Deramores Freisland Tote Bag Knitting Pattern

Deramores Freisland Tote Bag

What is Being Made

The Deramores Freisland Tote Bag is a knitted tote bag featuring a distinctive Friesland tile design on the front and a neat Houndstooth pattern on the back. This project creates a functional accessory with approximate finished dimensions of 35cm x 38cm, making it a practical everyday bag. The design combines decorative colorwork with structural construction, resulting in a finished piece that is both visually striking and useful for carrying items.

Techniques Used

This advanced knitting project employs several key techniques to achieve its finished design:

• Stranded colorwork: The bag uses stranded knitting to create the Friesland tile pattern on the front and Houndstooth pattern on the back, allowing two yarn colors to be carried across rows to form intricate designs
• Bottom-up construction: The bag is worked from the bottom upward, beginning with a cast-on edge and building the structure row by row
• Worked flat: The main body is knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, creating pieces that are later seamed together
• Seamed assembly: Individual knitted pieces are sewn together to form the finished bag structure
• Moss stitch borders: Moss stitch is used for edge detailing, creating a textured border around the colorwork sections
• Lining construction: The bag includes a cotton lining fabric that is sewn into the finished knitted exterior

Stitches Used

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches combined with colorwork techniques:

• Knit stitch (K): The primary stitch used throughout the main fabric
• Purl stitch (P): Used in combination with knit stitches to create moss stitch texture
• Moss stitch: An alternating knit and purl pattern that creates a bumpy, textured fabric used for the borders
• Stocking stitch: The base stitch used for the stranded colorwork sections, measured at a tension of 22.5 stitches x 25 rows over a 10cm x 10cm swatch
• Slip stitch purlwise (Sl1yb): Used to slip stitches with the yarn held at the back of the work for neat edge finishing

Materials and Tools

The Deramores Freisland Tote Bag pattern calls for specific materials to achieve the intended design and finished quality:

• Yarn: Deramores Studio Cotton DK yarn in two colors—2 x 50g balls of Vanilla (Yarn A) and 2 x 50g balls of Breeze (Yarn B)—providing the cotton fiber content necessary for a durable, washable tote bag
• Needles: 4mm straight needles for working the flat pieces and a set of 4mm double-pointed needles (DPNs) for any small circumference sections
• Notions: Two press studs measuring 1.1cm for fastening, matching cotton lining fabric (71cm x 39cm), a sewing needle, thread, and a yarn or tapestry needle for weaving in ends and assembly

Pattern Notes

This advanced-level project requires careful attention to colorwork charting and construction details. The front panel is worked with 5 stitches of moss stitch on each side framing 81 stitches of charted pattern, creating a balanced design. The chart spans 40 rows, with odd-numbered rows worked from right to left and even-numbered rows from left to right, following standard colorwork chart conventions. The combination of cotton yarn and lining fabric ensures the finished bag is both attractive and practical for regular use.