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Friday, April 21, 2006

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Komi-Patterned Bag

A few weeks ago, I bought this book Knitting Marvelous Mittens by Charlene Schurch. I was inspired to buy it after seeing the some great Komi-patterned mittens, socks, and hats on various blogs a while ago.

I love most of the patterns in this book, but since it is no longer "mitten season" around here (and no one I know is much of a mitten wearer anyway), I've been looking for other places to use these great patterns. Daughter#2 had been telling me how she wanted a knitted bag and she loves the color blue, so when I came across two skeins of blue wool when I reorganized my stash (which, I have to say, was spread all over my bedroom floor for much longer than I'd like to admit) I decided to use one of the Komi patterns in this book to make a bag for her. And here it is:

click for bigger picture

Pattern:
The design of the bag is based on the Gift Bag pattern in Handknit Holidays, but the color pattern is from Knitting Marvelous Mittens (it's part of mitten #8)
Yarn:
Two skeins of worsted-weight wool yarn from my stash.
I really like this yarn. It is 'au naturel' without being all greasy and gross like some other stuff I've used recently. Annoyingly, it was unlabeled so I can't get more of it. I think I may have bought it a few years ago at Plimoth Plantation. I couldn't find any mention of yarn in their online gift shop though. They do have a pattern for 17th Century Knitting Stockings and Socks though. I must admit -- I'm tempted.
Needles:
US 8
Gauge:
19st and 21rows = 4" in stranded 2-color knitting
Size:
About 7.5" in diameter and 11.5" tall
Modifications:
I modified the size of the bag to fit three repeats of the Komi pattern. I also changed the method of decreasing on the bottom of the bag to give a more circular bottom. The Gift Bag pattern has you decrease in the same five spots, which results in a pentagonal bottom. I moved the decreases each round to get a smoother circle with less defined sides and no decrease lines. (Darn, I should have taken a pic of the bottom. Oh well, this post has too many pictures already).

Crocheted Edge - click for bigger pictureAlso, when it was done, I used my new crochet skills (oooh, how exciting) to chain an edge around the bottom of the bag. This hid the little purl bumps from the 'turning round' and gave it a more finished look, I think.
Comments:
I used this method for dealing with the color-jog at the end of a round. I moved my end-of-round-point around a little to keep it in the middle of a light blue section, which worked out pretty well. I have to look pretty hard to find the end of round points in the finished bag.

I really like this Gift Bag pattern. The bags are fun to make and they are a great way to try out color-knitting patterns on a small scale project.
This is actually the third Gift Bag I've made. I made two others out of Cascade 220 and gave them as Christmas gifts (see them in my gallery). This bag came out somewhat sturdier than those, possibly due to the more rugged nature of this yarn.

click for bigger pictureHere is a picture of the bag on its makeshift blocking tube, so you can see the full patttern.

click for bigger pictureAnd here is the inside of the bag. I think I like the pattern better this way -- with the dark and light colors reversed.

I'm off to see the Harlot at WEBS tomorrow. That will probably be a zoo. Another two-hour road trip and I've got nothing good to work on. Uggh, I may have to pull something out of "Time Out" in desperation.

Leave a Comment 6 comments:

MelissaKnits said...

I so wish you'd been at drop-in on Thurs. This came up and we had no good solution. I am printing that info for my student, who is very anal and will appreciate it more than you know. In fact, I'd bet that she rips out her sweater and starts it over again.

Are you bringing the Komi book by any chance? Just, you know, if you happen to remember it...

Anonymous said...

i like this bag and all the detailed information about making it! and thanks for the link to the information about color jogs; my students often ask me about them and it's hard to describe solutions without pictures and printed info.
i love the komi mitten book, too, even though i hardly ever do color knitting. i find books of color knitting very inspiring for designing and putting colors together. and sometimes looking at color motifs together gives me ideas about how to mix other types of motifs, like lace or cables.

Anonymous said...

That is *so* cool! I love it!

Christine said...

That is so beautiful! I really like how it turned out, and since I don't get to wear mittens often down here in Houston, I'll have to remember that for using some of the adorable designs! Great idea!

Lynda said...

That is gorgeous- inside and out!

Anonymous said...

Hey tammy it's angela i like the bag it is very cute might just ask you to help me make it sometime i would love to learn!!! i have pretty much finished that scarf i started so now i need to do something more challenging!! i will see you later!!
~Angela~