Beaded Bag

Look at that beadedness.

That is my new beaded bag. I bought the kit at the secondary LYS, but you can find it (and others) at www.mybagatelle.com.

It was super fun, and the knitting itself went rather quickly, even on size 0 needles with perle cotton (that's embroidery thread). The finishing took forever, of course, because I'm lazy. And to be honest, this isn't entirely finished. It still needs a lining, but you can't see that from here.

Now I just need another special occasion to use it with. It's small, but not smaller than your average fancy dress purse. It's enough to fit ID, cash, a thin cell phone and some lip gloss, which is all you generally need at those fancy occasions.

I had done a tiny bit with beads before, but this is my first major attempt. This clever little bag incorporates both "bead knitting" and "beaded knitting," and while that may sound like a small difference (and actually, it is) people get very bent out of shape if you say the wrong one.

For the record, bead knitting is when you slip a bead (or several) and then knit a stitch. Beaded knitting is when you start to knit the stitch, then slip the bead and finish the stitch. Now you know.

In summary:

Pattern: Shell Bag kit , $40

Yarn: Perle Cotton ie. embroidery thread, about two mini skeins

Needles: Size 0, purchased for the occasion

Time: About a week of real knitting

Cost: about $50 if you count the needles, about $40 for the kit