Here is a wonderful knitting pattern from the good people at
Unique One in Camden, Maine. They have a very nice hemp section in the store, complete with Vote Hemp brochures in the display. Unique One also donates their leftover packing peanuts for Vote Hemp to use in shipping their donation gifts. This pattern comes from their current newsletter and is reproduced here with permission.
It was 1972. People were getting back to the land, wearing daisy chains in their hair and love beads around their necks, listening to Joni Mitchell, and the words of the day were "peace" and "love" - or possibly "groovy, man." Ah, the good old days. Luckily, if you wait long enough, the good old days circle back around, at least in the fashion world. For the next newsletter, I knew I wanted to make a swingy little summer bag, out of hemp yarn, and with 1972 on the brain, here is the result:
Yarn:
AllHemp6, by
Hemp for Knitting (DK weight; 150 yards/3.2 oz. skein) - 2 skeins. The model was made in color 30, periwinkle.
Needles: sizes 3 and 5 single point; 2 size 3 double pointed needles for the i-cord strap.
Gauge: 5 sts = 1 in. in st.st.
Finished size: 9" X 10"
Special Stitch Instructions:
triple yo: insert right needle into next st, wrap yarn around needle 3 times, complete knitting the stitch.
cluster st: with yarn in front, [sl next st, dropping extra 2 yo's] 5 times, [bring yarn to back between needles, sl 5 sts back to left needle, bring yarn to front between needles, sl 5 sts to right needle] twice.
i-cord: cast sts onto double pointed needle; knit them; slide all stitches to right side of the needle and knit them again, pulling the yarn around to the beginning of the row.
Daisy Chain pattern (multiple of 6 sts + 1):
Row 1 (right side): K1, *[triple yo] 5 times, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 2: K1, *work cluster st over 5 sts, k1; rep from * to end.
Row 3: Knit (including each cluster st.)
Rows 4, 5, & 7: Knit.
Rows 6 & 8: Purl.
Rows 9 & 10: Knit.
Row 11: K4, *[triple yo] 5 times, K1; rep from *, end K3.
Row 12: K4, *work cluster st over 5 sts, k1; rep from *, end K3.
Rows 13, 14, 15, & 17: Knit.
Rows 16 & 18: Purl.
Rows 19 & 20: Knit.
Directions:
With larger needles, cast on 49 sts. Work the 20 rows of the Daisy Chain pattern three times (total of 60 rows). Switch to smaller needles and knit 4 rows. Bind off. Make another piece in exactly the same manner.
With right sides together, sew the sides of the bag together. Turn bag inside out and sew across the bottom of the bag just above the scalloped bottom edge formed by the Daisy Chain Pattern. Create lining, if desired, and sew into bag.
Make i-cord strap: Using size 3 double pointed needles, cast on 4 sts and work i-cord for 48 inches. Sew each end of the strap to sides of bag at the top.
Further tips:
• Try knitting the textured-stitch rows in an alternate color for a different look.
• Lining the bag is optional - but the "daisy" chain holes will allow small objects to fall out if the bag is unlined.
