Flora & Fauna - The Traditional Way

And that’s a wrap for my line of knitted purses. I’ve used the motif of a traditional Indian bird – Annam, which is known for separating good from bad as I wanted to connect this skill back to my traditional designs. The back side of the purse has a simple flower pattern. I wondered a month ago, if I could create a whole new design graph on my own and transfer them to knitting and now here I stand with the finished product that I am so proud of!

Time for a little background about my knitted Purse series. The fascination for knitted purses came from a novel  I read last year – The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I tried my first knitted purse as soon as I finished the book. Now as an addition to that, I designed a full range of knitted purses and learnt a new technique for each one that I made. It was not an easy process, I admit. I spent hours experimenting to get the right pattern and size. Sometimes the stitches wouldn’t come out as I’d anticipated or the size would be different. At the end of this exercise, I’ve learnt to knit slip stitch patterns, read charts, knit stranding patterns and design my own charts for future projects. It’s been such an incredible journey of learning and experimenting for me. And thank you all for cheering me on all the way!

Floral Delight

Flowers are always a happiness booster. I’ve improved from textures and patterns to floral designs on my purse - courtesy to a knitting technique known as stranding. It produces a thick double layered fabric and can create any motif desired. This purse has a different design on both sides. I went to the age old way of learning to understand stranding – reading books! Surprisingly, it was way easier than any video I found online. The books had a wealth of information and clear illustrations to explain the process. I chanced upon this floral chart in one such book and modified it based on my needs. This new technique that I’ve learnt has opened up a lot of opportunities to try various motifs!

Golden Glow

Another cute knitted purse - these vibrant colors are a perfect joy for someone missing the bright sunshine in the cold winter days. I’ve used three colors in this lovely slip stitch pattern which has the green and maroon nesting in the golden yellow. It is a 5 stitches and 24 rows repeat pattern. It has the perfect repeat ratio for me not too boring to do the same over and over, yet has some to help me stay in track. I am amazed at the possibilities of tweaking the stitches a little bit to get endless outcomes. It is indeed a fun hobby to have. Enjoy the golden glow! 

Sapphire Hues

Colour play is fun. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this purse. It has a stockinette stitch look in the background in a bright blue and has a second layer on top of it with the maroon curves. I learnt a new technique of knitting with the strands of yarn few rows below and I absolutely loved the result. I chose these colours as I have a saree with the same combination that I wore during my wedding. With each purse that I knit a new feather is added to the cap and I am glad it worked out this way. I really can’t wait for the summer to wear all my sarees with their perfect accessories!

Blue Waves

My latest fad is colour knitting – bound to happen for a person who loves colours. I’ve changed colours in earlier projects but this new technique is totally awesome. It lets me create a variety of designs and textures, play with the colour palettes to create vibrant products according to my taste and needs.  The pattern for this purse was done using a slip stitch technique. It is very easy to knit and the finished look is fantastic. It is infact deceiving to the eyes since when worked in stripes, the row knit with a single colour of yarn has the presence of a second colour due to the slip stitch making it a classy pattern. This purse though worked in the horizontal rows has vertical stripes giving it a stranding effect. The illusions that can be created by this technique are many. I am planning to share my full set of knitted purses with you all in the coming weeks. So stay tuned!