Grandma Knitty Home
Knitty: little purls of wisdom
letter from the editorfeatured articlesKnitty's fabulous pattern selectionarchive of back issuestell us what you think of KnittyKnitty's favorite linkshelp knitty keep on keepin' onknitty's virtual sNbjoin the Knitty notifylistknitty's tiny little shopping malltake home something Knitty


Elann

the Knitty FAQ

submission guidelines for designers and writers

the obligatory legal statement

the rabbit

© Knitty 2002-2006. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. This means you.

 



cleavesWmariposacambioasanaXbacksoleili dospring fling
tie one onbranching outhot tamalececiliavia diagonalecocktail monkey
itsybitsy/kitchensinkwheelieshadepetalstrellis peek-a-boobblythe

[IB]

[KS]

I needed a little beach bag for my bikini-loving daughter. Something big enough for a bathing suit, sunscreen and a kid-sized towel. Something durable and washable and small enough that she could throw it over her shoulder without dragging it on the ground.

I hauled out the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework that my grandmother gave us for Christmas over 20 years ago, and started looking for stitch patterns that would give cotton yarn some nice body and texture. I found three: herringbone, basketweave and mesh.

The Itsybitsy bag is knit in one piece, from upper lip to the base, then cast on the wraparound strap and knit it together with the bottom, then back to the top. Short row shaping made the bag sides wider than the handle of the strap. The seams help the bag keep its shape.

The itsybitsy bag needed a larger sibling, for those whole-family swim days. Whereas itsybitsy keeps it shape well, Kitchen sink has a more relaxed shape.

The Kitchensink bag is knit in one piece, starting with a rectangular base with rounded corners, knit on two needles. Stitches are picked up around the base and the sides are knit on circular needles in the round. The strap is worked from the top of the bag, and attached via Kitchener stitch or 3-needle bind-off -- no seams!

Both Itsybitsy and Kitchen sink were knit from one large ball of cotton. Both stretch to hold amazing amounts of stuff.

model: Rhonda George photos: Faye Whyte

SIZE
Itsybitsy [IB]
Kitchen sink [KS]
 
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

IB:
Bag Height: 7.5 inches
Bag Width: 8.5 inches
Bag Depth: 2 inches
Strap Length: 16 inches

KS:
Bag Height: 10 inches
Bag Width: 14 inches
Bag Depth: 4 inches
Handle Length: approx. 28 inches

 

MATERIALS

Bernat Handicrafter Cotton [100% cotton; 608 yd/556 m per 340 g skein]; color: Meadow [one skein is enough to make both bags].

1 set US #9/5.5 mm straight needles
1 24 inch US #9/5.5 mm circular needle
Tapestry Needle
Stitch marker
Stitch holders

GAUGE

15 sts/21 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

 

PATTERN NOTES

[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations can be found here]

IB:
Herringbone Pattern (Worked over any number of sts)
Row 1 [WS]: P2tog, but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle, [p2tog (the second of the sts from the previous p2tog and the next st on the needle), but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle] until 1 sts remains on left needle, p1.
Row 2 [RS]: K2tog tbl, but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle, [k2tog tbl (the second of the sts from the previous k2tog tbl and the next st on the needle), but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle] until 1 st remains on left needle, k1.

Mesh Pattern (Worked over an odd number of sts)
Row 1 [RS]: K2, [YO, insert tip of right needle through first st as if to purl, pick up front loop of second st and k (this will pull the second st through the first st),  slide both loops off left needle] to last stitch, k1.
Row 2 [WS]: P all sts.
NOTE: the mesh stitch is un-froggable -- it must be teased apart.

Basketweave Pattern (Worked over an even number of sts)
Row 1 [WS]: P1, [p into second st on left needle, p into first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to last st, p1.
Row 2 [RS]: [K into back of second st on left needle, k into back of first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to end.

KS:
Herringbone Pattern (Worked over any number of sts)
K2tog tbl, but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle, [k2tog tbl (the second of the sts from the previous k2tog tbl and the next st on the needle), but only let the first of the 2 sts drop off the left needle] until 1 sts remains on left needle, k1.

Mesh Pattern (Worked in the round over an even number of sts)
Round 1: [YO, insert tip of right needle through first st as if to purl, pick up front loop of second st and k (this will pull the second st through the first st), slide both loops off left needle] to last stitch.
Round 2: K all sts.

Basketweave Pattern (Worked back and forth over and even number of sts):
Row 1 [WS]: P1, [p into second st on left needle, p into first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to last st, p1.
Row 2 [RS]: [K into back of second st on left needle, k into back of first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to end.

Basketweave Pattern in the Round (Worked in the round over an even number of sts)
Round 1: K1, [k into front of second st on left needle, k into front of first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to last st, k1.
Round 2: [K into back of second st on left needle, k into back of first st on left needle, slide both stitches off needle together] to end.

