Knitting Daily : Bags

Ten Easy Free Knitting Patterns for Women

KD Sandi — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:46:00 GMT

Here are ten easy free knitting patterns for women--because sometimes you want to knit something fabulous and fast!
	Slouch Rib Cardigan by Cathy Payson. Easy knitted women's cardigan pattern that is simple enough to be your first knitted sweater!
	Frock Camisole by Katie Himmelberg. A simple, fashionable, and fast knitting project!
	Spectrum Scarf by Eunny Jang. What could be simpler than this easy knitted lace scarf? Get this beautiful pattern along with 6 others when you download the free eBook Knitting Lace: Knitting Daily Presents 7 Free Lace Knitting Patterns.
	Cecily Beanie by Louisa Harding. All knitting, no purling--the easiest knitted hat pattern you can imagine.
	Chevron Rib Tank by Ann Budd. No shaping on this easy beginner knitting pattern.
	Amanda's Squatty Sidekick Bag by Amanda Berka. Knit this in a weekend--the felting covers any mistake you make!
	Barrymore Slouch Hat by Lisa Shroyer. Download this comfy and cozy hat along with 5 other easy knitting patterns. Get these patterns in the free ebook Easy Knits from Knitting Daily: 6 Free Easy Knitting Patterns.
	Garter Stitch Balaclavas by Mary Jane Mucklestone. Simple knitting and classic styling.
	Feminine Mittens by Amanda Berka. Knit in chunky yarn, you'll have warm hands before you know it!
	Boucle Shrug by Liz Gipson. Knit an easy rectangle, sew it up, and you have a lovely garment to wear over your favorite outfit.

It's Summer Preview Time!

KD Sandi — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:00:00 GMT

The daffodils are blooming, the lilacs are blossoming, and that means it's time for the Knits 2008 Summer Preview! (We want you to have your summer knitting well in hand before the REAL heat starts, you see.)

Who better to introduce the next issue of Interweave Knits than the editor herself: Eunny Jang!

from left: Elinor Tunic, Roped Shell, Drawstring Raglan

Eunny Jang Presents: The Knits 2008 Summer Preview

If there's a downside to editing Interweave Knits, it's that new issues no longer come as a pleasant surprise. By the time I actually get my hands on a finished magazine—as desk copies, now, not as a sudden treat in the mailbox—I'm already intimately familiar with it, having shed sweat and tears (and occasionally blood—paper cuts!) over every word and photo in it. By the time an issue becomes a paper-and-ink, tangible thing, the Knits staff has already been thinking about and working on it for the better part of a year.

We do get excited when the previews go up, though. This is our first chance to see what people think of our hard work—to live the new issue thrill vicariously, through our readers.

The Summer 2008 issue, which hits newsstands May 13, has a little bit of everything. We know it can be tough to find great things to knit in the hot months, so we've assembled a collection of projects that hit all the sweet spots of summertime knitting: simple, quick knits; lacy things; cool fibers; easy silhouettes. It's not your same-old same-old, though: This year, we're revisiting summer knits with a special focus on color. That can (and does) mean a lot of things: stranded colorwork accents, allover slip-stitch knitting, intarsia motifs, even single solid colors we found inspiring. All the projects are light and airy, with a little something special.

from left: Wallis Cardigan, Brick Pullover, Gossamer Stars Scarf

Some projects highlight how minimalist color lets pattern and line take center stage: Take a look at how Wendy Bernard's ELINOR TUNIC makes a mosiac pattern pop by using complementary shades, or Margery Winter's DRAWSTRING RAGLAN uses one unexpected stripe to liven up a classic shape.

Angela Hahn uses color and stitch structure together to create an intriguing fabric and a drapey silhouette in the ROPED SHELL. Melissa Werhrle's WALLIS CARDIGAN punches up beautiful details and clean, classic lines with a surprising, look-at-me solid. Kat Coyle's GOSSAMER STARS SCARF highlights simple lace stitches with a glossy, ever-so-slightly variegated silk. And Kathy Zimmermann's BRICK PULLOVER makes an unusual construction shine by working it in a subtle chilly-night-at-the-beach rust color.

