Swirls and Stripes Mosaic Bag (Free Pattern Friday!)
Swirls and Stripes bag prototype.
Once upon a time, I learned about Mosaic knitting, a way to include color in your work that doesn't involve nearly the skill or training that Intarsia or Fair Isle do. I liked how it looked, how it knit up fairly quickly and was fun to do (always a plus!). So, me being me, I wrote a pattern to showcase this technique so I could have the pleasure of teaching Mosaic to other knitters.
This is the story of that pattern.
Tamara, wearing the Tamara Wrap. Pattern by Melissa Leapman.
The first prototype of the Swirls and Stripes bag was knit with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. I made the bag small to accommodate the yarn-on-hand, leftovers from the enormous undertaking that was the Tamara Wrap (a pattern by Melissa Leapman, not actually named for yours truly, but...).
I taught this Mosaic bag pattern a few times, always thinking in the back of my head I would one day try to pitch it to KnitPicks and never getting around to it.
Last year, as I was emailing Red Heart about a project they had asked me to do, I thought I'd just ask and see if they could put my bag pattern to use as well. And they said YES!
Being a smart bunch at Red Heart, they asked me to adjust the pattern so it would be more of a tote--you know, a useable bag! Also, I love the colors they chose for it. So very striking!
The pattern was made available this week on the Red Heart website and I hope you'll download your own free copy and give it a try. Be sure to let me know what you think--I love seeing finished products of my patterns! Here's a link to the pattern page on Ravelry, where you can show off how yours turns out. You can also post in our KnitOasis Ravelry group!
Swirls and Stripes Bag as published by Red Heart. The roomy size makes it a great tote!