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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Tree of Life Bag

I'm a day late with the beginning of our knit along. I had a very long and somewhat taxing day yesterday and I was just too tired to look at instructions. So please forgive me.
To my surprise, everyone wanted to do the larger version of the bag, so I will be knitting the larger version once again and posting the pattern for the larger version. Lucky me as I get a Christmas present made and off my list!!!
We'll begin with the end panels. They are really quite easy to do and it will get us very well versed in making the tree portion of the pattern before we tackle the larger front panels.
As you can see in the above picture, each tree consists of 4 branches and 4 bobbles.
The pattern;
(worked over 14 stitches)
Row 1:  Right Side. Purl 6, Knit 2, Purl 6.
Row 2:  Knit 5. CP2F. CP2B. Knit 5.
Row 3:  Purl 4. K2F. Knit 2. K2B. Purl 4.
Row 4:  Knit 3. (CP2F) twice. (CP2B) twice. Knit 3.
Row 5:  Purl 2. (K2P) twice. Knit 2. (P2K) twice. Purl 2.
Row 6:  Knit 1. SFPK. Knit 1. Purl 1. Knit 1. Purl 2. Knit 1. Purl 1. Knit 1. SBKP. Knit 1.
Row 7:  Purl 1. MB. Purl 2. Knit 1. Purl 1. Knit 2. Purl 1. Knit 1. Purl 2. MB. Purl 1.
Row 8:  Knit 4. (Purl 1, Knit1, Purl 1) twice. Knit 4.
Row 9:  Purl 4. MB. Purl 1. Knit 2. Purl 1. MB. Purl 4.
Row 10:Knit 6. Purl 2. Knit 6.
These 10 rows make up the Tree Of Life Pattern.

Abbreviations:
CP2F,    slip next stitch on to cable needle and leave in front of work. Purl 1, then Purl 1 from cable               needle.
CP2B,   Slip next stitch on to cable needle and leave in back of work. Purl 1, then Purl 1 from cable
             needle.
K2F,     Knit 2nd stitch into front loop, then Knit 1st stitch. Slip both stitches off needle.
K2B,    Knit 2nd stitch into back of loop, then Knit 1st stitch. Slip both stitches off needle.
K2P,    Knit 2nd stitch into front loop, then Purl 1st stitch. Slip both stitches off needle.
P2K,    Purl 2nd stitch into back of loop, then Knit 1st stitch. Slip both stitches off needle.
SFPK,  Slip next stitch onto cable needle and leave in front of work. Purl 1, then Knit 1 from cable needle.
SBKP, Slip next stitch onto cable needle and leave at back of work. Knit 1, then Purl 1 from cable needle.
MB,     Make Bobble. [(Knit 1, Purl 1) 3 times. Knit 1] all in next stitch. Slip 6th, then 5th, then 4th, then 3rd, then 2nd and finally 1st stitch over 7th stitch.

To begin, using U.S. size 10 needles, and 2 strands of yarn, cast on 18 stitches. Your side panels should measure approximately 4 1/2" wide. The length will be four sets of the Tree of Life pattern If your panels are turning out too large, use only one strand of yarn.
The first and last stitch will always be a Knit stitch. The second and second from the last stitch will be a Knit stitch on the right side and a purl stitch on the wrong side.
You can see in the above picture that by Knitting the first and last stitch of every row, you will make a ridge that makes the panel easy to sew to the front panels. The next stitch which is a Knit stitch on the right side and a purl stitch on the wrong side will form the nice ridge that you see on either side of the Tree Of Life pattern.
The side panels will go quickly. Since I didn't get the pattern posted yesterday, we will just go ahead and call Thursday our knitting day. So I will check back in with you next Thursday with my panels finished and I will try and answer any questions you might have over the next week while working on your side panels.
Good Luck. I think you'll enjoy this pattern. It looks more difficult than it actually is.

11 comments:

  1. QUE LINDA
    http://becaeyel.blogspot.com.br/

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  2. Ohhh! I wish I could knit. Or had time to learn how to knit. Looks like fun!

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  3. Ok. I am feeling really dumb. I have been knitting since I was 7 years old. My older brother's girlfriend at the time (he's 14 years older), whom he was bringing home from college and whom he has been married to for 65 years, taught me to knit, most likely to get me out of their hair. However, I can't for the life of me figure out K2F. I am doing something wrong because I am not getting 2 stitches to slip off the needle. I am only using one strand of yarn, as I knit pretty loosely and two made it too large. I am really excited about making this incredible purse, and I need help. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. Jenny, what you do is knit into the second stitch on your needle and then knit into the first stitch. Now slip both knitted stitches off the needle. What happens is this will cause the second stitch to lay over the first stitch. If this still doesn't make sense, I will take some pictures of me doing the stitch And I think this will help.

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  4. Thanks. I got it. Now I am on to still feeling dumb because I can't figure out the MB Make Bobble. Also, I am using smaller needles size 9 and the guage is just fine, in case someone else knits loosely and has a problem with the guage. Another thing. I started to make this purse in a multi-colored yarn and the pattern got lost, so I am switching to a plain color.

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  5. Persistence pays off. I figured that bubble out!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Great! I am going to post a tutorial on each stitch this week. If you've had some problems, I am sure you are not alone,

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  6. I think the instructions you already gave are good. I just needed to take the time to work it out. I have both end panels completed. Yea!!

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    Replies
    1. Wow, you're cookin'! I want to go through the stitches as I'm sure there are others who may have problems and will give up rather than ask.

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