Sunday, January 28, 2007

B4 Bag (Bobbles, Beads, Bumps and Buttons)




This purse was so fun and interesting to make. It was my first experience making Bobbles, knitting with beads, making bumps and with felting.


The yarn I used is Classic Elite Beatrice in Begonia (3219) . I used one strand so the bag is not very stiff/sturdy but it will be fine the way it is. Using a double strand would have been too costly, since this took 6 balls with a single strand throughout.


I could not find Crow beads anywhere, except online, and I did not want to have to wait for them so I found these spacer beads at Michael's that had a hole big enough to pass a double strand of yarn through. They are metal with pearlized enamel paint on them. They worked out great!


I am not a "button" type of gal, so I chose some rectangular glass beads that coordinated with my colors to substitute for the buttons. I like the finished product very much. They are in the bottom picture. If you can't see them, they have pink roses within the glass.


WARNING!! This yarn take FOREVER to felt. I didn't do a swatch so I was panicking when after the first full cycle in the washer it didn't look like it had felted at all. I didn't have any tennis balls, or jeans laying around, so I tried towels. Although the lint did not travel to my bag, they were not sturdy enough to cause much friction which is probably why it took so long to felt. (you know darn well if this was something I didn't want to felt, it would have been ruined in 4 seconds flat).


The pattern can be bought here http://b4bag.blogspot.com/

7 comments:

  1. It looks like a birthday cake, and I love birthday cake!

    Love the new buttonhole bag too! Nice color combo.

    http://theyarntart.blogspot.com

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  2. Oh this is quite lovely too!! and I have a REALLY old washer and some wools go fast and then with the Lopi for instance takes forever!! but always felts!!! I have this pattern and have yet to try it but will soon I hope have to also figure out the bobbles etc!! you did a great job!! love your blog too!

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  3. Love both your bags...That B-4 turned out great and I have to agree with Shelly in it reminding me of birthday cake. Beautiful Job!!

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  4. Absolutely beautiful! I just received the pattern. I like your pink bag better than any shown in the pattern. It would be perfect for my granddaughters!

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  5. Deb, how are the bumpy rows done? I've always wondered...

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  6. That's the secret of the pattern and well worth the price of $5 to find out! :) See the link for the pattern under the picture. (hugs)

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  7. Hi Deb,

    I, too, made the Alan Dart gnome. I made one for each of my 2 sons. They are adorable and so fun to make. I think Sven turned out terrific!

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