Fun little tote for all ages. Bag has a flat, round bottom and leather attached handles for closure. Easy for beginners, wanting to do a 2-color intarsia. May be lined if desired.
Loom: Rotating Double Knit Loom, 52 pegs, worked in the round.
Yarn: Big Twist Chunky, 100% Acrylic, 195 yds per skein. Colors used in sample are Cloud White(W) and Chunky Slate(S), (1) skein of Slate and (½-1) skein of White. Machine wash and dry.
Stitches: Stockinette
Notions Needed: Knit hook, Crochet hook, Darning needle, Handle or leather straps for closure, purchased at any craft store.
Optional notions: stitch markers or rubber bands (6)
Size: 8” tall X 9” wide (flat) with 6.5” circumference bottom
Gauge: 3 sts X 5 rnds=1 inch
Techniques Used: Decrease for bottom, Vertical stripes for 2-color design
Abbreviations
rnd(s)=round(s), dec=decrease, L=left, R=right
Begin at top of bag and create the double folded border for attaching the straps.
Cast On 52 sts with Slate yarn. Work 12 rnds in Stockinette. Cut S yarn.
Add White yarn, work 4 rnds.
Do not cut the W yarn, but tie on the S yarn.
Leave both yarns attached.
Begin the design area for a total of 11 rnds based on chart below.
Work 1 rnd with S yarn.
Rnds 2-4: Start with W yarn. Work 2 sts, skip 2 sts, work 2 sts and maintain this sequence in stockinette. Lay W yarn down and work S yarn on all open pegs. Hook over.
Rnds 5-7: Start with W yarn. Work 2 sts but shift over to L side by one stitch. Now continue by skipping 2 stitches and weaving 2 stitches. Lay W yarn down and work S yarn on all open pegs. Hook over.
Rnds 8-10: Repeat rnds 5-7 by shifting over to L side by one stitch.
Rnd 11: Complete with 1 rnd of S yarn. Cut and tie S yarn; continue with W yarn (rnd 12).
Work 3 rnds of W yarn with extra weave. This gives the center of bag more structure to hold its shape.
To do this, weave full circular of stockinette, and then one more time around the loom. Some pegs will have 3 loops. Lift 2 over 1 on pegs with 3 loops, for hook over; 1 over 1 for all others.
Add S yarn and work 1 rnd in Stockinette.
Cut S yarn and knot.
Work 8 rnds with W yarn. Do not cut.
Tie on S yarn and work 1 rnd in stockinette with extra weave.
Tie on W yarn and work 5 rnds. Cut and knot W yarn.
Bag bottom will be worked with S yarn for a total of 16 rnds.
Work 2 rnds in S yarn.
The first dec is done in center of the 3 sections between the legs of the loom. You can mark these pegs, if desired. You do not need to be concerned about exact centers, just approximate.
For each dec, move one loop to adjacent peg, so that the dec peg is empty. Be sure to do the dec on both looms. Work rnd.
Work 1 rnd in stockinette skipping the empty pegs.
Next rnd, do dec on peg adjacent to first dec so that you have 2 empty pegs together on both looms. (see pics) Work rnd skipping the empty pegs.
Work 2 rnds in stockinette.
Repeat the dec rnd with a new dec between each set of the empty pegs.
Work 2 rnds after each dec rnd as before.
Work next dec rnd and follow with 2 rnds.
You will end up with a total of 18 dec stitches (empty pegs), and 34 sts remaining on loom.
Work 2 rnds on remaining pegs in stockinette.
Bind off by moving the inner loops onto pegs on outer loom. Cut a piece of S yarn (about 2 times around loom) for bind off. You can use the working yarn for this. Thread the yarn onto darning needle. Pick up each set of loops from the pegs until the remaining 34 stitches are on the yarn and off the loom. Gently draw the stitches together, sew a few stitches to close the bottom and knot. Pull yarn tail into bag.
Finishing the top and adding leather straps:
Turn bag inside out. Fold top down to meet the bottom of S section. Using the darning needle and S yarn, sew the top edge secure. You may want to keep it in place as you sew with a few double pointed needles or pins.
Turn bag to outside and attach the straps. Our sample uses 2 straps, each 21” long in black leather, and long enough to wear on shoulder. You may also like a drawstring leather string laced thru the header. Tuck in any remaining yarn tails.
Optional: leave bottom soft, or line it with rigid circular fabric.
Either way, your little bag is “off to market” and sure to please.
Will there be a video?
Hi Gin,
I don’t plan for a video of this pattern. If you have difficulty with any part of it, I will gladly help you with it and make a small video of that section that seems hard to understand. It is a fun project and should not give you too much trouble, but just ask if needed.
I recently discovered some stitchology patterns I really like #36,37,38 and 39 but can not figure out which loom is being used. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t understand what it means to weave. Is there any place to go where I can see the being done?
Hi Jean,
Sorry for the confusion. In this pattern we are doing the stockinette stitch or stockinette weave. It is just referring to the way the yarn is wrapped on the pegs.
We did a process that had 3 rnds just to add some strength to the bag. It is a stockinette stitch, but before we hooked over the pegs, we did one more rnd to add a 3rd wrap on every other peg. So some had 2 loops and some had 3 loops. Then we hooked over the rnd by taking 1 over 1, or 2 over 1. So the wrap process was referred to as weaving around the pegs. I hope this simplifies the term, “weave” a little better.
I’d like to make the mila bag, I don’t have anyway of printing it, and don’t want to keep going on line, is there a way of down loading the pattern