To Market, To Market… Pack Your Bags

After I finishing the Tulip Tank Top I had a one skein (plus some) left over. I thought I measured the amount correctly, but, at least it didn’t come up short for my tank top!

I began my hunt on Ravelry for the perfect pattern to use up the rest of the beautiful yarn. It took me about a month of off and on again searching to find something that would work. The weight of the yarn would have been perfect for a light shawl, but I didn’t have enough of it to make one a decent size. I tried looking for patterns for other tank tops, but again, I didn’t have enough.

I found the perfect pattern idea after reading some of the other knitting blogs I follow. Market bags, because they can take one skein. Now I had a direction to go in! There are so many bags to choose from and many styles. I didn’t really like the ones that had thin shoulder straps or ones that looked too lacy. I guess I’m picky.

I found the Ilene Bag pattern and knew it would be perfect for the bamboo yarn. It was very easy and simple to knit up. I had to add more rows to the main body of the bag just because it didn’t look like it would be deep enough. I also messed up a little on the three needle bind off for the strap – but really you wouldn’t know unless I pointed it out. It turned out so pretty!

After I finished the bag I jumped right on to another one. I had bought some crazy colored yarn (which also happened to be bamboo) with the intention of making scarves. The swatches I made of the scarves were not so pretty, so the pile of crazy yarn sat for a while. The bag I made with the yarn needed a little larger needle size. I didn’t use the ribbing at the top so this combined with the larger size to the bag gave it a very “boho” look. It actually worked well for the yarn type. Next time, however, I will probably use the ribbing again to help with the shape. I also used kitchener stitch (my favorite tutorial on Youtube)  to attach the handle to the bag instead of the three needle bind off and liked the out come much better.

I do have enough crazy yarn to make three more bags, so I better get to work. Then I will have to go to the farmer’s market and fill them all up with great stuff!