Bracelet Purses and Shower Puffs

It's almost time for the Farmers' Market so I've been working on some new items. The handles on these little purses are small bracelets. The metallic bracelets were purchased at Fred Meyer.

The plastic handles shown here were found with the Easter things at the Dollar Store. All purses were knit in the round. I cast on 16 stitches using a size 8 circular needle and just kept knitting until the purse looked proportionate. Then I added 4 row of garter stitch and bound off. A final round of single crochet was added which allowed me to attach the bracelets.

I kept seeing shower puffs and found many patterns for them. I decided to try the one by Lyanna Anderson because it wasn't as large as most of them. These are made of  cotton yarn. They work up quickly in bright, cheery colors.

More Bazaar Items

Lately I've been working on little purses and I've come up with a basic recipe and some variations.




Theses are made with Red Heart yarn and have fun fur-type flaps.

























These are a combination of a fancy thin yarn and Red Heart yarn. When possible, I used a button to close the purse.

When I didn't have the right color button, I chained a tie and threaded it through eyelets.

Basic Little Purse

Size 10 circular needles

Whatever yarn you want

J crochet hook if crocheting the strap

Using Judy's Magic Cast-on, cast on 18 stitches per needle. Knit in the round until the purse is 4-1/2 inches long. Bind off the stitches from one needle on the next round and cut yarn. Attach fun fur (or whatever you are using for the flap) and do garter stitch until flap is desired length. (I make an eyelet in the middle of the flap a couple of rows before I'm going to bind off. This acts as a buttonhole.) Bind off.

The strap can be a 3 stitch i-cord or you can chain the length you want and slip stitch back along chain. Attach strap to sides and add a button to the front to secure the flap.

Variation:

Using both a fun fur-type yarn and a basic ww yarn, follow the directions above until the purse is 3-1/2 inches long. Cut the fun fur and continue to knit. On the third round, make an eyelet in the center of the front for a buttonhole. Knit 3 more rounds and bind off. Make a strap, attach it, sew on a button, and you're done.

Fluffy Knit Purse

Michael's had a Learn-to-Knit kit that made a very cute purse. It seemed like a nice, simple project for practicing my lever knitting. The purse turned out so cute I had to make another one.

Masa Bag

While looking for simple purses to make for the Farmer's Market, I came across this bag. It's called the Masa Bag. The pattern is written for a full-size bag for an adult. My version, for a child or teen, is smaller and takes about 1 skein of Sugar 'n Cream.









The bag is a simple crocheted rectangle and the fun comes when you fold it into the bag. This second bag was made of 4 colors to give an idea of how it's folded.

WWKIP Day

A customer at the Farmer's Market challenged me to make a hat with a smiley face. I found the smiley pattern and then made a minor adjustment to my usual hat pattern.






These small purses were my new additions last Saturday. One small girl lit up when her mom handed her the middle one with the purple flap. I started the day with four and sold four so it looks like I need to make more. It's a great way to use up yarn left from my cotton hats.





A week ago I started Caroline on a purse using the blue loom. She had 3 inches completed when the market ended. She continued knitting on the purse at home until it was 6-1/2 inches long. On Saturday she learned how to remove it from the loom and sew up the bottom. Then she learned how to do an i-cord and made her handle. I chained a loop for the closure and sewed on the beads she chose and her purse was done!






Here are Nan and me and Caroline showing off our work on World Wide Knit in Public Day. Nan is making golf club covers, I'm working on a small purse, and Caroline is wearing one of my hats and holding her purse.

More Easy Projects

I'm still working up easy projects as ideas for my new-to-looming friends. Using Sugar and Cream yarn (doubled) and the blue KK round loom, I made this basic dishcloth. I was pleasantly surprised at how soft it is. It was begun by doing 3 rows of garter stitch. For the body I worked a row of 3 purl, knit across, and ending with 3 purl. The next row was straight knit. These two rows were alternated until the cloth was almost a square. It was finished with 3 rows of garter stitch.

