Paintbox Yarns Fun Fringed Bag Knitting Pattern

Paintbox Yarns Fun Fringed Bag

Project Overview

The Paintbox Yarns Fun Fringed Bag is a beginner-friendly knitting project designed to create a practical accessory with decorative fringed detailing. This bag measures 20 cm (7¾ inches) wide and 20 cm (7¾ inches) deep, excluding the fringe, making it a compact and portable finished piece suitable for small everyday items.

What Is Being Made

This project produces a finished knitted bag featuring a fringed edge detail. The bag is a structured accessory with defined dimensions and includes a button closure, combining functionality with decorative elements. The design is accessible to knitters new to bag construction, making it an ideal beginner project for learning basic garment assembly techniques.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Worked Flat: The bag pieces are knitted flat on straight needles rather than in the round, simplifying the construction process for beginners
• Seamed Construction: Completed pieces are sewn together to form the finished bag shape, requiring basic seaming skills
• Striped Colorwork: The design incorporates multiple yarn colors worked in stripe patterns throughout the piece, adding visual interest while remaining beginner-appropriate
• Fringe Application: Decorative fringe is added to the finished bag, requiring basic finishing techniques

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

Garter Stitch forms the foundation of this project. Garter stitch is created by knitting every row, producing a reversible fabric with horizontal ridges on both sides. This fundamental stitch is ideal for beginners as it requires only one basic knitting technique and creates a sturdy, textured fabric suitable for bag construction. The pattern works at a tension of 21 stitches and 36 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) when measured over garter stitch using 4mm needles.

Materials and Tools Required

Yarn: The pattern calls for 100g (5 × 20g balls) of Paintbox Yarns 100% Wool Worsted in the Mini Ball Pack format, or alternatively 100g balls of the same yarn. Five coordinating colors are used throughout the design:

• A - Peach Orange
• B - Vanilla Cream
• C - Stormy Grey
• D - Buttercup Yellow
• E - Washed Teal

Needles and Notions: The project requires a pair of 4mm (UK 8 – US 6) knitting needles for the main fabric construction and 2 double-pointed 4mm (UK 8 – US 6) knitting needles for additional finishing work. One 20mm button is included as a closure fastening.

Important Preparation Notes

Before beginning this project, knitters must create and measure a tension (gauge) swatch measuring at least 13 cm (5 inches) square using the recommended yarn and needles. Achieving the correct tension of 21 stitches and 36 rows to 10 cm (4 inches) is vitally important, as working to incorrect tension will result in the finished bag not matching the specified dimensions and may cause yarn to be left over or require additional yarn. The pattern uses both UK and US knitting terminology, with US terms provided in italics and parentheses for clarity.

Pattern Structure and Instructions

Instructions are written using standard knitting abbreviations including: beg (beginning), cm (centimetres), cont (continue), dec (decrease/ing), in (inches), inc (increase/ing), g st (garter stitch), K (knit), rep (repeat), rs (right side), st(s) (stitch/es), and ws (wrong side). The pattern is designed for one size with finished measurements of 20 cm wide by 20 cm deep before fringe is added. Yarn quantities provided are based on average requirements and are approximate; Paintbox Yarns recommends using only the specified yarn to ensure accurate finished measurements and proper yarn quantities.