Color can make a big impact, or act as a flattering backdrop. It can change the look and feel of a knitted project more completely than any other alteration; it truly can make a garment yours. As you enjoy the new issue, think about your ideal colors—have fun!

— Eunny Jang
Editor, Interweave Knits magazine

View the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 Preview!

Free Pattern: Confectionary Tank by Deborah Newton

Eunny and I thought you needed a little treat while you waited for the Summer issue...so here is the Confectionary Tank, a fun and richly colored tank top by Deborah Newton. The stitching is easier than it looks—the mosaic texture is created with an eight-row slip-stitch pattern that helps mix and coordinate the seven bright colors of silk. Minimal finishing means you'll be of to that beach party in no time. Enjoy!

This pattern will be available only until July 31st, so be sure to download your copy now!

So, what do you think of the Summer garments? Let us know!

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? We had a long meeting here yesterday, so I now have 3" done on the New Skinnier Gathered Pullover. Hooray for meetings where you can knit!

Lining Your Knitted Bag, Part II

KD Sandi — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 06:00:00 GMT

The INSIDE of the Ms. Poppins' Bag

Knitted stitches have a lovely drape, which is one reason we love them so! That drape is created by having lots of small holes between the yarn fibers—in general, the bigger the holes, the more drape something has. Think of the difference in drape between a felted piece of knitting, where the holes between stitches have been compressed together, and a traditional lace shawl, where the holes are the whole point of the knitting!

Those lovely holes can cause problems when what you are knitting is a bag meant to hold stuff, however. How do you keep your keys (or your knitting needles!) from poking out through the sides of your hand-knitted bag?

Felting the knitted fabric is one solution. But felted or unfelted, a separate sturdy inner lining not only solves the poke-through problem, but will give your bag a more professional finish, too.

I don't have a fabric store nearby, so I often have to get a little creative about what to use for my bag linings. If you are lucky enough to have a local fabric store, then just walk around there for a few minutes—you'll find plenty of ideas!

Alternative Bag Lining Ideas:

Plastic/vinyl shower curtains: Find a cheap one on sale, cut it to size, and you'll have a durable, wipe-clean-able lining for your bag!

Cloth napkins: I buy linen or cotton/poly dinner napkins at the discount store to match my yarn. Or why not find a cloth napkin in a colorful print to line your bag? (Imagine opening the pink bag above only to find images of bright, cheerful cherries peeking out at you.)

Partly worn-out canvas tote bags: Do you have a tote bag with a broken handle, or an ink stain, or a hole in it? The non-ruined part of the tote will make an excellent lining fabric.

Old blue jeans: Finding it hard to part with a favorite pair of blue jeans that are the wrong size to wear? Use the denim as a bag liner and you can carry your favorite jeans everywhere you go.

Make a paper pattern for your lining:

After knitting the pieces of your bag, lay them flat on a large paper bag and draw around the edges with a pencil. Cut along the pencil lines, and you have the perfect pattern! Be sure to plan ahead: Do you want to fold the unfinished edges of the lining fabric under, or add a seam somewhere? If the answer is yes, draw a second pencil line outside the first—the outer line is your cutting line, and the inner line is your "fold-under" (or seaming) line.

Don't forget to handle your handles!

If your bag handles are knitted, and you want to give them a little more stability, consider stitching or gluing strips of the lining material (with raw edges folded under, if necessary) to the inside of each handle. The outside of the handle will still show off your pretty knitted stitches, but the extra layer of fabric will keep the handle from stretching or flopping around.

