Another Sweet Drawstring Pouch to Knit

Earlier this month I shared a few little travel knitting bag patterns, and the bag I’m sharing today wasn’t live when I was compiling that post but I think it would be a nice little bag to hold small things while you are traveling, or to use to hold any little things you need to wherever you are.

It’s called the Onigiri pouch because it looks like onigiri (a rice ball wrapped in a bit of nori, aka seaweed). The colors the designer, Dhiany Nanda, chose for their bag play up that description because the main part of the bag is an off white “rice” color, while the nori bit is gray, which looks a bit like seaweed.

Of course this would be a great stash-busting project in any colors. The original was worked in DK weight yarn, but you can use whatever you like to make a bag that’s a little bigger or a little smaller depending on your yarn weight and gauge.

The bag is worked from the bottom up in the round, and it is made double the length so that you can fold it inside itself to make the fabric stronger and thicker (and smooth on both the inside and the outside, which is nice). Once the main part of the bag is finished, you pick up stitches for the casing for the drawstring, then knit the nori separately and sew it on. The drawstring is an I-cord.

This little bag looks like a lot of fun and it includes lots of techniques like Judy’s Magic Cast On, increasing and decreasing, grafting, picking up stitches and making I-cord. But it’s also a small project so you can learn a lot of things fast and you don’t have to spend too much time with any of these techniques. For the most part it is just a lot of straight knitting.

You can grab a free copy of this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Dhiany Nanda]

Next Pattern:

Once you get past the rush of the holidays, it’s time to focus on yourself and your home and what’s going to make you feel good for the rest of winter. For me, that’s having a homemade blanket in every room. I’m currently working on a granny stitch crochet blanket, but I wanted to share some cozy knit blanket patterns with you in case you’re on the lookout for something great to knit yourself or someone you love.

I have really been enjoying log cabin projects lately because they’re a great way to use stash and I love the connections between knitting and quilting. This log cabin scrap blanket pattern is free from Very Pink, and it includes a video tutorial if you haven’t done log cabin knitting before. It’s worked in garter stitch and has blocks that are connected by borders in a single color.

Speaking of scrap busting (since that’s on my mind all the time, but particularly when New Year’s resolution time rolls around), the Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence is worked in a huge array of colors in garter stitch mitered squares. The pattern has options for working with sport weight or worsted weight yarn, and the blanket is worked in quarters and then sewn together, but the individual squares in each section are worked off each other for minimal finishing. Get the pattern from Knit Picks.

If you’re looking for an easy pattern that has a lot of texture, this quilted knit throw from Mama in a Stitch is a great choice. It uses chunky yarn in a single color to make a simple knit and purl pattern that looks like diamonds. The designer notes that a lighter colored yarn is helpful for making the stitch pattern stand out, but you can try whatever color you like.

Or go even simpler with the Bella Vita blanket from Christaco Design. This one uses super bulky yarn (or make it a stash buster by holding two strands of worsted weight yarn together). The pattern has a seed stitch border and allover knit and purl pattern, and includes sizes from baby blanket to California king.

If instead you want a project that will challenge you and occupy your mind as well as your needles, try the Aran texture cable afghan knitting pattern from Pattern Professionals. This gorgeous design features panels of cables and other textured stitches, and the pattern is originally form the 1970s. It uses worsted weight yarn and each pattern strip is worked individually and sewn together (though you could combine them into one big panel if you’d rather).

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