New pattern – Westernesse Bag

I have a new bag pattern! This is the Westernesse Bag and it's a duffle‐bag style with lots of space to take everything you need for a day in the country.

The colour was inspired by a walk we took around a lake in Sweden last autumn. The leaves had only just started turning colour but already they were carpeting the walkways and drifting slowly past us as we walked. By the time we returned to our car, the sun was low in the skies and just set the colours aflame.

I was carrying one of my favourite bags at the time, a roomy canvas hold‐all with a single shoulder strap and this seemed like the perfect model for a new knitted bag. I like the ease of a bag with a single shoulder strap. Easy to pick up, easy to throw over your shoulder, simple to slip off when you get to the half-way point of your walk and want to sit for a while.

So I designed a similar bag with a knitted outer and a canvas liner. I designed the strap to be a knitted tube with a fabric band inside for extra strength, and added inside pockets so that I could carry all the bits and bobs for a day’s walk.

The body of the bag is worked in a combination of patterns from our book, Reversible Knitting Stitches, to emphasise the colour bands and bring a strongly graphical quality to the bag.

I then lined the bag with a medium-weight cotton fabric. The material was very interesting as it had a “travel theme” which seemed to suit the idea for the bag very well. I had forgotten how much I enjoy sewing! I don't sew much these days but it was fun getting the sewing machine out again, and even more fun getting the fluff out of the mechanism so it would actually work. You can read all about that incredible feat here!

I finished the bag by adding a plaited drawstring which runs through the top section to draw it together. I had intended adding a cord lock to keep the cords closed, but in the end I liked it just with a simple tie so left it like that.

Then as a final touch I sewed on a large button made from coconut, with a simple cord loop closure. Perfect. Now, where shall we go for a walk next.... I'm thinking maybe it's time to go back to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. It's ages since we were last there. If you would like to see why we like this beautiful part of the world, then you can see some photos from one of our visits here.

For more details about the Westernesse Bag, please click here, and for more information about our Reversible Knitting Stitches E-Book, then please click here. Both are available for instant download from the site.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!
​
Moira

Last Blogpost: Astonishing Day
Next Up: Love this time of year

​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches
My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Patterns/Bags, Colour Notes,
duffle bag, knitted bag, lined bag, fabric-lined bag, shoulder bag, back-pack, autumn colourway,

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