Notes on the Bucket Bag

    After publishing the pattern, I realized you should know about the mistakes too. The pattern is fine, it's all about yarn choice. I found some pretty variegated wool in my stash, and wanted to make a bucket bag with it. I had a lot, so I doubled it up and used 2 strands at once. It makes for a thicker, more heavy duty bag.



    I crocheted the bottom, and made it bigger than the one in the pattern photo. That one turned out kind of small. Here's what the bottom looks like on the finished bag:

    After picking up the stitches around the circle, I quickly realized why a variegated yarn isn't good for the bottom of the bag..... Here's what the rest of the bag looks like:

    The colors on the crocheted bottom are in blocks, due to the way double crochet works. Then the stripes on the body of the bag are from knitting in the round. I was dismayed, but I still love this bag! As you can see, I ran out of the variegated wool before the bag was tall enough, so I finished it with a denim wool, from the same company. I believe it was Patons Classic. This bag remains one of my favorite project bags, even with the weird color splotched bottom.


    So, dear readers, my advice to you is if you choose to make this bag, save your variegated wool yarn for the body, and use a solid color for the bottom!  And remember, you can make the base as big as you want, and the body as long as you want!


    In all actuality, the bag in the pattern photo is kind of small for my taste. I've made all the other ones bigger. And this bag would make a cool purse, just get a magnet or some other kind of clasp and use it to connect the long sides together.

 

Bicraftual Bucket Bag Pattern

BICRAFTUAL BUCKET BAG

Kim Scheffler
BicraftualRavingsOnLife.blogspot.com


This bag starts with a crocheted circle which forms the bottom of the bag, then the stitches are picked up and knit in the round for the body. Then it's felted.

Tools needed:

U.S. Size K - 6.5 mm crochet hook
U.S. size 11 - 8 mm circular knitting needle, 24 or 29 inches long.

2 skeins color 1 wool
1 skein color 2 wool  (due to variants in felting, both colors should be the same brand, Patons or Lion Brand would be best for this project)
Of course, if you make a bigger bag, you'll need more yarn.

BAG BOTTOM:

To start - ch 4, sl st in beg ch to form a ring.
Rnd 1: Ch 2 (counts as first dc here and throughout), work 11 dc into ring, join with sl st in top of beg ch — 12 sts.
Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, join with sl st in top of beg ch — 24 sts.
Rnd 3: Ch 2, 2 dc in next st, * dc in next st, 2 dc in next st; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch — 36 sts.
Rnd 4: Ch 2, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, * dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st; rep from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch — 48 sts.
Rnd 5: Ch 2, dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, * dc in next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st; rep from * around, join with sl st to top of beg ch — 60 sts.

After the first few rounds, you can pull the yarn end from the ch 4 tight to close the circle, or you can use the Magic Loop method to start.

Keep going as established until Rnd 11 is done, and you have 132 stitches around.


BAG BODY:

At the end of last crochet round, use color 2 to join to 1st stitch, cutting 1st yarn and knotting 2 yarns together.

Slip loop from crochet hook onto knitting needle, and pick up a stitch through the top of each double crochet stitch around the circle. Place stitch marker after last picked up stitch.

Knitting in the round, K 1 round with color 2. Switch back to color 1, and continue knitting in the round until bag body is approx. 14 inches, or more, tall. Put a stripe of color 2 in wherever you like. You can make it as wide as you want, even make more than one stripe. You can play with colorwork here too, if desired.

BEGIN HANDLES:

When you come to the stitch marker, slip it, then K13, BO 40, K26, BO 40, Knit 26. Take the 26 stitches that aren't attached to working yarn and put on stitch holder. You will now work back and forth to create handle. You can remove the stitch marker while knitting the last 26 stitches.

Row 1, and all odd rows, Purl all stitches.
Row 2 and all even rows, K2, K2tog, K across to last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2.

