1-Skein Kaalund Relish Scarf

So, I had a skein of Kaalund Relish in 'Wine' (purple & green) - I started trying out loads of different scarf patterns with it, but it was tricky to get something that made good use of the colour variations, and also ended up being long enough. Then I hit upon this one. Hardly a 'design', it's so simple, but always worth recording!!

The finished scarf is about 15cm wide and 130cm long.

You Will Need

1 skein Kaalund Relish (90m, bulky)

12mm needles

The Pattern

Cast on 15 st

Knit 1 row

Slip 1, yo, k2tog, [k1, yo, k2tog] to end

Repeat this row, front and back until you have about 1 metre of yarn remaining (enough to knit 1 row & cast off)

Knit 1 row

Cast off.

Seamless Clutch Bag

This bag is based on the shape of this Entrelac Clutch - but knitted without the entrelac, and totally seamlessly (bottom up), so I felt it warranted being recorded as a pattern in its own right.

Its finished size (after felting) is 22cm from the top of the handles to the bottom (when standing up), and 33cm from one side to the other (66cm all the way round) at the widest point.

You Will Need

6mm circular needles (I used 120cm ones & tended towards Magic Loop at the end)

Colour A: 1 skein Lamb's Pride Worsted in M-173 Wild Violet

Colour B: 1 skein Lamb's Pride Worsted in M-29 Jack's Plum

The yarn used is Worsted weight, 190 yards per skein. If you're looking to use different yarn, make sure you use one that will felt.

Gauge

15st and 22 rows in stockinette in a 4-inch square (before felting).

The Pattern

Bottom of bag

Using Colour B, cast on 88st using a Turkish or Figure 8 cast on.

Knit 44st, place marker. Knit 44st, place marker.

[K1, m1, k42, m1, k1] twice. 92st

Knit 1 round

[K1, m1, k1, m1, k to 2st before marker, m1, k1, m1, k1] twice. 100st.

Knit 1 round

[K1, m1, k1, m1, k to 2st before marker, m1, k1, m1, k1] twice. 108st.

Knit 1 round

[K1, m1, k1, m1, k to 2st before marker, m1, k1, m1, k1] twice. 116st.

Knit 1 round

[K1, m1, k42, m1, k1] twice. 120st

Knit 1 round

Body of Bag

Change to Colour 1 and knit 24 rows

Change to Colour 2 and knit 3 rows

Change to Colour 1 and knit 14 rows

Change to Colour 2 and knit 1 row

Change to Colour 1 and knit 10 rows

Top of Bag

Change to Colour 2 and knit 1 row.

Next row, k1, k2tog all the way round. 80st.

Knit 8 rows

K10, cast off 20, k20, cast off 20, k10.

K10, cast on 20, k20, cast on 20, k10.

Knit 12 rows

Cast off.

Finishing

Weave in ends.

Felt according to your preferred method. I put mine in the washing machine on a 40C wash with an old towel and a little soap, and it turned out really well. Then I stuffed it with old carrier bags to hold it in shape, and left it in a warm place to dry.

Little Felted Colorscape Purse

I created this to go with my Colorscape Entrelac Bag (also pictured!), which was based on this pattern : http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/felted-entrelac-clutch

The bag used about a skein and a half of Rowan Colorscape Chunky, so I thought I'd make a little coin / credit card purse to go with it out of the leftover yarn. It has two compartments, one for coins, the other for notes or cards.

You Will Need

Less than half a skein of Rowan Colorscape Chunky (not sure of exact yardage, but it's well less than half a skein).

6.5mm needles

5mm crochet hook (don't let that scare you if you don't do crochet - it's to create a cover for the magnet fastening - I'm sure there are other creative ways of doing it!)

Needle to weave in ends.

The Pattern

Main body of purse

Cast on 18 st

Knit 40 rows

Shape the front fold

R1: K2, k2tog, knit to 4 before end, SSK, K2

R2: Knit to end

Repeat these two rows another 4 times (you should have 8 st on needle)

Next row: K1, k2tog, k2, ssk, k1

Next: knit to end

Next: K1, k2tog, ssk, k1

Next: knit to end

Next: k1, k2tog, k1

Bind off

Centre division

Cast on 17st

Knit 12 rows

Bind off, leaving longish tail

Making Up

Fold purse in 3 to find the 'bottom' of the purse.

Using tail from centre division bind-off, sew the centre to the bottom row on the inside.

Sew up the sides of the purse, making sure you catch the centre section as well as the two outsides (I whip-stitched it - blanket stitch would be pretty too).

Felting

Felt the purse until the garter stitch ridges have faded and the purse is the desired size (mine is 13cm wide and 8.5cm deep).

Finishing

Add a magnetic clasp to to fasten the front of the purse.

Crochet a small circle with left-over yarn by creating a magic adjustable ring and then crocheting 8 double crochets (that's UK terminology - single crochet if you're using US terminology) into the circle, and binding off. Sew the crochet circle on top of the fastening to hide it.

New Year, New Knits

Well, December was a quiet month design-wise! I've been knitting up some patterns - bags & scarves - and trying out some new techniques.

Next pattern to be posted is likely to be a felted bag & matching purse - but first I need to finish knitting it!! :)