DIRECTIONS

IB:
CO 51 sts. (Tip: Crochet CO gives a nice-looking finished edge.)
Beg with a WS row, work 4 rows in Herringbone Pattern.
P 1 row.
Beg with Row 2 of patt, work 3 rows of Herringbone Patt.
P 1 row.
Work 2 row repeat of Mesh Pattern 12 times.
K 1 row.
Work 3 rows Herringbone Pattern.
K 2 rows, knitting second row onto circular needle.

Work Bottom & Strap
At beg of next row, CO 171 sts. 222 sts in total.
Work 2 rows in Basketweave Pattern.

Shape sides
*Work 50 sts in Basketweave Pattern, w&t.
Work to end in patt.
Work across all sts in patt.
Repeat from * once more.
BO 171 sts, work in patt as set to end. 51 sts rem.
K 2 rows.
Work 3 rows Herringbone Pattern.
K 1 row, then p 1 row.
Work 2 row repeat of Mesh Pattern 12 times.
Beg with Row 2 of patt, work 3 rows of Herringbone Patt.
P1 row.
Beg with Row 2 of patt, work 4 rows of Herringbone Patt.
CO all sts.

KS
Using waste yarn and provisional cast-on, CO 76 sts.
Row 1 [RS]: K all sts.
Row 2 [WS]: Inc 1 in first st, work Row 1 of Basketweave Pattern to last st, inc 1 in last st.
Row 3 [RS]: Work Row 2 of Basketweave Pattern.
Row 4 [WS]: Inc 1 in first st, p1, work Row 1 of basketweave st to last 2 sts, p1, inc 1 in last st. 80 sts.
Work 8 rows in Basketweave Pattern as set.
Decrease 1 st each end of next (RS) row, working in patt.
Work 1 row even in patt.
Repeat these 2 rows once more.
Using circular needle, k all sts on needle, then pick up and k 20 sts from shaped end of bag, remove provisional CO and k the resulting 76 live sts onto the needle, pick up and k 20 sts from rem shaped end of bag. 192 sts.
Place marker and cont in the round.
P 1 round.
Work 2 rounds of Basketweave Pattern in the Round.
K 1 round.
Next Round: K3, work Herringbone Pattern for 70 sts, k6, work Herringbone pattern for 14 sts, k6, work Herringbone Pattern for 70 sts, k6, work Herringbone pattern for 14 sts, k3.
K 1 round.
Remove marker, k3 sts, replace marker. This point will now be the beginning of the round.
Next Round: [Work Round 1 of Mesh Pattern for 70 sts, work Round 1 of Basketweave Pattern in the Round for 6 sts, work Round 1 of Mesh Pattern for 14 sts, work Round 1 of Basketweave Pattern in the Round for 6 sts]twice.
Next Round: [Work Round 2 of Mesh Pattern for 70 sts, work Round 2 of Basketweave Pattern in the Round for 6 sts, work Round 2 of Mesh Pattern for 14 sts, work Round 2 of Basketweave Pattern in the Round for 6 sts]twice.
Repeat these 2 rows 19 times more.
Work 1 round of Herringbone Pattern.
K 1 round
Work 2 rounds of Basketweave Pattern in the Round.
Switch to Herringbone Pattern.
BO 70 sts in patt, work 26 in patt and place on holder, BO 70 sts in patt, work 26 sts in patt.
*Switch to Basketweave Pattern, beg with Row 1.
Work 8 sts in patt, BO 10 sts, work rem 8 sts in patt. Attach a new end of yarn and work both 8-st sections at the same time.
Work 14 more rows in Basketweave Pattern, ending with a WS row.
Next Row [RS]: K2tog, k5, k2tog (one st from each section), k5, k2tog. 13 sts rem.
Next Row [WS]: K6, k2tog,k5.** Place rem 12 sts on stitch holder.
Replace 26 held sts on needle, and repeat from * to **
Next Row [RS]: Sl 1, work Row 2 of Basketweave Pattern for 10 sts, k1.
Next Row [WS]: Sl 1, work Row 1 of Basketweave Pattern for 10 sts, k1.
Repeat last 2 rows until handle is 16 inches long (or longer, if desired).
Attach end of handle to held sts using Kitchener st or 3 needle bind-off.

 
FINISHING

IB:
Sew the loose end of the handle to the base of the bag, opposite point where the other end of the handle meets the base of the bag.

Sew the sides of the bag to the edges of the handle. The wider (short-rowed) sections of the handle should extend approx. 1 inch above the sides of the bag.

Weave in ends.

KS:
Weave in ends.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Faye lives in rural Ontario, Canada with three cats, a dog, a guinea pig, two daughters and a very patient man.

She began knitting at age five. Her first completed project was a pink square with a perfectly round hole in the middle