Something knitting related, just for a change!
As mentioned in passing in this post, I’ve knitted me a new handbag, after the styling of the Booga bag
As always with these things, a second knit of the same pattern leads to to think on what you felt could be improved upon when knitting next time around.
I felt my Booga was a touch small for the stuff I carry (although only just, so no radical change required there) and when in use the opening was quite saggy, tending to roll outwards.
Also the Base join felt flimsy. After all, ”pick up & knit into the back of the stitch” doesn’t provide a structural feature, so the base tended to sag inwards under load.
I also felt that it could use an internal pocket for my travel card, as rumaging in bags for small things is a pet hate of mine.
I remembered that somewhere on the ‘net that I’d seen a very similar bag, using Applied I-cord & I-Cord bind-off to give the form definition and and structure… But could I find the pattern again? Nope.
So, I did some surfing, learned the required techniques, and, as per usual for me, made it up as I went along.
I’m writing this as an account (After all, this is a ‘blog!), but do check back soonish for the Link to a properly written up pattern over on Fluffenstuff.
The yarn was a random find during my last trip to Brighton. I saw it and immediately thought it would make me a good new bag… and at £1.99 a ball (because it was new to the shop, wasn’t labled up, and that’s what the shop dude sort of thought it was supposed to sell at!) it had to be done really!
“Wash+Filz-It!“, knits up on 8mm needles so is a fatter yarn than Noro Kureyon. Not an issue as I wanted it slightly bigger anyway, and as I had trouble picking up and knitting the cast on edge for my first Booga, I used a Provisional cast on onto the 1m 8mm Addi cable needle I was going to use for the side of 38 st, then used a set of straights for 20r before picking up & starting up the sides.
Colours Rose (10) and Ruby (6) were what called to me in the shop, as a plain bag would be so dull!
Mind you, I surprised myself at just how picky I was about about the base stripe matching and balancing.
I realised after I’d picked up around the sides that because of the way I’d cast on, I had an extra row on 3 sides! This left the stripe wrong! It meant the Top would be Wonky! Knitting OCD!!!
So, rather than re-knit 4″ of bag totally, I dropped out and reknitted just the one side, which was an adventure! I added the extra row required, then repicked up all the strands of yarn back into knitting on top of that… It was going well, until I realised that I’d managed to miss out 4 stitches (2 at each end of the row) when I dropped so then then had to drop out the corners and re-add them with extra yarn!
Only do this when felting kiddies! I ended up with so many weaved in ends!!! You can’t tell now, but there is no way you’d do this to a non-felted peice in a million years!
Knitted around and around until I was almost out of yarn, then cast-off I-cord style, and then applied an I-cord to the base of the bag. Added an inside pocket by picking up & knitting a flap, then just sewing that to the inside of the bag.
I also figured out how to make a striped I-cord, carrying the yarn up the inside of the cord, and so knitted 2m of that.
As an aside, can NOONE describe Applied I-cord technique?? Took me about 10 goes before I understood what all the various, seemingly well-written, instructions were trying to convey!
The Unfelted bag was very big & floopy, so I was quite happy that it would turn out nicely bigger than my original.
However, The yarn felts down really well! Admittedly, I ran it though the wash twice to get it nice and dense, but it only just stretched over the requisite blocking shoe-box! The cord shrank down to about 15ocm as well.
So, I have a bag I’m happy with again, with the added bonuses of no drastic sagging and no rummaging for my pass!