Knitting Needle Knitting Bag

Lining Your Knitted Bag, Part I

KD Sandi — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Knitting Needle Knitting Bag

The comments from Monday's post on knitting bags were a hoot! I feel so much better knowing that I am not alone in my knitting bag addiction. Bagaholics, bag ladies, and bag pigs (thank you, Merna S.!), unite! And what can we bag geeks say to Ms. Eliza, our friend who has never used a knitting bag and asks what she has been missing? Perhaps just this: Try a knitting bag. Any bag. You'll never look back.

If you'd like some suggestions as to what to use for a knitting bag: Read through the comments. The options range from cute to exotic, clever to practical: baby diaper totes (Katie F. and others), gift bags, drawstring bags, lined baskets, bowling bags (Elsa X.), children's suitcases (Donovan B.), plastic zippered bags that curtains and sheets are sold in, briefcases, bank deposit zippered bags, and metal lunchboxes (Laura L. and others), to name just a few favorites.

Thanks to you all, I now have an advanced case of Bag Lust. (I shall attempt to stay away from stores during this flare-up of my addiction. My husband thanks you for supporting me in this endeavor. However, I don't think he'd mind if I were to just get out some pink yarn and cast on for the Knitting Needle Knitting Bag. Surely not.)

One insightful comment came from Cagey44, who says she needs "Time-Out Bags for Bad Knitting to sit and contemplate its ways while I am working on its brethren." I agree: Sometimes a time-out works wonders for my troublesome knitting, too!

I leave you with a final hilarious tip from Brenda S.: "It wouldn't be a knitting bag without a corkscrew."

The INSIDE of the Ms. Poppins' Bag

Bag-Lining Strategies

Rosie W. said: "I'm sorely tempted to knit this bag (despite my UFO count being in double digits too) but I would want a lining, and I don't sew, or have a sewing machine, so that may keep me safe."

Rosie, I am about to take you right out of the Safe Zone, sorry about that. Like you, not every knitter has a sewing machine, and not everyone enjoys extended bouts of hand-sewing. What if I told you there were ways to line your knitted bags without a sewing machine, and without a lot of hand-stitching? (Of course, you can use a sewing machine if you like...)

Alternative ideas for attaching linings:

Buttons: If you have large enough "holes" in your knitted fabric, consider using buttons to attach a lining. Sew the buttons onto the WRONG side of the lining, the side that will face your knitted fabric. Put the lining inside the bag, and gently push the buttons through to the outside of the bag. Use little buttons or big ones; sew the buttons in a line along the top of the bag for a classic look...or put them randomly all over for a fun and funky touch.

Creative Stitchery: Use a matching (or contrasting!) yarn or embroidery floss and simple, slightly oversized stitches to sew through both layers of lining and knitting. Some easy stitches that will give great results are blanket stitch, whipstitch, running stitch, and backstitch. I used running stitches to attach a purchased linen napkin to the inside of the Ms. Poppins' Bag (see photo).

The OUTSIDE of Ms. Poppins' Bag

Snaps: Like a buttoned-in lining, a snap-in lining has the advantage of being removable and thus washable. However, the snaps won't show on the outside like buttons will.

Hot Glue Gunnery: I have never tried this, but a friend of mine swears by using a hot glue gun to attach linings to the inside of her bags. Anyone out there brave enough to try this?

Notice that I am not recommending Velcro, even though it seems like a logical choice. If you are making a knitted handbag that will not be carrying yarn, then Velcro might work beautifully. However, Velcro eats yarn, so don't use it in your knitted knitting bags!

Friday, we'll talk about creative, durable materials you can use for the lining fabric itself. (You might be surprised to know that you don't need to have a fabric store nearby for most of these ideas.)

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? I'm finishing up a pair of Evelyn Clark's Waving Lace Socks for a friend whilst awaiting the fate of the yarn for Nicholas' cabled pullover.

What's Your Knitting Bag?

