Felted tote for Miss Cultured Purl - Felting away to glory!

After finishing my red low back lelah top I wanted to make something mindless and easy. Something that I didnt have to keep trying out and ripping out because it was either too big or small. So, I got some Wool of the Andes yarn from knitpicks. (Although I love splurging on lovely yarn, it is not possible for me to do for every project - so knitpicks has become one of my favorite sites for shopping for less expensive yarn). I also couldnt decide what color I wanted to make my tote - so muh man stepped in and helped me make the executive decision that I should choose avacado green. As you can see from the above picture, I wear a lot of earthy, warm colors - so I think green was definitely the way to go for a bag.

So, I followed the pattern and knit the bag in stockinette stitch (mostly). Before felting the bag, it looked basically like this:

And then after felting in the washing machine, the bag decreased in size significantly, and looked simply lovely. I added the wooden handles which I purchased from amazon for a steal of a deal. And I added the flower embellishment using seed beads (after a lot of ugly embellishment experimentation, I fell upon the cute flower pattern by chance and went with it). Overall, I love the bag. I still need to add the inner lining and a magnetic button to complete the bag and give it the right finish - but that will have to wait till the end of the soccer world cup!

Finally, what I absolutely love about this bag is that it is spacious enough for me to sneak in snacks like popcorn and my water bottle into the movie theatres! wooohooo! Also -  I have finally added a lining to the bag and magnetic snaps and am absolutely loving the finish! Highly recommend adding a lining to any bag - even though the felted bag is thick and nothing could poke through it - the lining just makes it so cute and luxurious!

For more technical information about the bag and its pattern, visit my ravelry site

Cables and Lace for Miss Cultured Purl - My first cabled project!

It has been a really long time since I have blogged about my knitting creations - since I have been so so so busy knitting and following the soccer World Cup! Anyways, this is my first project with cables and I have got to say - cables are so much fun and so easy! Also, the shine worsted yarn from knitpicks is surprisingly soft! It falls well too. I Love, love, love this top. Im relieved that it fits around the bust and arms perfectly and there is no bulging anywhere so far... The lower part of the top is probably going to be much easier since it is supposed to fall loosely over the torso. I cannot wait to get started on it!

So, here are some pictures of the progress on the top so far ~ more pics to come as I keep going!

 

Alright, I finished this top at the end of summer, and truly dislike the way it looks on me. For starters, I think it makes me look bulkier than I really am. Basically, it is not flattering. I think the problem is that I used a worsted weight (thicker) yarn than a DK weight. Aaaah, rookie mistake... But I guess that's how you learn. Then I also was not sure how to carry the top off - wearing a tank top / camisole underneath made it look strange and shapeless and wearing just a bra looked incredibly weird especially around the bust. I dont think Im being overly critical - check out the pictures and judge for yourself.





The overall construction of the piece, the lace and the cables are quite pretty. I just dont think the end effect looks good on me. So, now that this top has been sitting around neglected since the longest time ever, it has been increasingly obvious to me that Im never going to wear it whole-heartedly. So, I have yanked out the yarn, unraveled the top and plan on reusing this perfectly, good, soft cotton yarn for a cowl and perhaps a cute shrug!

For more technical details, visit my ravelry page