The Wool Soaker Butt Purse olé
Aka The Butt Bag, The MadPatter's Panty Purse; … the naming just never stops with this one…
Designed for the Wooly Wonders Essentials Bag Contest by Patti Edson, themadpatter
Note: Because I wanted the Curly Purly waistband to still function, I added it on after I felted the bag, and knit it from the bottom up. I also made it shorter, to keep the Essentials Bags petite size.
Materials:
Berroco Ole, One skein, or any variegated 100% wool, non superwash wool
Lamb's Pride Worsted, about 1/2 skein. (I used Color M-97, Rust)
16" size 8 Circular needle for body of purse
Size 6 and size 4 dpns or small circular needles for waistband and cuffs
Size 4 Circular needle for moebius strip strap, use at leat a 30" to 36"
Fat slippery shoestring to hold temp cast on.
Swatch: If size is an issue, (and when is it not?) knit, block, measure, felt, block and measure a swatch to determine % of loss due to felting.
My swatch measured 78mm before and 59mm after, so 78/59= 1.32 which will convert the desired (after felting) measurement into the starting measurement. My gauge was 4st/inch, and I wanted a circumference of 15" AFTER felting, so 4 x 15 x1.32= 79.2 so I cast on 80 stitches. HOWEVER!!! I found out after the bag was done that I should have paid more attention to the fact that the length felted more than the width. (This is how we learn from experience, right?) Therefore I suggest you measure both dimensions in your swatch and adjusted the pattern accordingly. I had to use Wooly Nylon to artificially superfelt the front widthwise to shrink it into shape, so I would say I had an extra 4 to 8 stitches there. Also, make sure the number of stitches is divisible by 8 for the waistband.
Note: This pattern is marked different in front and back, therefore row should be counted in front only! The short rows in back will throw you off. Also, I will refer to the RSS and LSS, and even though they will gradually move around to the front, they will still be referred to as the side seams. I couldn’t think of any other way to do it without making it, as knitty would say, volcanically spicy, lol.
Directions:
Cast on 80 st. using a figure 8 cast on, with one loop on the needle and the other on the lace. Tie the lace loosely. Place markers at beginning of round (right side seam-RSS), before 20 (Center front- CF), before 40 (left side seam-LSS) and before 60 (Center back-CB) (between the buns, lol)
Note: I thought that, to try to avoid total chaos and confusion while notating the short row sequences for the buns, I would just keep the original numbers on the marked signpost stitches. You know, kind of be in denial about those increases and decreases. ("What numbering problem? I don't have a numbering problem! If you think I have a numbering problem, YOU'RE the one with the problem!" A little recovery humor there for the knitting friends of Bill, hehehe.) So, like Prince, the stitch at the RSS will always and forever be 80, and the one at the LSS will always and forever be 40. You might want to leave a set of markers at the top to mark them semi-permanently, in case of disaster. Trust me on this: I got lost so many times, and I don't even have a toddler around to remove the needles…. But I have ADD, so maybe that makes it even, lol. (Digression? What digression????)
Knit 20 rounds even.
R 22- Front-Decrease 3 evenly spaced across front, ie at 12,20, and 33
Back-INCREASE 3 st evenly spaced each side of back, 6 total, ie, 50, 53, 57, 64, 68, 72.
R 27- Front- Decrease 2 st evenly spaced between previous dec's, ie, 15 and 25
Back- Increase 3 st each side, align with previous increases.
R 30- Stitch count check-Front 35, back 52
Before beginning row 33, place markers for short rows. Place markers at
· 4 (4 st after RSS)
· 36 (4 st before LSS)
· 44 (5 st after LSS)
· 56 (4 st before CB, or BTB, hehehe)
· 64 (4 st after CB)
· 76 (4 st before RSS)
· I use clip on markers, not the loop on the needle kind, so feel free to mark or not mark these places. I found it was easier to keep track of the short rows with markers, but that may have been because I had to write this all down!
1st Short row sequence:
Knit to 57, wrap 58, turn;
purl to 48, wrap 47 ,turn;
knit to 55, wrap 54 turn;
Purl to 51, wrap 50, turn.
Knit to 75, wrap 76, turn.
Purl to 70, wrap 69, turn.
Knit to 77, wrap 78, turn.
Purl to 68, wrap 67, turn
Knit to 1, wrap 2, turn.
Purl to 39, wrap 38, turn.
Knit completely around to 36, continue knitting to LSS
Knit to 1 st before RSS (79?) wrap 80, turn.
Purl to 41, wrap 40(LSS), turn.
Knit to RSS(80) pick up and knit wrap w/st.
*From this point forward, whenever you knit across the front of the bag, you will do a SSK to the first 2 st after RSS, and a K2tog to the last 2 st before the LSS, EVERY OTHER ROW! Plain knit the other rows. Keep them lined up like you were knitting a toe decrease in a sock. Because the stitch counts get so wonky, its easier to just keep them lined up nicely.
So, SSK to 1 and 2, K to 2nd st before LSS and K2tog, continue knitting around.
2nd set of short rows:
K to 57, w 58, turn
P to 42, w 41, turn
K to 55, w 56, turn
P to 41, w 40, turn
K to 78, w 79, turn
P to 65, w 64, turn
K to 76, w 77, turn
P to 63, w 62, turn
Knit to LSS (Row 36)
(dec.)(On this round and all decrease rounds through front, add a K 3 tog at the center front. This is s1, k1, PSSO, return st to left needle, slip next stitch over. Cinch the yarn tight afterwards so the front width continues to narrow.)Knit around to LSS, doing these decreases.