KD Sandi — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Too cute! The Knitting Needle Knitting Bag

I'm beginning to think that I have a Serious Knitting Bag Habit, as I am getting dangerously close to having a different knitting bag for each UnFinished Object. This would not be a "Serious Knitting Bag Habit" if I only had one UFO (and thus only one knitting bag), or perhaps even a grand total of three UFOs, each with its own respective knitting bag. No. That wouldn't be a serious habit, that would be reasonable, and perhaps even sensible. (Three UFOs is a sensible number, right? Right. Wouldn't want to get BORED, now, would I? Of course not.) However, my UFO list is in the double digits.

Now you see my problem.

Consequently, I am continually in search of the Best Knitting Bag Ever. It's become like a personal quest: I stop and examine tote bags, zippered bags, and handbags with all the zeal of a Hollywood talent scout looking for the next Harrison Ford. I have had great success in the makeup bag section of department stores—all those little compartments, plus the vinyl linings, mean that not only do I know where my bamboo dpns are, I also know that they are not poking out, asking to be snapped in two.

However, there is one type of knitting bag that appeals to my sense of art and symmetry: a knitted knitting bag. I like the idea of a bag that by its very appearance lets people know that I am a knitter, a bag that speaks of my love of yarn and needles, and what's more, a bag that can actually carry my yarn and needles...very cool.

Imagine my delight when I found the little pink bag shown above. It's not just a knitted bag, nor is it just a knitted knitting bag. It's a knitted knitting bag with knitting needles used as part of the design. Actual knitting needles! Rather than binding off the front and back pieces, you put the live stitches on a knitting needle, scrunch them up a bit, and add a little superglue. Clever! Seam the sides and bottom, and ta-DA! It's a knitted knitting needle knitting bag. (And did I mention how easy it is? The hardest thing in that berry stitch pattern is a p3tog, the rest is all knits and purls.) Cute, clever, easy. Doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Once I saw the photo of that bag in Bag Style, I knew it was the perfect pattern to offer as a book excerpt on Knitting Daily this week. So, here you go: Pam Allen's Knitting Needle Knitting Bag.

What do you carry your knitting in? What does your dream knitting bag look like? Have you found something clever to carry your projects in? Let us know what your bag is!

Check back on Wednesday, when I'm going to talk about ways to line your knitted bags so all the pokey things we knitters love to carry around don't poke out so much.

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? I'm finishing up a pair of Evelyn Clark's Waving Lace Socks for a friend whilst awaiting the fate of the yarn for Nicholas' cabled pullover.

My Surreal Knitting Life And That Stripe

KD Sandi — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Wendy's original Tomato

I’m having a bit of a surreal life at the moment. I mean, I know I work for Interweave, and thus I’m supposed to be all nonchalant and cool about things like Norah Gaughan leaving a comment on my blog….but I’m so not cool when it comes to my knitting idols. Norah Gaughan left a comment on my blog. I was so un-cool when I saw her comment that my poor husband had to listen to me squeal with glee for a full twenty minutes. I emailed my friends and told them I could die a happy knitter now. (I may also have danced with the cat for a few moments. It’s all a bit of a blur.)

Even without Norah’s comments (she wrote about how she handled the stranding for the Intricate Stag Bag), Wednesday still would have been surreal. I’ve had to keep it to myself for a bit, but now I can tell everyone: I’ve been PODCASTED! The oh-so-funny-and-kind Kathy and Steve Elkins, owners of WEBS Yarn Store, interviewed me for this Saturday’s Ready, Set, Knit! podcast. It was really fun-but-nervewracking to know that every word I said was being recorded for both posterity and any knitter with an iTunes account. Still, I am fairly proud of myself, since I remembered to mention the name of the website, I remembered not to cuss, and I remembered my name. What else did I say? I have no idea. Go have a listen to the podcast Saturday, June 30 when it is posted and I guess we'll
Me and my Tomato-in-progress all find out together.

All right. Enough of the surreal knitting life. Everyone's been writing in begging to know what I did with That Stripe on my Tomato, so now, I present to you: a waist stripe!