Repeat until there are 12 working stitches left. Knit in stockinette until approx. 18 inches long.

Note: Do not slip first stitch here, after felting it cups, and isn't flat. Learn from my mistakes.

Cut yarn, put these stitches on a stitch holder. Take other stitches off of holder, and work the same as 1st side, but only making it 5 inches long.

Now it's time to join the two together. If you know how to do the Kitchener stitch, have at it. I don't know how, so I did a three needle bind off, with the ridge on the underside of the handle.

Tah-Dah! You're all done with the hard part. Now, you just have to felt it. I use my washing machine, very hot water, cold rinse, with three tennis balls in for extra agitation. Some people tell you to let it air dry on its own, but I am not the most patient of persons. I throw it in my dryer, on high heat, along with the tennis balls. It will probably take more than one cycle. Although I recently discovered that throwing a dry towel in the dryer with the wet felted item totally speeds up the drying time!

When it's dry, you can use a sweater shaver to clean up the fuzz. I usually prefer to do this. I just like the way it looks, more finished, not so fuzzy.

Post Felting Photos

    Who knew? When I threw the bucket bag in the washer then in the dryer last night, I never expected it to dry quickly. Based on past experience, it usually takes two, if not three, dryer cycles to dry my felted things. And even then they are still damp and must hang over the baseboard heat overnight.


    But yesterday, there was a change in my usual felting routine. I needed to wash my jeans for work today, so I threw them in with the bucket bag and the tennis balls. When I went down to get the jeans out of the dryer, the bucket bag was also dry! Completely! I was shocked to say the least. But at least I can now post the after felting photo! I also measured it, and it's now about 7 inches tall.

    I really like the way the denim blue came out, I may do another one, just in that color. If anyone were to make this bag, my advice would be to use a solid color for the bottom, if you are going to use a variegated wool for the body. The crochet stitches show the colors differently, and it may not be pleasing to some people. Personally, it makes no difference to me, I like things that are different.

Bucket Bag Progress Report

    I have officially finished the third bucket bag. It's bigger than the last two. I made the bottom 15 inches across, and the sides 15 inches tall. Here's a photo of the finished bag, pre felting. If I can, I'll take another, post felting.

    For reference, I present the photo of the first bag, with same remote used for scale:

    I have to admit, I'm aquiver with anticipation, to see what it looks like after being felted! I can't wait to see what happens to the stripes. I should mention also, that I made the handle on this one 16 stitches across, instead of 12, like the first two.


    I went with Hubs to the Fishkill house today, he wanted the company. So I sat and knitted while he worked outside on the house. I was able to finish the handle, but since I didn't think to bring another needle, I had to wait until we got home to join them together. 


    When he was done, we went to Dickie's BBQ, which is excellent and I recommend it highly, then we came home. We brought the BBQ home, and ate it once we got here. Now I will go and put the bag in the washing machine. Hopefully I will be bale to report tomorrow!

A Day in the Life

    What a good day it's been. I got up at 8:00, made myself a half pot of coffee, and sat down in my chair. A few days ago, I made a trip out to Adams Fairacre Farms to get more chocolate truffle decaf coffee. We were almost out. While I was there, I decided to try a new flavor I had seen on my last visit. It's called Maple Bacon. Now, I figure that anything that has bacon flavor can't be bad.


    That's the coffee I got to try for the first time this morning. With great anticipation, I sipped my first cup. It's pretty sweet, and not terribly mapley or bacony. But it's not the worst coffee I've ever had either. Tomorrow I'll go back to my regular chocolate truffle, thank you. I'll save the maple bacon for another occasion.


    I watched my favorite morning shows, then got dressed and went to the supermarket. That went well, also. Even though the parking lot was pretty full, there weren't that many people in the store. I even found a handicap spot near the door.


