Tension squares reduce my tension

The Sirdar Escape duly arrived. I’ve been away on camp over the long weekend, and was able to use the time to knit up a few tension squares. Some of the Sirdar Escape, I’ve knitted up into a tension square in Trellis Stitch. It’s very cute, especially in this yarn. I’m knitting it on smaller needles to create a denser fabric, as it’s for a bag. The combination of the yarn, stitch pattern and smaller needles certainly makes for a fairly condensed piece of fabric. The colour repetition is very cute, but I know it’ll be more of a stripy look when knitted over the full width.




The next thing to consider is the construction of the bag. The stiff bamboo handles mean that extra fabric at the ends of the handles, or longish splits down into the sides of the bag, will be needed, so that the bag will open more than just a sliver. I’ve been googling to research bamboo handled bags and carpet bags, to see what I can do without making it too complicated. My current favourite is to just leave the side seams open maybe a third, to allow leeway for opening space. This means I’ll still be able to use a simple rectangle of fabric without fancy shaping. Just gathering the top of the bag to fit the handles, and splits down the sides, should do the job. Sounds good in theory at least!

DD1 is away on camp at the moment, and I was hoping to have more than a little done by the time she gets back, but it seems it’s not to be.