As I knitted away on my Tomato, I realized that once I got to the neckline I was facing a bit of a pickle. As some of you noted in the comments, That Stripe isn’t necessarily going to be flattering on everyone—for example, me. You’ve seen my photo. I certainly do not need any bright teal signage highlighting the scenery in that particular area.

In fact, when I first saw a photo of the Tomato in No Sheep For You, I did not even consider making it for myself, purely because of the stripe. The second time I saw a photo of it, on the No Sheep For You Knitalong, I thought, gosh. That shaping is adorable. Plus, look at that neckline! But I can’t wear a stripe across that part of my landscape. No way. The third time I saw a photo of the Tomato, I thought, wow. That is sooo cute. But I wish the stripe were not Right There.

That’s when I realized: Duh. I am a knitter. I can—gasp—MOVE THE STRIPE.

I could have just taken the stripe off completely…but let’s face it: My main color is bright orange. This is clearly not the time for timidity and plain-Jane knitting. It's time for some spice in my life!

So, in the name of spicy hotness, the stripe stays in—but I
Bust darts! didn't put it across my bust. My stripe is below the bust at my waist, so that it accents the narrowest part of me, and gives me a bit more of an hourglass shape. To balance out the bright teal stripe, and frame my figure, I am going to add a bit of teal detailing to the neckline, sleeve cuffs, and (maybe) the hem.

Oh, and I added...ta DA! Every big girl's best friend: Bust Darts. (I can't believe I am posting this photo, but it is in the name of Beautiful Knitting For Everyone. See the bust darts? I am so proud of those...)

Now THAT’s a Hot Tomato, folks.

Next week, join the Knitting Daily KnitBlog Tour! Every day next week, I’ll be dropping by a different knitblog to answer questions and chat about all things knitting and Knitting Daily. Come on by and join the fun!

Monday, July 2: Ready, Set, Knit! Podcast, hosted by Kathy and Steve Elkins of WEBS Yarn Shop. Read about Kathy's life amongst the yarn and her podcast on Kathy's blog. UPDATE: Please read this post on Kathy's blog, or visit this page to see how you can help one of our most beloved knitting designers, Annie Modesitt, in her time of need.

Tuesday, July 3: Crazy Aunt Purl, hosted by Aunt Purl herself, a.k.a. Laurie Perry.

Wednesday, July 4: Lolly Knitting Around, hosted by Lolly, a.k.a. Lauren Weinhold.

Thursday, July 5: Dogged, hosted by DoggedKnits.

Friday, July 6: CRAFT Blog, hosted by Natalie Zee Drieu.

See you in the blogosphere!

The Fair Art Of Stranded Colorwork

KD Sandi — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Norah Gaughan's Intricate Stag Bag

Have you read the comments from Monday’s post? Oh my goodness…There is practically an entire textbook full of tips in there about how to do Fair Isle successfully. You people are awesome! I had a completely different post ready-to-go for today, but I re-wrote things a bit at the last minute to include some of the hints you shared.

Marsha, Joan, and Kim pointed out that the Intricate Stag Bag is NOT a Fair Isle design; it is correctly referred to as “stranded colorwork.” Fair Isle is only one form of stranded colorwork, one that incorporates bands of geometric motifs and intricate gradations of colors. Many knitters use the term “Fair Isle” as a short hand for the techniques of stranding two-color knitting, which is the way I was using it in Monday’s post. Still: We’re knitting geeks here
The inside of Norah's beautiful bag at Knitting Daily, so Marsha, Kim, and Joan all get gold stars for keeping our terminology correct.

The key to keeping the stitches on the outside of your colorwork even is to pay careful attention to what you are doing on the wrong side of your knitting. Whether you “float” the unused color across the back (as Norah does), or weave in the strands as you knit (as Amanda, Pat, Cayenne-with-the-great-name and Teresa do), keeping the tension even makes all the difference in the world. Inside the Stag Bag, Norah’s tension is perfectly even; thus, her floats lay perfectly flat. I want to knit like Norah Gaughan (don’t we all?), so let’s see what little knitting secrets we can uncover...

