Below is the blurb I just typed for this bag, which I designed for the seniors class that I’m to teach in a couple of months. I intend to teach them the skills required to make this bag, then they’ll be able to make just about any beginner project they want. I’d appreciate any constructive criticism to make it better, so feel free to leave a comment. (I just uploaded this to Ravelry as a contributed pattern.)
My first bag, by Nicolaknits
I designed this little bag and wrote the pattern with a knitting class in mind. The skills which you will need are:
Long tail cast on
Knit stitch
Purl stitch
Knit into front and back of stitch (increase)
Knit 2 together (decrease)
Binding off
Sewing seams
Weaving in ends
You can either follow the wordy directions [in brackets] or the abbreviated directions, depending on your skill level.
Yarn used is less than 100g/3.5oz of worsted (medium) weight with US #8 or 5mm needles. If knitting the flower and leaf, then a small amount of two contrast yarns will be required.
The bag is knitted flat and seamed. The flower and leaf are optional. Gauge is not important, My bag measured about 5.75 inches across and 4.5 inches deep with a gauge of 16.5 stitches and 26 rows to 4 inches.
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CO 20 sts
[Cast on 20 stitches using the long tail cast on]
K 6 rows
[Knit 6 rows]
Next row: *(K2, Kf&b), rep from * to last 2 sts, K2 (26 sts)
[Next row: (Knit 2 stitches, knit into the front and back of the next stitch) Repeat the actions in brackets across the row until you have 2 stitches on your left needle. Knit 2 stitches. You now have 26 stitches.]
Next row: P
[Next row: purl all stitches]
Cont in st st until work measures about 8.25 inches from CO edge, ending with a P row.
[Continue in stockinette, alternating knit and purl rows, until work measures about 8.25 inches from the cast on edge, finishing at the end of a purl row.]
Next row: *(K2, K2tog) rep from * to last 2 sts, K2 (20 sts)
[Next row: (Knit 2 stitches, Knit 2 together) Repeat the actions in the brackets across the row until you have 2 stitches on your left needle. Knit 2 stitches. You now have 20 stitches.]
K 6 rows
[Knit 6 rows]
BO.
[Bind off, leaving a 12 inch tail for sewing up.]
You now have a flat piece of knitting, the central part of which is stockinette (the smooth side, also known as the “right” or “public” side) with garter stitch at each end (to prevent curling). Fold it so that the garter ends are matched up and the smooth side is on the outside and the bumpy side of the stockinette is inside. Thread a darning needle with the yarn tail from the bind off and use it to sew the first side of the bag together. Use mattress stitch, working from the outside of the bag. Repeat with the other side with a new length of yarn, again starting at the garter stitch edge and working towards the fold. Fasten off securely and weave in ends.
Handle:
CO 5 sts
[Cast on 5 stitches]
K until work measures about 9 inches or more, Work an even number of rows.
[Knit until work measures about 9 inches or more. Work an even number of rows.]
BO
[Bind off, leaving a tail long enough to sew the handle to the bag.]
Sew ends of handle to the garter edging at each side of bag.
Optional flower and leaf:
Leaf
CO 5 sts
[Cast on 5 stitches]
Row 1 – K
[Row 1 – Knit]
Row 2 – Kf&b, K2, K2tog
[Row 2 – Knit into the front and back of the first stitch to make an increase, knit 2 stitches, then knit the last two together to make a decrease. You should still have 5 stitches.]
Rows 3 and 5 – as Row 1
Rows 4 and 6 – as Row 2
BO
[Bind off and weave in tail. Use cast on tail to sew leaf to bag.]
Flower
CO 5 sts
[Cast on 5 stitches]
K 26 rows
[Knit 26 rows]
Dec row: K2tog, K to end (4 sts)
[Decrease row: Knit 2 stitches together to make a decrease, knit the rest of the stitches in that row. (4 stitches left)]
K 3 rows
[Knit 3 rows]
Rep dec row. (3 sts)
[Repeat the decrease row again. (3 stitches left)]
K 3 rows
[Knit 3 rows]
Rep dec row. (2 sts)
[Repeat the decrease row again. (2 stitches left)]
K 1 row
[Knit 1 row]
BO
[Bind off, leaving 12 inch tail.] Thread a darning needle with this tail, run the needle through the longest edge of the knitting, under the bumps on the edge, and pull tight. Allow the work to curl up with the thinner end on the outside. It looks like a rose. Work a couple of backstitches into the base of the flower to hold the layers together and then sew it to the bag. Weave in ends.
NICOLA KNITS 