Thursday, July 7, 2011

Soap Bag Knitting Pattern


My friend Sheila sent me this fun, quickie pattern for a soap bag. Her niece makes handmade soap and needed a way to enhance her sales, so Sheila designed the sack for her.

"The nice thing about the sack," says Sheila, "is if you use a wash cloth or one of those net scrubbies when you shower, you can take the soap sack right in to the shower with you. For children or elderly who have a hard time hanging on to that slippery bar of soap, the sack keeps the soap from slipping out of your fingers. I love the gentle exfoliating as well."

I knit Sheila's soap bag last weekend and enjoyed the combination of stockinette, YO's, and drop stitches. Plus I was able to finish the bag in under two hours. The soap I used is E. Barrett & Company French Soap in Ocean and it smells heavenly.



Supplies:

25 yards worsted weight 100% cotton
Size US 7 knitting needles
Ribbon, raffia or yarn for use as a drawstring


To knit the soap sack:

Cast on 15 stitches.

Rows 1 - 4: Knit in stockinette.

Row 5: *K2TOG, YO* ending with a YO and then knit the last stitch.

Row 6: Purl

Rows 7 - 10: Knit in stockinette.

Row 11: Knit across row, wrapping each stitch twice around the needle when forming the stitch.

Row 12: Purl, dropping each stitch.

Repeat these 12 rows two more times.

Knit four rows stockinette.

Knit one row *K2TOG, YO* ending with a YO and then knit the last stitch.

Starting with a purl row, knit four rows stockinette.

Bind off. You will have a total of four YO rows and three drop stitch rows. The third drop stitch row is the bottom of the bag.

Seam sides of bag using mattress stitch being careful to line up the YO rows and the drop stitch rows.

Weave a piece of ribbon, raffia or yarn through the top row of YO's, insert soap and tie the drawstring.

* * *

If there are any errors in this pattern they are mine, so feel free to let me know in the comments or at stacy@goldenbirdknits.com and I will make corrections.

If you would like to talk to Sheila, the designer of the pattern, please contact her at kayteetoo@hotmail.com.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

In my little corner of the world


It's hot, hot, hot here this weekend. Too hot to venture outside, which has been sort of nice because it gives me time to knit and read and generally hang out at home. I'm working on several knitting projects, and one of my favorites is this little daisy stitch face cloth.

I fell in love with this stitch when I first started knitting years ago but didn't quite have the skills to manage it. When I ran across it in my Vogue Stitchionary yesterday I felt my heart skip a beat and decided to try it. It involves purling three stitches together twice, which is fairly easy as long as you don't knit too tightly.


I'm also working on a meshy scarf in delicious Hazel Knits sock yarn.




It's been far too long since I've read a real book (as opposed to fake books on Kindle). I picked up the novel A Guide to the Birds of East Africa a while back at Anthropologie of all places and finally started reading it this weekend. The story is adorable.



I've been craving the ocean and really wanted to go to the beach this weekend. However, between the heat and the holiday crowds, there is big potential for nightmare traffic jams so I've been staying away. I may get there early tomorrow since it's my last chance before returning to work. This photo is the Santa Cruz Boardwalk from my day trip last weekend. Just can't get enough of the California coast this summer.



Before I moved to my current place, I never saw a live skunk. Now I am seeing them almost every evening, mainly eating the cat food someone leaves out for strays (cats, not skunks). I love wildlife, even the smelly kind, so it's been fun watching them amble about the creekside trails. Two days ago I actually startled one (startled myself pretty good, too), and it scurried off without spraying me, thank goodness. This photo isn't one of my skunks, but as far as I can tell they all look the same. Cute.



Hope you are enjoying the weekend in your little corner of the world, too. If you are in the states, happy Independence Day!