The knitting is easy using made-to-fade indigo yarn. Structure the bag with iron-on stiffening and add a recycled jeans pocket for the perfect casual bag.
ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE
The bag took 10 hours to make.
SIZE
Width: 11 in. (28 cm); height: 8 in. (20 cm).
YOU WILL NEED
• 2 x 50 g balls (approx. 3½ oz.) of Elle True Blue 100% Indigo Cotton DK in shade 112
• pair of size US 6 (4 mm) knitting needles
• a jeans pocket
• 10½ x 17¼ in. (27 x 44 cm) heavyweight iron-on lining
• one 11¾ x 18½ in. (30 x 47 cm) and two 4 x 9 in. (10 x 23 cm) pieces of matching sewing thread, sharp sewing needle, and tapestry needle
• 10½ x 17¼ in. (27 x 44 cm) and 36 in. (91 cm) of 1-in. (25-mm) wide iron-on adhesive
• 2 metal swivel trigger hooks and 2 metal D rings
GAUGE
22 sts and 30 rows to 4 in. (10 cm) over st-st on US 6 (4 mm) needles. Change needle size, if necessary, to obtain this gauge.
ABBREVIATIONS
beg = beginning; k = knit; RS = right side; st (s) = stitch (es) ; st-st = stockinette stitch; WS = wrong side.
NOTE
• Elle True Blue is a made-to-fade yarn that shrinks by approximately 5% when washed for the first time.
BAG
OUTER LAYER
Cast on 62 sts.
Beg k row, st-st until work measures 18 in. (46 cm), ending with a k row. Bind off knitwise.
SIDE PANELS
(Make 2) Cast on 15 sts. Beg k row, st-st until work measures 8¾ in. (22 cm), ending with a k row. Bind off knitwise.
HANDLE
Cast on 15 sts. Beg k row, st-st until work measures 15¾ in. (40 cm). Bind off.
TO FINISH
Wash and dry bag pieces. Placing pocket centrally, a few rows below one edge, sew pocket to RS of bag. Leaving 1 stitch at each side and cast-on and bind-off edges free, fuse the heavyweight iron-on lining to the WS of the outer layer of the bag. Using matching sewing thread and a sharp sewing needle taking in ½-in. (1.5-cm) seams, sew lining side panels to lining. Fold top hem down to WS, press in place, and using the iron-on adhesive, fuse WS of lining to WS of outer bag. With RS facing and using knitting yarn, a tapestry needle, and mattress stitch (see page 154), join knitted side panels to free stitch at each side of outer bag. Using matching sewing cotton and a sharp sewing needle, slip stitch top edge of lining to top edge of bag. Pin handle to ironing board, stretching it as much as possible, so the edges fold inward. Place doubled strip of iron-on adhesive inside curled handle and pin at each end to hold in place while fusing adhesive to flatten handle and secure folded-in edges. Sew D rings on each side of the top. Sew ends of handle to swivel trigger hooks. Fasten trigger hooks through D rings.
ABOUT THIS YARN
Elle True Blue is a double-knitting weight 100% cotton yarn dyed with environmentally safe indigo. It has 118 yds. (108 m) to a 50g (approx. 1¾ oz.) ball.
Casual and capacious, this bag is bound to become one of your all-time favorites.
TIPS
• Don’t use fabric softener when washing the knitted pieces; some types of iron-on lining won’t stick very well.
• Cut the fabric of the jeans close to the pocket to keep the stitching around the pocket intact. Trim off the fabric inside the pocket so only a tiny raw edge is left before sewing the pocket onto the outer bag.
• The sample bag was entirely hand-sewn. If you are confident with a machine, you could reduce the finishing time.
• Heavyweight fusible lining is usually sold to stiffen collars or curtain tiebacks. If you can get only lightweight fusible lining, use two pieces, one to stiffen the outer bag and the other to stiffen the lining fabric before making up the lining and fusing the lining to the outer bag.
• If you can’t find trigger hooks in a department store, try a pet accessories shop; the hooks are often used on dog leads.
Flat knitting or round knitting—the choice is yours. Whichever you do, the bag won’t take long; your balls of yarn will transform into this stylish carryall in just 4 hours.
