Wednesday, July 15, 2009

OPEN MESH BAG

If you have been on this site before you will have seen my scarf made with the Turkish Stitch Pattern. I love the Turkish stitch for open mesh work, and for the mindlessness of working it. Here is another pattern using the Turkish stitch.

Open Mesh Bag

Materials:
Knitting needles round size 6 US, size 9 or 10 US
One stitch marker
One draw string stopper
Peaches & cream cotton, not sure of the amount needed as I used an existing spool I had.
52” cording (for drawstring)
Large eyed darning needle

Directions:
With smaller needles cast on 46 stitches
Knit for 28 rows.
Now turn and start picking up stitches evenly along side about 14 sts. Then knit the 46 sts along opposite side then pick up 14 sts for the second short side 120 sts total.
Place marker to denote beginning of round and knit for the next 4 to 5 rounds.
Change to larger needles, Knit one row. Then work in Pattern as follows.
Row 1: YO, K 2 tog. Repeat for entire row.
Row 2: Knit around.
Repeat these two rows till bag measures about 11” when laid flat unstretched.
Change back to smaller needles and work seed stitch for 8 to 10 rows. To make this easier knit the first two sts together so you will have an odd number of stitches which allows for a continuous flow in pattern.
Cast off with the suspended cast off method which makes for a stretchy top.

Drawstring: Thread the cording on the darning needle weave through holes in mesh, keeping a straight line across the bag till you have gone completely around the bag, thread through a draw string stopper Tie a strong double knot at the end of the cording.

The straps are something that you can play with pick and choose matching straps, ribbons cording etc. Attach to the inside edge of the top which aids in the folding process. To close the bag, tuck the top and straps into bottom of the bag and pull drawstring tight.

Note: To make this smaller and softer bag I used one skein of ”I Love This Cotton”
And I started with 26 stitches for 18 rows which gave me 9 sts along the edge to pick up and a total of 70 stitches, and measured 7” when laid flat. The cording was smaller also. This is the bag in the above photo. It is used for vegetables due to is't softness it doesn't bruise the
produce.

SUSPENDED BIND-OFF: Knit 2 stitches. * Lift the first stitch over the second stitch as for a regular bind- off but leave the lifted stitch on the left needle. Pass your right needle in front of the suspended stitch, knit the next stitch, and drop both from the left needle. Repeat from * until all stitches are bound off.

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