Something Special Gift Bags

Something Special Gift Bags

Now that I live in Switzerland, much of my life revolves around chocolate. More specifically, where to buy it, how to distribute it, and whether or not I should ship it back to friends and loved ones or just lock myself in the bathroom and gobble it up while the children bang on the door (note: I have never actually done this. I have a much cleverer hidden chocolate-eating system that involves a cupboard door and pretending to look for the ingredients I need for dinner). What was I talking about? Oh yeah, gift bags! A friend of mine recently divulged her cost-saving practice of buying chocolate at the factory store and then rebagging it for Christmas gifts, and a light turned on in my head. What better summer knitting project than these little gift bag delights, after all, which are not just scrap-busters, but also earth-friendly and quick-knitting?

Sizes: Small (Medium; Large) (Finished dimensions roughly as follows, with a note that the closed hole pattern will be slightly narrower than the open hole pattern in all sizes. That being said, the small is roughly 3.5" wide x 4.75" tall, the medium 4.75" x 6.25", and the large 6" x 7.75")

Yarn: Maddison Bio Baby (100% Organic Cotton; 197 yards [180 meters]/50 grams); #06 Purple - one skein; #03 Tan - one skein, & #01 White - one skein

A better look at the openwork pattern;
you can find a close-up of the
closed version below.

Needles: One set of double pointed needles (dpns) in size US 4

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches 

Which brings us to the pattern! Please note that I used the yarn I had leftover from the Crystal and Pearl Cowl for these gift bags, and, while I've identified the colors above, I haven't prescribed colors in the pattern since you can pick whichever color you dang want for each piece. Having said that, cast on 48 (64; 80) stitches in whichever color you'd like to use for the body of the bag and then divide between 3 or 4 dpns (whichever you prefer) as evenly as possible while still maintaining groups of 8 stitches. Join in round. Then we'll work the following edging rows, which are the same for all sizes:

Edging Rows 1 - 4: * k2, p2; rep from *

Edging Row 5: knit

Edging Row 6: * k2, k2tog, (yo) twice, ssk, k2 *

Edging Row 7: * k3, (k1, p1) in double yo, k3 *

Edging Rows 8 & 9: knit

Knit edging rows 1 - 9. Then we'll begin our main pattern, which, as you can see from the pictures, you can do with an open-hole or a closed-hole design. The pattern rows are the same for all sizes, and I'm giving the open-hole pattern first.

Open-hole Pattern:

Row 1: * k1, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k3 *

Row 2: knit

Row 3: * k2, yo, ssk, k4 *

Row 4: knit

Row 5: * k3, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, k1 *

Row 6: knit

Row 7: * k4, k2tog, yo, k2 *

Row 8: knit

Closed-hole Pattern:

Row 1: * k1, m1r, ssk, k2tog, m1l, k3 *

Row 2: knit

Row 3: * k2, m1r, ssk, k4 *

Row 4: knit

Row 5: * k3, m1r, ssk, k2tog, m1l, k1 *

Row 6: knit

Row 7: * k4, k2tog, m1l, k2 *

Row 8: knit

Knit rows 1 - 8 of whichever pattern you like until piece measures roughly 4.5" (6"; 7.5") and you've just finished row 4 or row 8 of the pattern. Divide remaining stitches evenly between two double pointed needles and graft together using the Kitchener stitch. To help you out, I've even posted a video of the technique below! (Also note that you don't have to graft; you could use a three-needle bind off or just bind off and seam the bottom, if you'd prefer.)

Once you've completed your bag, you can move on to the i-cord tie. So, again, using whichever color you'd desire, cast on 3 stitches loosely. Work in i-cord until piece measures roughly 10.5" (13"; 15.5"). Bind off loosely. Tuck in ends of both bag and tie and block. Knot one end of tie, weave through double yarn overs at top of bag, and then knot the other end. Insert gift in bag, and distribute with pride.