It's been an interesting week. I was sick with a head cold for a good chunk of it, which meant that I got a whole lot of knitting done. I finished a scarf I've been working on for a couple of weeks, I finally faced up to my first blocking project ever, and I finished off the plarn shopping bag.
So far I'm really enjoying using the bag. It hangs well over my shoulder, and it's comfortable and lightweight. I am definitely going to have to make the handle wider in future bags, as I have been getting paranoid about its ability to hold weight (it actually seems to be fine, it's just that I'm paranoid.
Today I'm finally feeling completely well again, so I payed a visit to
Dearborn Garden and took some photos of what I've gotten done in the last week.
And, for those interested, the final pattern for the plarn bag is available below the photos.
Posing with my beloved bike Pippa, the bag looks so very trendy.
This scarf has been a fun alternate project for when my wrists were sore from handling the plarn on a gauge that was probably a bit small for it. The Malabrigo sock yarn is incredibly lush and delicate, all at once. And I love the complexity of their colorways. I'm definitely going to work more with their wool in the future.
I finished this lace shawl a few weeks ago and finally compelled myself to work in the ends and block it. See, I even do the less fun parts when I'm sick and have nothing else to do.
Plarn shopping bag
Needles: I used a size 9 24-inch circular, using a magic loop for the first parts of the bag and working up to using the full needle. You could use DPs for bottom of the bag.
Yarn: Plastic yarn, made in this case from Safeway bags. You can find many sets of instructions on how to make plarn by searching the internet; I commented on a few methods in a
previous post.
I started by knitting a flat circle for the bottom of the bag:
CO 8 stitches, join together to knit in the round.
Row 1: k8
Row 2: k1, m1 8 times
Row 3: k16
Row 4: k2, m1 8 times
Row 5: k24
Continue like this, with a total of 8 increases every 2 rounds, until your bottom is at a size you like. Then switch to wall stitch:
Row 1: knit all
Row 2: k2, yo until end. It winds up being easiest if you move your row marker one over each time, making the last stitch of each even row the k1. You’ll slowly wind up rotating your marker around the top of your bag as you go.
Continue following this pattern to make your bag as tall as you like. A word of advice: once you start filling your bag, this will stretch to be about 25%-50% longer than you started.
Bind off. Halfway around the circle, leave 7-9 loose stitches on a dp needle or cable needle. When you get to the last 7-9 stitches (the same number you used on the other side of the bag), switch to stockinette to knit the handle. I only used 5 stitches here, and will definitely make the handle wider the next time I go this. When your handle is long enough (again, remember that it will wind up stretching with use), knit it into your remaining loose stitches on the opposite side of the bag. You want to do this on the purl side (aka the inside of the bag), purling each of your working stitches onto a loose stitch. Tie off and work in the loose plarn.
By the end of the bag, I had run out of my existing plarn and so was slowly adding loops as I worked across the handle. This actually turned out to be really handy because it meant I was able to time the end of my bag exactly with the end of my yarn. I had about half a loop left when I finished binding off, which was the perfect amount to work into the bag.
Notation:
m1: Make a stitch by picking up the yarn between the loops on your needle onto your left-hand needle, knit it.