    While I was out, I also went to the Post Office and got the mail. When I returned home, there were two large, rather flat, boxes waiting on the stoop. My favorite UPS man, Dave, had been there in my absence. I brought the groceries in, then tried to figure out how to get the boxes inside. They were a bit on the heavy side, as well.


    I finally managed to get them inside. After I caught my breath, and put the groceries away, I finally got to sit and knit, while waiting for the laundry. The rest of the day passed peacefully; I was knitting while watching Cadfael episodes on Netflix. I got quite a bit done, knitting wise. I started the third skein of wool, this one a denim heather, and quickly found a problem with it.


    I usually manage to find the inside end of the yarn, in the middle of the skein, and this time I was successful as well. However, as I knit, I pulled out a rather large tangle, in which I could see at least two more ends. It turns out that there were two separate pieces of yarn, not attached to the skein, that somehow got put inside the skein. This is supremely annoying to most knitters. Fortunately, it seems to only be the two pieces, so far. I have knit over an inch on the bucket bag with the new yarn, and haven't come across any more of them.


    Now I am just sitting here, watching evening TV, waiting for Hubs to come home from work. I did the laundry, and also the dishes. I also cleaned out the cat box. It was a busy day, after all... All that's left is to cook dinner when he gets home.


    After proof reading this, I thought I should clarify something. A half pot yields two cups of coffee in my house. We have BIG cups. I believe they are 18 -20 ounces. So a full pot gives us two cups each, which works out perfectly.
   

Promised Photos

   So today, I broke down and took some of the photos I promised you. Hubs and I were going to have a lazy day, and not even get out of bed, but that didn't work out. He's gone hunting until dark, so I have the afternoon to myself.


    First up is the photo of my knitting progress.

   This morning, the Cherub asked me why I keep making bucket bags. I told her it's like her mom making shawl, after shawl, after shawl. It's what my crafty muse is telling me to make! Sometimes we crafters are helpless to resist.


    Then we have the photo of my archery target.

   And just for giggles, I took a photo of Ozzy, the crazy talking cat.

    He doesn't seem to enjoy having his photo taken, at all. He never looks very happy in any of them. But he is very talkative and very soft, even if he isn't a very big cat.


    Enjoy the day, everyone!
  

Sore Muscles and KnittingProgress!

    My arm and back muscles are a bit sore today, due to the archery class last night. I had the foresight, however, to know when to call it quits. My arm was getting wobbly, and it was getting hard to breathe. I totally spaced, I should have taken my inhalers before I went to the class. The others in the class carried on, and I bet at least one of the ladies is very sore today!!


    Maybe tomorrow I can get a photo of my target, so you can see how I did! It really was a great class. I had a ball, and will sign up for another when they offer it! As far as my knitting goes, I made great strides yesterday at Stitch n Bitch! I only had coffee, so I was knitting while the other ladies were eating their breakfasts. Knitting in the round, around and around, gets a little old, but in the long run it'll be worth it.


     Later in the afternoon, I went out with good friend Kim and her Cherub, and while they were poking around in Marshalls, I walked up to Joann Fabrics, and picked up another skein of wool for my bag. I bought a denim one, I thought it would look cool to do the top of the bag and the handle in denim. When I get that far, I will get some photos for you to see!


  

WTF?

    There I was, knitting away, at the end of the first of three skeins of Paton's wool. All the same colorway, I might add. I attach the new skein, and start knitting again. After a few rounds, I notice something. 10 points to the first one to comment on the photo:

   Yup, that's right. The 1st skein had tan in it, bottom of photo, and the 2nd doesn't, top of photo. It has gray. I actually like the 2nd one better. I checked the 3rd, and it has tan in it again. I didn't even notice when I bought them. They all looked the same to me.


    So this bag is gonna have a strange looking stripe in the middle. Oh well. The colorway was Wedgewood. I couldn't find a dye lot on any of them. If I was making a sweater, I'd be really pissed. But it's just a felted bag, so it'll just add some interest.

