors I used (the Orchid color) has been discontinued, but the other colors I used are Cherry Blossom and Grass. (Yep - kind of bright, but I love these colors together!!) KP carries a fabulous variety of colors so I'm sure they would have something you would love. And for only $1.99 for a 50 gr ball, it's quite the deal.
Happy knitting, and if you have any questions, just leave them in the comments. I'll be sure to respond.
I just love this bag pattern, it's very quick to knit and the bag is just so darn cute!! So I started another one yesterday.....I used black WOTA from KP and a Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair. The mohair is really gorgeous - 2 strands, one a purple/blue mohair and one metallic. I knew the Mohair would not felt as nicely, but I was knitting two-strands - one wool and one mohair - and hoped that would work. After I finished knitting, I threw it in the washer with a fairly large load and washed it on hot. From experience, I knew it would need at least a few washes to felt properly.
(and no, the picture is not fuzzy - the bag is!!)
Can you tell what I've been doing lately? I have been on a roll with these fun bags! Originally, I started the one in the back as a "test bag" with the new pattern to determine how much yarn I would need. The green bag in the front was done with my expensive yarn. The middle bag was done with lots of bits of yarn - the base was made with the handle color of the green bag and the top green is the same as the green bag, and some misc other colors to fill. I have two more bags planned. Partly because they are fun and so easy to knit, and secondly because they are using up my stash. And as all crafters know, if you use up your stash, you get to buy more *wink*.
I used some yarn that I had from KnitPicks, specifically Wool of the Andes. I like to use this yarn because it is very reasonably priced, comes in lots of fabulous colors, and felts beautifully. This pattern calls for knitting with two strands together. This makes for a much bulkier bag - I love it! I used 2 balls of Stream (bottom), one of Spruce (middle) and one of Asparagus (top). The handle was knit using Amethyst Heather. When I was working on this, I was afraid that the colors would not be distinct enough in the middle sections. To help with this, I knit with one strand of each color for a few rounds to try and make the color change more gradual.
I finished this bag last night, but didn't want to wake the kids with the felting process. All together, I think it was about 7 hours of knitting (it's kind of hard to tell, since I have to take a lot of breaks.) I think this bag will go in the craft sale pile (for a sale in March.) If it doesn't sell, I think my sister will like it. I'll have to ask *wink*
Here are a few pre-felted pictures. The first one shows the stitches fairly well, but it's hard to judge the size of it. Sorry. The second photo shows the bag hanging from my banister. That one it's a little easier to determine size from.
These next photo's are post-felting. I took a close-up so you can see how the stitches fused themselves together in the felting process.
And here it is hanging from my banister again. This makes the size change from felting look a little more obvious.