Beth Brown-Reinsel designed this Fair Isle bag as a sampler for traditional knitting techniques. Worked back and forth in rows, the bag is a good introduction to knitting and purling with two colors in the same row (described in detail in Beyond the Basics on page 68). In particular, this project utilizes two-color stockinette stitch and corrugated ribbing. After knitting, the sides are seamed and the top is gathered with double drawstrings made of twisted yarn.
Finished Size: About 11" (28 cm) wide, 11 1/2" (29 cm) tall, and 3 1/2" (9 cm) deep.
Yarn: Rauma Strikkegarn (100% wool; 115 yd [105 m]/50 g): #164 brown, #181 rust, #178 moss green, #146 gold, #150 yellow, #184 teal, #198 light green, #128 wine red, 1 skein each. Yarn distributed by Nordic Fiber Arts.
Yarn weight: yarn weight
Gauge: 28 sts and 30 rows = 4" (10 cm) in two-color St st on larger needles.
Needles: Size 1 (2.5 mm). Size 2 or 3 (3 mm). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Notions: Markers (m); tapestry needle.
Originally Published: Interweave Knits, Summer 2004