Roberta and Amanda suggested working the colorwork section in a larger needle than the rest of the garment in order to
Katie Himmelberg prevent the stitches from “pulling in” as the stranding is worked. Katie Himmelberg, style editor of Knitscene magazine, suggested this: “When picking up a color after it has been unused (a float), spread the stitches out on the right-hand needle over which the float spans. This will help you make the floats long enough so that the work doesn't pucker.” Katie's advice may sound like a small thing, but I tried it and it made a huge difference. Yay, Katie!

We have space for one more hint, this time from Lisa Shroyer, the editor of Knitscene magazine, and the designer of the Road To Golden, featured in the Fall 2007 issue of Knitscene. Lisa says that the Road To Golden, a luscious, multicolored Fair Isle pullover, is "easy enough for a first-time Fair Isler". (Hearing her say that,
Lisa Shroyer I am soooo tempted to try knitting this sweater...but methinks I ought to see if I can manage to survive the twelve rounds of colorwork in Tomato first. If no one dies as a result of that experience, then maybe I can think about trying an entire big-girl sized sweater full of stranding. We shall see.) Here's Lisa's clever bit:

Since I'm a dedicated thrower, even when I do stranded colorwork, I have to drop one color and pick up the other every time a color change is needed. To make sure I always keep the same color dominant, and to keep my strands from becoming a tangled mess, I always keep the background color to the right of my thigh on the couch, and my foreground color between my legs on the floor, and I pick the same one up
Lisa's Road To Golden over the other every time. I know it seems counterintuitive to keep the background color "above" the foreground, in terms of where I position the ball, but this system always works for me.

So. I worked on my colorwork swatch some more. I tried bigger needles, spread out my stitches, and made sure one color was the “over” color and one was the "under" color—and all of this really helped. It also helped make the knitted fabric more elastic and less like a suit of knitted armor! (This is good, especially since in knitting the Tomato, I am going for that Hot Curvy Girl effect and not the Knight In Shining-But-Clunky Armor effect.)

All right, then. On to the That Stripe on the Tomato…but that will have to wait for Friday’s post. Wait till you see what I am doing with it!

About That Stripe: Knitting A Fairer Fair Isle

KD Sandi — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Tomato by Wendy Bernard

Maybe some of you are Fair Isle Wizards, but I am not. In fact, I'm kind of a Fair Isle Chicken. Give me lace knitting, and I purr and behave myself in public (well, mostly…). But Fair Isle—Fair Isle and I have a History. Fair Isle and I have had Words, unseemly and unknitterly words. Hence, I usually avoid Fair Isle with mumbled excuses and protestations of having too much lace to knit.

I bring this up, because in knitting the Tomato, I realize that I am facing twelve entire rounds of Fair Isle knitting, in look-at-me-I’m-a-STRIPE bright teal and orange, right up front where everyone can see it. (We'll talk about that "right-up-front" issue at the end of the post.) I could knit the Tomato without That Stripe, in a solid color, but given that I'm so far out of my comfort zone with the whole orange thing anyway, why
The Intricate Stag Bag by Norah Gaughan not just have a total attitude party and face my Fair Isle fears? Why not, indeed. It's only yarn, and I am, after all, a knitter. I can do this. Right? Right.

But no way am I doing this alone. I need help. Time to call on some knitting superheroes. Time to call on the Knitscene Team.

