Knitted Envelope Bag

Not long ago I started knitting a scarf using a knit and purl pattern that created a sort of textured rib. It wasn’t a particularly difficult pattern, but I got about 5 inches deep into the scarf and realized that I wasn’t feeling it; the pattern was fine, but I didn’t love it enough to finish it. So I bound it off and was left with a rectangle of about 5½ inches by 7½ inches (which then sat around purposelessly for some time).

I decided to use that rectangle piece to make a small bag. With the 7½ inch edge vertical, I folded the 5½ inch bottom edge up to about 1½ inch down from the top. Then with my yarn ends, I sewed the two sides together and this created the pouch. To keep the flap closed, I sewed three buttons to the pouch using a needle and thread; I chose buttons that were small enough to be forced through the knitting of the flap but large enough that they wouldn’t accidently slip through the material.  

It didn’t take long to convert my rectangle piece into a small bag (about an hour), and overall I think my unplanned knitted bag is pretty cute. I think the bag could hold a camera, iPod or anything you wouldn’t want to get scratched up, so at the very least it’s more useful than a flat knitted rectangle piece.