The summer’s not quite over, is it? Now’s about the time where everyone is gearing to go back to school, preparing for fall. But I’ve still got a couple summer WIPs that still need finishing, and time’s running out! For today, I present to you, 2 handbags…

First handbag - this is Artic. I started this project back in April 2005 but never finished with it because I hit a snag along the way. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with the pattern, but there was something with the choice of yarn (more discussion in the pattern notes below). After alot of discouragement, I put it away, only to be renewed by it this summer, and finally finish it off with a cute lining!

Artic:

A peek inside:

Lining:

Pattern: “Artic”, 25 Bags To Knit, by Emma King
Yarn: Rowan Polar; The Blues in 2 skeins, Silver Lining in 1 skein
Needle: US #10.5 straights
Size: 9.5 x 13.5 inches (excluding handles)

Pattern Notes

Pattern
An easy knit. I started this in April 2005 and as far as I remember, it went by fairly quickly. I liked the color, the thickness of the yarn, the colors, and the little flower embellishments. All the handbag patterns in this book all have a very simple and similar formula to them - and this followed it exactly. Knit up two flat sides, a couple handles, a couple flower embellishments, sew pieces together and bingo, knitted bag. This is the perfect handbag size for me. I’m going to be using this ALOT, trust me.

Yarn
Okay, so this is where the snag happened. After sewing the bag pieces together, I wanted to block the bag before putting in the lining. So I wet-blocked it. And boy was THAT a mistake. If you’ve read Knitters Review’s Clara’s review on this yarn, you’ll know that once this yarn hits water, it instantly relaxes, softens up tremendously, and dries that way. It becomes this luxuriously soft, wonderfully cuddly texture… which is perhaps nice for a scarf, sweater, blanket, but NOT for a handbag!! It just ended up as this big floppy (but pretty)… thing!! I was discouraged by the lack of structure and put it down for over a year because I didn’t know how to fix it. I dabbled in putting a piece of canvas in with the lining, but it just sounded like alot of work. So I sat on it for awhile.

Fast forward to 16 months later - it dawns on me that I can just put in an interfacing on the lining to give the bag structure. DUH. So I did. And it worked. Whew!

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Second handbag - Let me introduce you to Cranberry!

A peek inside:

A fun lining:

Pattern: “Cranberry”, 25 Bags To Knit, by Emma King
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool in Cassis, 2.5 skeins
Needle: US #15 straights
Other Notions: 13 dark red beads
Size: 12 x 14.5 inches (excluding handles)

Pattern Notes

Pattern
Another quick knit in the same formula - knit up the front, back, handles, and then sew altogether with the mattress stitch (I added the lining and magnet closure). What made it interesting was the cables and the addition of beads in the pattern. Although the pattern was wrong about how many beads you actually needed (they said 20, I only used 13). The pattern was also a tad incorrect when saying you only need 2 skeins of Big Wool. I was at the end of my second skein thinking, I’m definately going to need another. Other than that, it was a simple knit and quite enjoyable. I love the size of this bag - it’s roomy enough for my purse items, plus a small project or two!

Yarn
A bit of an expensive yarn for a handbag (did I mention to you that this book promotes only Rowan yarn?), but it worked out well. It’s super bulky, and makes a soft but sturdy bag. Not to mention that I love the deep red color of Cassis.

That’s it for now. If I get my butt in gear, I’ll have a Summer Handbags Part THREE before fall shows up…