Some Gifts for a Baby and a Tote Bag

These are a few of my most recent projects. I have taken a break from making quilts since very soon I am going to be sewing my little girls comforter for her room. Instead I have been doing a bunch of small quick projects.


The first was a little set I made for my SIL's baby boy. He is due to arrive in a few weeks and I made these using some of the leftover fabric from the baby blanket I made her already. I appliqued the onesies with squares cut out from the flannel and I made a taggy blanket to match everything. I have heard babies love these so hopefully he will too. The shoes were a pair from the remaining 3 I finished last week.


The other thing I made Thursday night was a tote bag for my friends birthday. She was the one I was knitting the mittens for but I have admitted defeat. I have one finished but am just not into knitting right now (which stinks because I have a bunch of projects I wanted to do before my little girl arrives). I think this may be a combo of the fact it takes me forever and also it is not comfortable for me to sit still for very long which is almost required for knitting (at least me). Since I don't think I can justify to my husband why I paid someone to knit my projects for me I think I may just have to deal with the fact they won't get done.

Anyway with all that being said I needed to come up with something else for her birthday and I will be seeing her on Wednesday so I wanted to have it by then. She loves bags, really what girl doesn't, so I am hoping she will get some use out of this small tote bag. It was super easy and came together pretty quick and now I am just thinking of how to fill it! I think I will be making LOTS of these especially considering how quick and easy they are to make.

Final Christmas Project

So the final Christmas gift has finally been delivered. This one turned out to be the project from hell but it turned out good in the end, it was just a long road to get there.

This was a large purse I made for a good friend of mine. She carries everything but the kitchen sink in her purse so it needed to be big so that it would be useful to her. Her favorite color is purple so I bought a super chunky purple yarn. It is done in an easy basket weave pattern but it gives the bag a lot of interest since the yarn is plain. Here is a picture before it was blocked, the pattern came out a lot better after blocking.

I did write the pattern down but when I was almost finished with this bag I realized a HUGE design flaw so I'm not going to post the pattern. It didn't occur to me at the time that I should make the flap smaller than the width of the bag and boy did that come back to bite me in the end. I made a thick strap (about 2 inches) and wanted to line that and the bag so it would be durable. I also knew it would be heavy when it was full and didn't want the strap to stretch over time. Also it makes it a bit more fun with the fabric. Well after I lined the bag and the strap (I also used interfacing to give the liner some body) they were pretty stiff. Good for the overall bag but then I couldn't get the strap where I wanted it. I ended up putting the strap completely on the front of the bag (which actually worked out well) but then the flap wouldn't close!! You can imagine my frustration! By then I was ALMOST DONE.

Well after discovering that I had to come up with a solution because I had put too much work into this bag to just trash it. Not to mention this was her main gift! I ended up cutting a square off each side of the flap. I hope it holds up over time but I sewed a few lines near where I cut and used some liquid seam to keep the yarn from fraying. This solved the problem of letting the flap close but as you can imagine was not appealing to look at. My next dilemma was how to cover up what I just mangled.

After a few days of brainstorming it hit me. I used double wide bias tape on the entire flap edge and it actually looked really good. It even gave it a more finished look. Inside the bag I created four pockets so it wasn't just one big open hole. At least you could have a place for the most important things.

When all was said and done the bag came out well, it looks good and sits well on your hip. Haven't gotten the verdict from her yet but I would call it a success even with all the problems I encountered. I don't foresee me ever making the "flap mistake" again.

Here is a picture of the finished bag. This one has the flap open so you can see the fabric and the next one has it closed.

Mini Felted Bag

This was another one of my Christmas projects. I only have one more Christmas present to post about after this one but it has yet to be delivered yet as it proved to be a bear and I just recently finished it.

This was made for my friends toddler. I figured what little girl didn't need a little bag so I designed this little number. It is very simple and knit all in one piece, all the finishing that needs to be done are sewing up the two side and felting it.

I must say I LOVE this bag and when I get a bit of time plan on making myself a larger version of the same thing. It would make a perfect tote bag so I may experiment with large needles and 2 stands held together.

Anyway without further adieu here it is...



Materials:

any wool worsted weight yarn (must be 100% wool in order to felt)
- I used Patons Classic Wool in the colorway Rosewood

size 10 straight needles

Pattern:

CO 40 stitches

TO FORM HANDLE:

Knit 5 rows

Row 6: K12, BO 16, K12

Place 1st 12 stitches on a spare needle or stitch holder

On 2nd set of 12 work in stockinette stitch for 6 rows (ending on knit row)

Leave those stitches on the needle

Go to 2nd set of 12 stitches and rejoin yarn

Work in stockinette stitch for 6 rows (ending on a knit row)

Next Row: P12, CO 16, P12 (rejoining the stitches so you are back to 1 complete row)

*Please don't be scared by this it is basically the same premise as making a buttonhole where you CO and rejoin the stitches. I tried to explain this the best way I could but if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

THIS FORMS THE HANDLE

Here is a picture of the finished handle. It doesn't have to look perfect since you will be felting it.


The Body:

Work in stockinette stitch until bag is 22 inches long

TO FORM 2ND HANDLE:

P12, BO 16, P12

Place 1st 12 stitches on a spare needle or stitch marker

Knit 6 rows in stockinette stitch ending on a purl row

Move to the other 12 stitches and rejoin yarn

Knit 6 rows in stockinette ending on a purl row

Next Row: K12, CO 16, K12 (the same as with the first handle)

To Finish:

Knit 5 rows (40 stitches total)

BO all stitches

Sew up the two sides to form a bag

Felt bag and block


Here is a picture of the finished bag.

The dimensions were as follows:

BEFORE - 8.75"W x 11"T (bag) 1.25"T x 4"W (strap)
AFTER - 8"W x 7"T (bag) .75"T x 3.75"W (strap)

More Christmas Presents

Felted Purse

This was another Christmas present that I made for a good friend of mine. It was first experience with felting and I like the results.


Materials:

Bernat Felting Natural Wool or any other bulky weight wool yarn
size 11 needles


Pattern:

CO 66 stitches on straight needles

work in stockinette stitch for 22 inches

(You could use circular needles and work 3 rows flat then pick up stitches along the other 3 edges and then work in the round for 11 inches)


Work for Flap:

K2tog, knit until last 2 stitches, k2tog

repeat for 6 more rows (7 rows total)

after finishing decreases knit straight until the flap is your desired length


Finishing:

Sew up the two sides to create the purse


For Strap:

CO 105 stitches (on circular or 14 inch needles)

Knit 5 rows

BO

You could also CO 7 stitches and knit until the desired length


Here is a picture if the finished purse BEFORE felting.

The finished dimensions before felting are 11"W x 11.5"T x 5" flap
The strap measured 1.5"W x 39.5" long

Here is a picture AFTER felting.

The finished dimensions were 9"W x 6.25"T x 3" flap

I think I may have let it felt a bit too long since it shrunk so much but it still looked fine, next time I may keep a better eye on it just so it would be a bit bigger. All in all I would say my first felting experience was a good one.