Deco-Stardust Evening Bag

Here’s a quick, shiny, sparkly gift to make and give for the holidays – an evening clutch purse made from Crystal Palace’s super shiny Deco-Stardust. This is a great project for beginners, as it features garter and stockinette stitch and minimum of shaping. It’s given shape by a lining of plastic canvas – DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE PLASTIC CANVAS, PEOPLE! We are featuring this pattern at K2Tog’s “30 Under $30″ event the Friday after Thanksgiving from 1-4. We will have 30+ items you can make and give for less than $30, exclusive of needles. Here’s what you need to make this Deco-Stardust Evening Bag

YOU WILL NEED:

1 skein Crystal Palace Deco-Stardust, 119 yds (shown in Lime Glow, #4438) (Deco-Ribbon and Party are also suitable)

Size 8 needles

1 sheet plastic canvas, approx. 9 inches by 12 inches

1 large snap

1 decorative button

Gauge: 16 sts, 28 rows is approx. 4 inches square. Finished purse measures approximately 8 inches wide and 4.5 inches tall when closed.

ABBREVIATIONS:

Deco-Stardust, interior

k2tog – knit two together

kwise – knitwise

LH – left-handed

p2tog – purl two together

pwise – purlwise

RH – right-handed

RS – right side

ssk – slip two sts kwise one at a time to RH needle, knit both tbl with LH needle

tbl – through the back loop

WS – wrong side

Make body: Cast on 38 sts. Work in garter stitch (knit all rows) for 10 inches.

Make flap: (RS) Purl (p) 1 row. (WS) Knit (k) 1 row. Work in stockinette stitch (knit the front, purl the back) for 1 inch. End with a WS row. Begin decreases: Next row (RS) – k2, ssk, k across all sts until 4 sts remain on LH needle, k2tog, k2. Next row (WS) – p2, p2tog, p across all sts until 4 sts remain on LH needle, p2tog tbl, p2. Repeat these two rows until 12 sts remain on needle, ending with a RS row. Bind off all sts pwise.

Assembly: Lay purse out flat. Cut plastic canvas to same measurements as purse – it will look like the outline of a house. Bring bottom of purse up to beginning of flap, whipstitch sides together with yarn. Fold plastic canvas to fit inside purse. With needle and thread, baste plastic canvas to inside of purse, stretching purse fabric to fit. Sew snap to inside of flap and outside of body. Sew decorative button on outside of flap over snap. Line with fabric if desired.

Options: This is a very versatile bag. You can incorporate beads, use a contrasting yarn to sew up the sides, add a crochet trim around the flap, etc.