The Next Project Started

    After an absolutely awesome, solid night of uninterrupted sleep, I got up again just before my alarm went off. After I got home, I had a really good cup of chocolate coffee, then decided to go back to bed. The coffee is half-caff, so I was able to get some more sleep.


    I got up again at about 12:30! After helping Hubs put new ink cartridges in the computer, I took some photos of the new bucket bag I started yesterday. I thought it was going to be so much bigger than the last one, but after measuring it, the stupid circle is only one inch bigger. I am using a smaller hook, as well as smaller needles this time.

    So yeah. I made this circle 13 rounds this time, but using the smaller J size hook is probably why it's only an inch bigger. I am also using a size 10.5 circular needle. Here's a photo of me progress so far, I like how stripey it is.

    If you see my daughter by any chance, tell her I am working on finding the yarn for her Hubs' mitts....

Nothing to Report Yet

    Perhaps you noticed that I didn't post yesterday, I tried, I really did. There was just nothing to say. I'm not working on anything right now. My legs hurt and I'm a bit on the cranky side.


   However, there is a light at the end of the crafting blackness. After work today, I will be going to Michaels with my good friend Bonny. I fully intend to look seriously at some yarn. I might even start my son-in-law's long ago promised mitts. Well, if I can walk, that is. I have high hopes for that. who would eve think that I would find standing to be such torture and give me such pain? That's what three years of being unemployed can do if you aren't careful.


    I will say that the wool is already enticing me, it wants to be another bucket bag, this time a variegated one. The muse won't let me be, she tells me the wool wants to be a bigger bag also. I'll look at the wool yarn seriously.

Final Bucket Bag Report

    Today, I have the photos of the finished bucket bag, as well as the measurements. In my opinion, it shrunk too much. It went from 14 inches tall, or more, down to only 6 inches after felting! The bottom crocheted circle was 14 inches across, and is now 9 inches.

  
   For comparison, the black bucket bag started out about the same size as the purple one, before felting. Yet, after felting, look at the difference:

    I would say that it's because of the brands of wool I used: for the black I'd used Patons, and the purple, Malabrigo. My advice would be to use Patons or Lion Brand wool, simply because of the expense of Malabrigo. However, if you have lots of Malabrigo that you're not emotionally attached to, in your stash, you can use it, just make it even bigger to get a good size finished bag. Make the crocheted circle bottom up to six rounds bigger, and then add six or more inches of knitting in the round to the body of the bag.


    One of these days I will make this bag again, probably using Patons, and make it even bigger so you can compare them.

The Bucket Bag is Done!

    Hooray! As I type, the bucket bag is hanging off my spinning wheel, over the baseboard heating unit, to finish drying! I finished it this morning, felted it, then put it in the dryer, for two dry cycles. It's still pretty damp, hence the hanging over the heat. I'm hoping it will be dry by morning.


    I measured it this time, before felting. I will post measure it tomorrow and let you know how much it shrunk. Believe it or not, I think it was bigger, pre-felting, than the black one, and it's smaller, post felting! The black one was done with Paton's wool, and this one with Malabrigo. Quite a difference!


    I will also take photos tomorrow, so you can all see how it came out. I have no project for Stitch n Bitch tomorrow morning, so I will take the new bag, and shave it with a lint shaver, while the others knit and crochet. I like the finish it gives to my felting.


    I am finished with the pattern, too. I sent it to my friend to critique, and she says it's fine. Now I just have to decide what to do with it. For some reason I can't make it as a document on my laptop, so it's currently a draft for this blog. Fortunately, I am friends with a certain college professor who is head of her department in computer stuff. I will ask her advice in the morning. It may be for sale on etsy or Ravelry soon...

Surprise, I'm Knitting Today!

     I'm working on my bucket bag today. My head hurts from doing the math, for the dividing to start the handle. It helps me to visualize it if I draw a circle and divide it into six wedges.  So the handle is split now, half the stitches are on a stitch holder.


