Knitted cable purse; style

A few days ago, I mentioned that I’m working on a knitted cable purse. Although I’m not a purse person, this one really appealed to me…

The simple cable design, combined with the contrast (white purse accented with a black bow)  drew me in, and I saved the .pdf pattern for the knitted Christine bag.

When I saved it to my queue, I had no intention of working on it while I was on vacation, but somewhere down the line, I knew I’d be casting it on, but I had no idea it would be this soon. I worked on it the past few days, several (stupid) mistakes were made. Such as the repeat of one of the cables I was making. It took me about five attempts (which is about six rows) before I finally paid attention and got it right. You’d have thought that I’d be more attentive after the first few froggings (ripping out stitches) but that didn’t happen. 😉

Of course, I brought my knitting needles with me on vacation. Crochet or knitting, is a perfect pastime, when sitting around visiting with family.

Oh by the way… I found the amazing  knitted Christine bag on Ravelry! Ravelry is my favorite crochet and knitted website; so many patterns, and not enough time to do all the ones I adore. That was about a month ago. This bag, is one of numerous purses, (crochet and knit) that I browsed on that site, and it’s the one that appealed to me the most.

My knitted cable purse; it’s almost completed. Yeah!

The above picture, shows the almost completed purse. I still need to line the bag, attach handles, and I’m thinking I’ll add a bow– but it’ll be knitted silk blend.

I’m deviating from the pattern slightly in that I’m not using chunky yarn. I’m also not using the suggested size 15 or 19 knitting needles. Instead, I’m using worsted weight yarn, and size eight circular knitting needles. Additionally, I won’t be using wooden handles; I chose to make handles by making a knitted i-cord.

How to make an i-cord

I-Cord is durable, and I’ll increase its durability by using two strands of the worsted yarn. Since this bag was made with cotton there aren’t any special care instructions for it. I consider this a test bag. I wanted to check out the pattern, before I moved onto more delicate yarn such as silk, cashmere, or a wool blend.

The lining will be hand sewn into the knitted purse, and even though I have zippers at home, I’ll be purchasing a metal zipper. I’m thinking I might add a pocket on the inside also.

I already have ideas about the next purse, beads will be included, and perhaps I’ll add a knitted design too. I’m thinking of using a metallic yarn for that, I’m undecided on what colors though. Also, I’m thinking of making the inside look as pretty as the outside. Which in the next purses case, means some type of embroidery. Pretty on the inside and outside, is a motto I use when I design clothes, so why wouldn’t I do this with my crochet and knitted items too? I’m going to deviate from the pattern a lot, so it won’t look like the original idea at all, but the inspiration came from knitting the Christine bag. 😉

If you’re unsure about seaming, check out the designer’s instructions for seaming and attaching handles for the knitted Christine bag, while it’s not new to me, since I’ve made numerous bags before, I do believe her instructions will be extremely helpful to someone new to this process. The instructions are straightforward, and she provides pictures too.

In other news…

My four-year old cousin was pleased when I crocheted a beanie hat, for her Dora doll, last evening. It took about thirty minutes to make. She was playing with my nine-year old daughter, but took regular breaks to check out the hat progress. You should have seen the big smile on her face, once it was complete. That happens to be her favorite doll. She even sleeps with her. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to snap a few photos of Dora rocking her crocheted beanie hat, sometime today.