Two posts in one month? No way!

Yeah way. It's exciting, I know. On one of my other favorite websites (that would be Murmurs.com, best official unofficial R.E.M. fansite ever) there is a mix CD exchange going on. I wanted to make mine extra special, so I put labels on my two CDs and created a booklet. Then I thought, It's still missing something...

And then a few nights ago I thought of a knitted CD case. And the mini-sack was born.

DPNs (double-pointed needles) are definitely a necessity for this pattern. Of course, I hate using DPNs, so I switched to circulars as soon as I was able. If you have a 12" circular needle, you might not need DPNs at all. But I recommend having them, just in case.

My mini-sack comfortably held two CDs and a 24-page CD-size booklet.

The Mini-Sack

required skills: using double-pointed needles, using circular needles, knitting in the round, crochet (chain stitch)

materials:

worsted weight yarn (scrap yarn would probably be ideal for this project, since you really don't need a whole lot. I'll estimate... 80 yd? You'll probably have some left over.)

16" circular needle, size 6

3 DPNs, size 6

straight needles, size 6 (optional)

crochet hook, size G or smaller

Tapestry needle OR needle and thread (you may prefer going the needle and thread route, since the opening for your drawstring is so small)

Safety pin

On your circular needle (or straight needles, if you prefer), CO 25 sts. Do not join.

Knit two rows in St st.

Row 3 (RS): while knitting, switch to DPNs. Instead of turning your work, pick up and k 2 sts on adjacent side, and use a new DPN to pick up and k 25 sts on CO side and 2 sts on remaining side. You should now have 54 sts, with 27 sts on each needle.

K in St st in the round for 10-12 rounds (k EVERY round).

At this point, if you prefer, you can switch to circular needles.

Continue to k until your sack is 5.5 inches long.

K one round, but do not join. Instead, work back and forth on the circular needle (or DPNs, if you're brave) for 1 inch in St st (alternate k and p). End on WS. BO.

Fold your top lip inside the sack down to where the notch begins. Use backstitch to sew the tube into place.

With your crochet hook (using another color of yarn if you so choose), make a chain 15" long.

Using a safety pin, pull the chain through your tube until you have an even amount hanging from each end.

THAT'S IT!

Tucker's Sack of Chaos

So I was at my friend Emily's summer party a few weeks ago, enjoying life, when our friend Tucker comes up to me and asks, "hey, you knit, right?" I was rather surprised by the question, because I did knit, but I was in the house of a knitter far more experienced and talented than myself (and I'm not just saying that). Then he asked me to make him a bag with a symbol on it, and that he'd send me the symbol later.

And then I got it. Hot damn.

Moral of the story: never agree to a project until you know what the project is.

I want ten dollars and a week of my life back. (And Tucker, if you ever read this, I mean that with all the love in the world, but DAMN was that image complicated!)

TUCKER'S SACK OF CHAOS (dimensions: 17" wide by 15.5" long

 laid flat; base is 13" wide and 3.25" deep)

Required skills: using circular needles, knitting in the round, changing colors, crochet (chain stitch)

Gauge: 11 sts and 16 rows = 2" on size 5 needles

Materials:
Caron Simply Soft Heather in Charcoal (MC): 2 skeins
Caron Simply Soft Brites! in Lemonade (CC): 1/4 skein
24" circular needles, size 5 OR size to obtain gauge
Crochet hook, size G
Place marker

With MC, cast on 80 sts.
Knit 21 rows in stockinette. Do not join edges.
at the end of the 21st row, do not turn work. Pick up and k 20 sts on adjacent side, 80 sts on cast-on end and 20 sts on the last side. (It may get a little tight here)
Place marker and work in the round (stockinette stitch) for 7 rounds. (If you want your bag to be longer, add rounds here.)
8th round: begin following the pattern, working in CC as necessary. Carry CC loosely behind the work when not in use.
At the end of the pattern, k 11 rounds.
k 1 round, but instead of joining, work back and forth in stockinette stitch for 7 more rows (8 rows total) to create a notch.
Bind off.
Make a tube for the drawstring by sewing the bound-off end to the inside of the work, leaving 1" long opening.

Drawstring: Using CC and crochet hook, create a chain 40" long. Fasten off. Pull the drawstring through the tube. (I recommend tying one end to a safety pin and pulling the pin through.)

Enjoy!