Repeat 2nd set of short rows:
K to 57, w 58, turn
P to 42, w 41, turn
K to 55, w 56, turn
P to 41, w 40, turn
K to 78, w 79, turn
P to 65, w 64, turn
K to 76, w 77, turn
P to 63, w 62, turn
Knit around to LSS
Repeat 1st set of short rows:
Knit to 57, wrap 58, turn;
purl to 48, wrap 47 ,turn;
knit to 55, wrap 54 turn;
Purl to 51, wrap 50, turn.
Knit to 75, wrap 76, turn.
Purl to 70, wrap 69, turn.
Knit to 77, wrap 78, turn.
Purl to 68, wrap 67, turn
Knit to 1, wrap 2, turn.
Purl to 39, wrap 38, turn.
Stitch count: 22 front, 56 back
*Remember to K2 tog and SSK every other round through the front of the purse, even half rounds. You will be knitting or purling 2 stitches past the decreases, so the wraps and turns shouldn't interfere.
Knit back across the back and around to the LSS. (Knit one full round.)
Repeat . (You are now at the LSS.)
Knit to RSS and do half round short rows across the front:
Knit to 39, wrap 38, turn.
Purl to 1, wrap 2, turn
Knit a whole round.
Knit to 39, wrap 38, turn.
Purl to 1, wrap 2, turn
Knit to 75, wrap 76, turn.
Purl to 63, wrap 62, turn.
Knit to 73, wrap 74, turn.
Purl to 42, wrap 43, turn.
Knit to 55, wrap 56, turn.
Purl to 41, wrap 40, turn.
Remember to do the front decreases every other round when you go through, until you have 19 st in the front.
Knit to RSS, then around to LSS. Continue to knit across the back, and do the first set of decreases in the back of the purse. K2tog every 5th stitch from LSS to RSS. (49st in back)
Knit to RSS (one round.)
Knit to LSS (half round.)
Knit to 78, w 79, turn.
Purl to 41, w 40, turn.
Knit 2 rounds. On next round, decrease every 3rd stitch across the back.
Knit one more round, for a total of 4.
You are at LSS again.
The bag should be more or less the right shape, and now we are going to do the final shaping of the bottom, and get it ready to weave together. Count your stitches, and decrease as necessary to achieve a final count of 44 or less. I ended with 19 in front, and 25 in back. Its not that important how many stitches you end with, as long as you like the way the bag looks.
From LSS,
K to 75, w76, turn
P to 42, w 41, turn
K to 73, w 74, turn
P to 44, w 43, turn
K to 71, w 72, turn
P to 45, w 44, turn
K to 69, w 70, turn
P to 47, w 46, turn
K to 65, w 66, turn
P to 2 st past furthest wrap, wrap, turn.
K to 2 st past furthest wrap, continue knitting to 36, wrap 37, turn.
P to 4, w 3, turn
K to 35, w 34, turn
P to 6, w 5, turn and knit a full round to RSS, then past to LSS. You should be perfectly set up to Kitchener stitch the bottom seam of the purse.
Before you felt the bag.
Take a yarn or tapestry needle threaded with yarn, and run it through the knitting right along the line of stitch number 60, which is (or might be, hehehe) right between the buns. Anchor one end, and gather the fabric until you have the buns you've always dreamed of. Anchor the other end. Weave in the ends.
If you have weird corners on your buns (a possible side-effect of the bottom seaming,) take the needle and yarn, or wooly nylon, and run the yarn through the center of the fabric, and shape it into beautiful buns. You may have to do this in more than one direction. If you are careful to keep your yarn inside the stitches of your knitting, this won't show after its done.
Tighten the shoelace holding the live stitches we are going to use to attach the Curly Purly Waistband, and tie it well enough so that won't come apart in the felting process.
Felt it until its as stiff as you want it to be.
Cuffs:
Use a stretchy cast-on, so it will be easier to sew them on. Make them however large you like them. Mine were about 12", I think. Knit them with the size 6 dpns, so they will be fairly stiff, because we aren’t going to felt them. Knit in 1X 1 ribbing for 3/4", then in stockinette for another 6 rows, or to your liking. Bind off. Sew on bag when it is dry, arranging as you like.
Waistband.
After the bag is dry, slide the shoelace out of the loops. They will probably be stuck together from the felting process, but they will come apart. Pick them up just like normal, and begin to knit the Curly Purly Waistband from the bottom up.
*p1, k7* for 3/4" using the size 6's
Switch to the size 4's
*p1 k1 p1 k1 p1 k3* for 3/4"
*p1k1* for 1 1/2" Cast off.
Moebius strip Strap
On US #4 Lamb's Pride worsted gauge is about 6 st/ inch
3" to attach inside purse= 19 st.
How long do you want your strap? ____" times 6 = ______.
Cast on this many stitches:………………………..Total Must be an odd number!
The inside of the strap is ribbing, the outside is stockinette, arranged so the edges roll the same way.
Work the cast on stitches in ribbing for one inch. Attach the ends together,
but flip one end over before you attach it, so instead of a circle, it has a
twist in the middle. Mark the junction. Knit along the edge, and when you get
to the junction, switch to purl. You do not have to do anything, you will automatically
switch to the other side because of the twist. After 1/2" of stockinette,
bind off. Attach to inside of purse, laying the strap flat along the bottom of
the waistband, as shown in pictures.