Shoulder Bag - Knitting Patterns

Here are the promised instructions for making carry bags as Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

SMALL SHOULDER BAG

To make shoulder bag measuring 15cm wide by 14 cm high:

Size 10 needles
Double Knitting (8 ply) yarn, approx 50g

Cast on 76 stitches.
Work 53 rows in stocking stitch (knit, purl, knit, purl...)
Work 4 rows in garter stitch (knit every row).
Cast off knitwise.
Fold in half and stitch side and base.

To make shoulder strap (approx. 55cm long), cast on 110 stitches.
Work 5 rows in garter stitch (knit every row).
6th row: Purl.
Work 5 rows in garter stitch.
Cast off knitwise.
Sew ends on wrong side, either side of bag's top edge.

Click on picture to enlarge.

The Large Shoulder Bag holds a full size exercise book with room to spare. The red showing between the handles is an A5 exercise book. The Small Shoulder Bag contains a spiral bound A6 notebook and a pack of 10 lead pencils (packaging not yet removed).


LARGE SHOULDER BAG

Finished dimensions approx. 20cm high by 23cm wide, using size 10 needles and Double Knitting (8 ply) yarn.

To make larger bag, cast on 100 stitches and work up 70 rows.
I added a picot hem to give a pretty edge and extra support on the inside where the handles are attached. This took another 7 rows.

To make picot hem:
Row 1: (Right side) K1, * wool round needle to make 1, k 2 tog, repeat from * to end.
Row 2: Purl.
Continue is stocking stitch as many rows as desired. Cast off. Fold at the picot row to give a serrated edge. Sew the cast off edge to main work on the wrong side.

To make 2 bag handles:
Cast on 80 stitches. Work 7 rows. Cast off.

I use a circular needle for 3 reasons: it's easier to carry around than long, poky straights; I don't need the elbow room required for straight needles; the bendability of the needle allows easy measuring of the article, such as folding in half to check the dimension of the bag, or laying the handle in a curve against the bag to see if it's an appropriate length.

Most of the yarn I use is donated. Ask around ladies who love to knit -- they've always got bits left over they don't know what to do with. They might be willing to donate them, or you might be able to convince them to join your knitting team or form a shoebox knitting club!