Saturday, December 4, 2010

Alpaca Bag Directions



Alpaca Bag

I have finally posted it!!

Finished size 8” x 11”
Knitting level: Intermediate
Knowledge of sewing is recommended.
This project is more of a formula rather than an exact pattern
I owe all my inspiration to



Needle:
US 4 - 3.5 mm circular and straight
Yarns:
 ~Alpaca hand spun
   Natural Dark Brown
   1 skeins= 330yds
  1 skeins = 190.0 yards M02 / Wild Oak
  1 skeins = 220.0 yards
  3033 / hand dyed grey
 1 skeins = 109.0 yards
 Natural

Extras:
1 square of material to create insert
Sewing needle
1 form of closure (I used a snap button)

To download the graph pattern click HERE

This bag was knit on circular needles starting from the bottom up.
You will knit both sides at the same time. I added a stitch between each side so I could sew the strap onto it after and not sew over the pattern.

CO 98 stitches using what ever color you want to start with. (I used the Cascade – light grey)   
Follow the pattern from the bottom up using whatever colors you wish.
REMEMBER TO ADD THE EXTRA STITCH BETWEEN SIDES.

Last four rows should be purled.

Strap:
Use 15 feet of 3 colors of yarn
Taking each color separately, fold in half and twist. Keep twisted until all three are done.
I used the back of my kitchen chairs to keep them in place.
Tie all three twisted colors together on one end and braid together taking care to keep the unbraided lengths untangled.
Braid until you reach the other end.
Sew braid to sides and bottom leaving enough length for the straps.
The length of the straps is certainly your own preference.
If your braid ended up short, just start over with some new yarn and make a new length!

Lining:
There are several different patterns free online that will explain how to line your knitted bag. I used one from Ravelry. If you are not a member of Ravelry, you can check out this link:


And a big Thank you to Robin for the usurping of her pattern notes regarding how to line a bag.
 Please visit her website:






Sunday, July 18, 2010

Poolside knitting

What a beautiful day to be knitting! First I did some Yoga...
I love my pink mat. It doubles as a great place to lay down too!
Then I did some knitting in between snatches of sun bathing.
I figured it was too hot for wool so I worked on my Tinks Twirley skirt. I am about 3/4 done and ready for the next tier.
Then I got to (finally) get a picture of Dan fixing the edge of the pool. He hates to have his picture taken! 
He is so cute!!







Friday, July 16, 2010

Summer Knitting

These days have been wicked hot here in NH. I feel like I am living in Africa! But the cooler mornings and evenings are spent here
The teenagers remain indoors sleeping until noon, and my poor hubby is repairing a roof.  Looks like I may have to just suck up the heat to get this sweater finished by the time school gets back into session.
I love Cascade 220!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Max's Favorite Cowl




I made this cowl to actually be worn on humans! But since I had no models, Max gladly accepted to pose!

Needle
US 8 / 5.0 mm 16” circular needles
Yarn
Classic Elite Yarns: Montera

1 skeins = 127.0 yards (116.1m)
Color way 3818

A super easy cowl!!

This is knit in the round…
CO 90 stitches, Join to work in the round without twisting.
Row one = Knit
5-stitch pattern
Rows 2-6 = K5, P5* repeat * until you complete 5 rounds,
Rows 7-11 = P5, K5* repeat *until you complete 5 rounds
Continue in this pattern until you get to almost the end of the skein.
For this cowl I used an entire skein.
Save enough yarn to knit your last row as a CO row.
Make sure you CO loosely!