The red round loom was used to make this little girl's purse. It's made in the round just like a hat. After removing it, the live stitches are seamed shut. Then a simple icord handle and a large button to keep it closed.

This little drawstring purse was made on the blue round loom. It has a flat bottom. When it seemed almost long enough, I moved every other stitch to the next peg and knit a row, making eyelets. Then I continued knitting all pegs for another couple of rows. An icord was strung through the eyelets before sewing the ends together.

And here is a scarf made on the purple loom with a matching hat. The scarf was made by following Isela's Bongo Blues pattern, but I used plain Red Heart yarn. The scarf is knit using a single strand of yarn but is very soft. The hat is a basic style with a roll-up brim. Fun Fur was knit into the brim.

Spiral Rib Bag

This is one of the patterns from the book Oneskein by Leigh Radford. The book has quite a variety of projects to choose from, but this one really caught my eye. I like the way the purls and knits twist around the bag. It was a very easy pattern to follow and took less than a skein to complete.

Felted Bags

After seeing a friend's felted purse, I decided it was time to try the process. The first attempt was needleknit. Turns out my washing machine's very gentle agitation makes it worthless for felting, so I tried doing it myself in the sink. The purse ended up being 10 in wide by 6.5 in high.

Next I made one on the yellow KK. It was made in the round like a hat but I seamed the bottom flat instead of gathering it. This went through the neighbor's washing machine. In my attempt to removed the ridges, it shrank more than was intended. The final size is 7 in wide by 6 in high.

The third attempt was done as a flat panel on the yellow KK. I knit down the front, did 2 inches of garter stitch for the bottom, knit up the back and made the flap. After seaming the sides, it was ready for felting. Now that I knew what to expect, this one came out better. The final size is 9 in wide by 7 in high and the bottom is an inch wide.

Camera Bag

Another variation on Crystal's pattern. This is a small bag made to hold the supplies for my camera. The camera itself has its own case and will fit in my purse. I wanted something to hold the cords, charger, and mini tripod. The pocket on the inside of the flap holds an extra memory card. The bag can be stored in my dresser and takes up much less room than the box. It also keeps everything together in my suitcase when traveling.

Flat Bottom Bag

On her blog, Crystal posted directions for a small, flat bottomed bag which she was going to use for a cell phone or pda. Since I've been playing with purses lately, I wanted to see how her directions would work on a larger scale. This bag took me two afternoons and one evening. It was done on the green KK with 3 strands of yarn and a 1 over 1 stitch. It is 7 in. across, 3 in. deep and 6-1/2 in. high. There were small spaces along the bottom of the sides so I wove in some yarn to fill them. Crystal's pattern can be found at http://crystalkini.blogspot.com/ in her February 2006 archives.

Woven Bottom Bag for LoomClass

Made on the red loom, this bag measures 7 1/2 inches in height. It was done with 3 strands of 4 ply yarn in a 1 over 1 stitch. The woven bottom is more solid than just normal knitting would be. Thanks, Laura, for another great project.

Loomed Purse

This simple purse was made on the yellow loom. I used 3 strands of ww yarn and did a flat knit stitch. It turned out nice and firm. The purse measures 9 inches across and 8 and 1/2 inches high. I seamed the bottom twice to make it more secure.

Another Knitted Purse

This version of the BeeBop Bag is made with 2 strands of Red Heart Yarn on the AJAL. It measures 13 inches across and 10 inches high. I'm working on a divided pocket to be sewn on the inside of the back for a cell phone and whatever. This particular dye lot was a little stiff so the knitting was a bit harder on my wrists. But the finished product feels much like the purse made with WoolEase. So far the biggest problem has been finding buttons that match for the closing!

Knitted Purse

My first loomed purse was inspired by the pattern posted at knittingboard.com. Mine was made with 2 strands of Wool Ease on a regular gauge AJAL. Inside is a pocket just large enough for a cell phone. The pocket hangs from a cord attached to the top of the back so the phone won't get lost in the bottom of the purse. The purse measures about 10 inches wide by 8 inches high.