The Knitscene Team is Lisa Shroyer, Katie Himmelberg, and Laura Rintala—the editorial staff of Knitscene magazine. Lisa grew up in a Fair Isle knitting family, and from watching her knit, I think stranded colorwork might be her idea of “mindless knitting.” Katie can pretty much do anything with color, yarn, and a couple of pointy things (and I do mean anything!). As for Laura, she loves to knit gorgeous Fair Isle gloves on teeny tiny needles. So when I went upstairs to the Knitscene office to ask for help with my measly twelve rounds of
A peek inside the Intricate Stag Bag two-color Fair Isle, I figured I was in very good hands.

The first thing Katie did was show me a finished Fair Isle project: Norah Gaughan’s Intricate Stag Bag. For those of you who are already pretty confident with Fair Isle, this bag is a Fair Isle fiesta, and so I have included it as this week’s featured free pattern in case you are feeling like having a little fun. It’s only two colors throughout, but the way Norah uses those two colors to form a lovely forest scene is pure magic. After petting the bag for a few minutes (it’s alpaca yarn, and therefore it must be petted), I did what any knitter would do: I turned it inside out so I could see the stranded floats on the back of the colorwork.

Masterful. Look at that—the back of Norah’s work is as pretty as the front. You can
The outside of my swatch for Tomato clearly see the proud silhouette of Mr. Stag himself, even on the back. I was in awe. But how did she get all those floats so lovely and even? Determined to tackle this, I started swatching. Yes, again; this time, to practice my floats. After several rounds in the colorwork pattern used in the Tomato, I sat back to examine the outside and the inside of my swatch.

Not bad. But definitely could be better. My floats are kind of all over the place—some of them are too tight, some of them are too loose, and some of them are just right. I remembered that back in the Fall 2005 issue of Knitscene, there was a nice tutorial on Fair Isle, so I pulled out my copy and read it over. More swatching ensued, with the copy of Knitscene open next to me on the table. On the inside,
Inside the same swatch my floats were still uneven, and on the outside, some of my stitches were puffed out, whilst some of them looked like they were hiding.

Whatever I was doing, it wasn't quite working. So I decided to go back to the beginning, pretend I was in knitting school, and get serious about my technique—with some help from the aforementioned Knitting Superheroes. On Wednesday, after I've had some more time to practice and do my Fair Isle homework, I'll share what I learned from Katie, Lisa, and Laura.

P.S. You'll notice I have been avoiding (for now) the fact that That Stripe is not necessarily going to be very flattering on everyone. I've got an idea about this, so let me have a few more days to do a bit more knitting, and on Friday I'll tell you what I've got in mind and we'll see what you think of my idea.

The Squatties Are Here!

KD Sandi — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:00:00 GMT

Kelly's Squatty

My inbox is full of photos of the cute Squatty Sidekicks you are all making. Here are just two for now (more to come!):

The awesome Orange Squatty is from Kelly in California. Can you believe this is her very first non-flat, non-rectangular knitted object? Go Kelly! (Check out Kelly's blog to see the cute cat button she just added.)

The rustic Blue Squatty is from Marie, who used Dale of Norway's Hubro
Marie's Squatty yarn. The bag looks like it is having a grand old time camping in the forest. I'd like to sit down next to it and knit under the trees for a while.

I love all the photos everyone is sending in. I'll be posting more finished projects in the days ahead. If you want to make your own Squatty Sidekick, the pattern is below, or you can find it in our free pattern library.

Knitting Daily : Bags

Ten Easy Free Knitting Patterns for Women

It's Summer Preview Time!

Eunny Jang Presents: The Knits 2008 Summer Preview

View the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 Preview!

Free Pattern: Confectionary Tank by Deborah Newton

Lining Your Knitted Bag, Part II

Alternative Bag Lining Ideas:

Make a paper pattern for your lining:

Don't forget to handle your handles!

More reader ideas:

Lining Your Knitted Bag, Part I

Bag-Lining Strategies

Alternative ideas for attaching linings:

What's Your Knitting Bag?

My Surreal Knitting Life And That Stripe

The Fair Art Of Stranded Colorwork

About That Stripe: Knitting A Fairer Fair Isle

The Squatties Are Here!