Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Beaded Purse (Just for Laritiza)



























Because Laritza is asking about my past knitting with beads, I am making a short post even though it's not lace. I have purchased both patterns and books on knitting lace bags and made perhaps 3 total before stopping. I may do more in the future but lace is more fun. You can use needles in US 000 (the smallest in circular needles I could find) or US 0000 and smaller in straight needles. If you really have a need to go look, here is a little list of places to get stuff for this madness!

Happy Knitting!

20 comments:

fleegle said...

Whose been smoking the wasabi now? 0000 needles? Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Seriously, they are exquisitely gorgeous and I know how much work went into them. I am glad you showed them to us!

Laritza said...

Oh how pretty! I do have 0000 needles and I have knit a few Amulet purses in the past. Now I want a coin size one, a Misers purse and one of those with the round gate on. Thanks for the pictures and links!

LittleBerry said...

those a very pretty... and they do say "a change is a good as a rest!"

missalicefaye said...

ooh--pretty and tiny! my favorite combination. :)

Lorri said...

I have been wanting to try a beaded bag for some time. Yours are beautiful!

Carol said...

Is that a pink row counter I spy hanging out with the beeeyooteeful pink purse? Do you usually match your equipment to the project? Although, I must say all the projects are lovely.

miyamojo said...

WOW! That purse looks expensive!
Thanks for the highlighter tape info - I'll check into that. Jojoland colorway looks pretty. Thanks for sharing that it's not as soft as it looks on ebay. m:)

Lacefreak said...

Dear fleegle,

Knitting with those beads was not really that hard. It's a lot easier if you use Pre-strung beads and transfer them to your working crochet cotton by typing the end of the string for the beads to the end of your cotton and then just side the beads over. After that it's just shoving as many beads as they want over while you knit. It actually goes pretty fast. As for smoking that wasabi, you get a real rush off that first hit boy! Thank Harry for the idea.

Lacefreak said...

Dear Laritza,

You should have no problem knitting one of these puppies up. I did it after I watched someone from Swallow Hill at a knitting fair making one. All I could think was "I could do that!". I also knit some of those Beaded Scarves with the Rayon yarn but it is a little more tricky since the beads want to "jump" from where they are supposed to be. My neice used her black purse at one of those school dances where you wear a formal dress. She really liked it because I put a really long chain on it at her request so she could just sling it diagonally across and wear it while she danced rather than trying to find someone to hold it for her. Good Luck!

Lacefreak said...

Dear littleberry,

I agree a little change can be good. I like to try things on for size but not everything "sticks". After three beaded purses I know I can make them but don't really have a strong urge. Now I'd only make it if someone really wanted one.No one has to twist my arm for me to knit lace however. Thank you for checking in on what I've been doing!

Lacefreak said...

Dear missalicefaye,

One has to stretch to find things you may not have already tried :-) It was really kind of fun to do these. I have some clear beads and some really loud varigated crochet thread I was going to use to make another one of these but set it aside. Maybe one of these days!

Lacefreak said...

Dear lori,

I bet you could do this. You might start with one of the small patterns for coin purses at Swallow Hill. Some are constructed just like the larger purses. It was actually more difficult to sew the purse onto the frame and then line it than it was to knit.

Lacefreak said...

Dear Carol,

I have to admit that I got everything pink into that shot inclulding the row counter. It was a fluke that it's about the same color as the beads :-)

Lacefreak said...

Dear miyamojo,

I love the highlighter tape as well and I checked the site that fleegle gave in her post and it is indeed less expensive there. As for that yarn. I have been knitting with really soft yarns including alpaca, silk, merino, cashmere, so just plan "wool" as it says on the lable would not feel as soft. That is not to say that a shawl from it might not be just fine. I will know once I use it but it has to wait in line like the rest of the stash. Thanks for looking in! Always nice to hear from everyone.

Opal said...

my eyes cross just thinking of knitting on those tiny tiny needles! what a wonderful job you've done.

Lacefreak said...

Dear Opal,

It was not really that hard to knit the bags because the crochet cotton you use is very sturdy. The beaded bags that are really tough are the ones where you have to string colored beads in a particular order so you can knit a picture into the work or a motif. Now THAT is HARD and way more effort than I want to go to!

Colette said...

Jane,
Your talents are endless and amazing. What don't you do? I love the beaded bags!

From your previous post, I wanted to know if you had a chance to look at the Kazuko Ichida, bk 1. I’ve been thinking about ordering it but $67.00 US is a lot to pay sight unseen. Do you think it’s worth it? I also like turning doilies into shawls.

Lacefreak said...

Dear knitsanity,

I don't crochet! LOL I have pre-ordered the Kazuko Ichida book and they are going to mail it to me from Lacis. I got a breif look at the shop of the book and decided I had to have it. Now, you have to realize, I have had the smaller book for years but never made anything due to it being in Japanese. I just thought it was beautiful. I also had Sharon Millers Heirloom Knitting book for a long time without knitting from it until now. So this book being "worth it" is very relative to me. I will try to review this book once I get it.

Knit Picking said...

Wow! I never knew those little purses could be knitted. I thought they were all hand sown, and couldn't possibly imagine myself making one. Now that I've discovered the "secret", I may try one as a Christmas gift or some other special occasion. Thanks for sharing Jane!

Lacefreak said...

Dear knit picking,

They are actually fun to knit. The most time consuming thing is getting the beads onto the crochet cotton you are going to knit with. The first one I did, I bought bulk beads that were not strung but loose. It took awhile to get these up and strung onto beading thread. I used beading thread so when I transfered the beads to the crochet cotton, it would not be too bulky at the "knot" end. Make sure the beads you get have holes large enough to get that crochet cotton through. This should not be a problem if you buy them pre-strung from the same company you are buying the supplies for the bag from. Pre strung beads are easier because you don't have to pick up all those tiny beads on a beading needle. Belive me, if it's a large bag it's worth getting pre-strung beads. Good Luck!