Well, the knitting frenzy continues unabated. I've just finished two bags, which are in fact the same bag!? The pattern comes from a fab book, Funky Chunky Knitted Accessories by Jan Eaton. The book has basic patterns for a hat, bag, scarf, mittens and capelet and then loads of ways to customise each.
The pink bag is the knitted and felted Violet bag (except obviously I didn't do the violet bit). I used Rico Creative Filz in Rose from Hulu Crafts with 8mm needles. As with previous felted items, I was worried the whole thing looked too big and shapeless when I'd finished knitted but two goes at 60 degrees in the washing machine and all was well.
My finished product was a bit bumpy to appy fabric binding as the book suggested, so I settled for some wool felt flowers from Blooming Felt embellished with some pink seed beads and a ceramic button.
Bag #2 is the Honey version of the bag with tortoiseshell handles. Again, complete deviation in colour as I went for some Rowan Colourscape Chunky in Northern Lights from The Black Sheep. This was my first encounter with a hank rather than a ball of wool.
Innocently, I unfastened the thing and started knitting. Absolute mess. I had to cut and rejoin the wool about 20 times on the first hank, no doubt destroying the whole pattern of the wool. Having realised my technique was likely at fault, I used the interweb to search for advice. I found this excellent tutorial on hank winding and was able to convert the second hank into something usable, albeit inelegant. I am now contemplating purchasing a ball winder, although my husband says I just need practise...
I found both projects great fun with very pretty outcomes. However, I already have a mountain of handbags, so I need to move on to something else. I have a couple of knitted soft toy projects lined up so watch this space for malformed creatures...
Melx
Hellos! Just to say, I've been knitting for years and do not own a ball-winder. I find two dining chairs, placed in a triangle formation, is quite sufficient, providing you don't mind standing up for a while while you wind the yarn. The main thing is that the yarn must be taut while winding. Oh, and my first hank of yarn turned into exactly the same tangle as yours. And so did the second, when I should have known better, and that was over 400m of laceweight to untangle!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband thinks you're right. I did do the chair thing for my hank and it worked really well - I was just concerned my ball wasn't very even. I will persevere rather than giving in to more gadgets :)
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