    I even took some photos and measurements today. I guess I got ambitious! The crocheted circle is 14 inches across. The body of the bag is 14 inches tall. It looked right to me, so I stopped. I measured after I had split and bound off the top edge. Purely a coincidence that it's as wide as it is tall.


    Now for the photos!

And finally, one with the cable remote, for scale, like I did for the black bag...

    I am also watching the weather today, as we are supposed to be getting our first snowfall of the season this afternoon into tomorrow. I am not happy about it, but I guess it's to be expected living in upstate New York.

A Tale of Sore Legs

    It seems that standing for hours at a time is difficult for me. At least I get to walk around a bit, which helps a lot. My new job is part time, four hours a day, each Saturday and Sunday. I am having a good time with it, even though I end up in pain.


    Today is usually the day I spend recovering. But I decided to go out with my friend to Michaels and a few other places. Of course I had to walk. So now, my legs hurt all over again. It was worth it though, I enjoy spending time with Bonny.


    I came home and sorted socks, as I promised Hubs I would, I have yet to do any dishes. It still hurts to stand up. I need to start some more laundry, too... but that involves going down and then up the stairs. Not fun at all. But I'll probably get to it later on.


    I am also working on my bucket bag when I can. I did a few rounds last night, and more this morning. No new photos yet.

Bucket Bag Progress Report

    Today, I have made more progress, I completed the stripe of color 2. I was originally thinking about a 4 inch width, but decided to stop when it felt right. It turns out, the stripe is 3.5 inches wide. Not too bad, estimate wise!


    I also measured how tall it is so far, just for reference sake, and it's 9 inches tall so far. I have yet to measure the diameter of the bottom circle, but I will at some point.

    So far, I'm liking this bag. I am a little concerned about the diameter of the bottom, worried that it's not large enough. It's the same number of rounds as the first bag I made, but it looks smaller. I will never know, since I didn't take any measurements of the first bag, pre-felting.


    At this point, I would like to say that if you wanted to make this bag smaller or larger, it will work. Since, if done correctly, every round will have a number of stitches divisible by 12, therefore also by 6. That's the math I used to divide it, when I decided how to do the handle.


    I have considered reducing the number of stitches in the last round or two before the handle step, as the original bag is kind of wide and a bit floppy at the top. My consultants have both agreed that they like it that way, so I will soldier on with the original plan. But you could K9, K2tog all the way around the top, and still have a number of stitches divisible by 6.


    OK, I think I'm done second guessing myself for today. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here. I've tried to take photos of the original bag, but it's black, and isn't cooperating. All photos haven't come out well enough to be posted here. It just looks like a black blob. Phooey.

In Which I Start a New Project

    During the hurricane, it again occurred to me that I wasn't working on any particular project. All I was doing was listening to the TV while playing mahjong on my laptop. I decided that I needed to be making something, so I went stash diving. I found some pretty Malabrigo I had forgotten all about, two balls of purple, colorway Uva, and several of colorway Plena. I will only need one of those.


    I thought I'd start another felted bucket bag, and those yarns will look nice together. This time I'll write it down, as I do it, so I can present the pattern for those who wish to use it. I start, as before, with a crocheted circle for the bottom.


   Also this time I shall take photos of the progress, as well as before felting measurements. I hope. We all know that measurements when felting are kind of flexible.


    I started on Sunday evening, I believe, and got the bottom of the bag done on Monday. Here's a photo of the bottom, not complete yet:

     I finished the bottom, then picked up the stitches with a circular knitting needle. I knew I wanted to do this one differently than the first one; I wanted a row or two of contrasting color at the start of the body, so I picked up with the 2nd color, and then knit a row. After switching back to color 1, this is how far I had gotten as of yesterday afternoon:

     I am planning a nice, wide stripe of color 2 further up the body. When I get there, I will take a photo or two, and make sure I update you all!