• Star Award for the most badly explained decreasing in a pattern I have ever used, and indeed the entire pattern is very vague and you are set adrift on your own.

I have tried knitting this as described, experimented with my own interpolation of decreases, tried knitting it in the round - it does not work - several times, and now after yet another rip out am about to try in 2 flat halves again, but this time bottom up to the top and increasing. How a big name designer can write such poor instructions for decreasing neatly and evenly is beyond my comprehension.

If you want to have a knitting induced nervous breakdown then this is the pattern for you, especially if you like things neat and orderly and are a stickler for precision, so much the better, it will be doubly stressful.

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Will be knitting 2 strands held together.

Had to type out the Trellis pattern in a layout which my brain could understand. The purple background in the book plus the squashed up nature of the instructions did not lend itself to easy reading and following along. In particular I wrote out row 5 with one set of instructions per row, and since row 5 is more or less used again for row 11 completion, this was a great help. Note: on reading this back, now the bag is complete, I can say my memory had the pattern off pat I have knit this so often now, the pattern does flow - though not at the edges.

The pattern is simpler than it seems on paper. The stitches tend to go in groups of 3 & 5, and once you have established the set-up it is easy to see how the repeat should be panning out & therefore spot when something is amiss on the very next row rather than miles ahead - though there was some tinking back to start with ahem!

This trellis pattern would be very much clearer if you had the back-up of being told slip the next 3 “black” stitches or drop the olive loops, or slip the olive loops etc, since the main body is only black or green or whatever your opposite colour is, the set of instructions would have been instantly clearer. I am making notes about this so my second side is more logical.

I am about to start decreasing and have written out on what rows of the pattern decreases should fall until 5 repeats are done ending on a row 11.

I don’t like decreasing at the very end of a row, but the pattern says quite clearly “decrease 1 st each side on next row”, so I will just follow along blindly. Perhaps anyway once felted this will all merge and not be noticed at the ends where you can fudge up the edges when sewing them together.

1 July 2015:

6 days in and yet again all is ripped out! Arrggggggh!

02 July 2015:

Now a week has been lost from my life, starting and ripping out this bag very many times. I will not be beaten by this pattern, but by God it better be the best looking and most gorgeous bag when it is done.

I have now charted the whole bag - see pic - but instead of attempting to knit from the top down, I am attempting to knit from the bottom up, that way I can see what will happen with my edge stitches when I increase on the next increase row, and be able to carry green yarn or not. That is the plan at any road. Watch this space!

04 July 2015:

At long last first side is completed. So much easier to knit from the bottom up, though I had to re-jig the decrease rows about a bit as compared to how they are marked out on the picture of the chart, quite simply because it was impossible to decrease on some of the rows. Like a lot of things in life, doing this second time around I would know what to look out for, however I will knit the second side to match the first, then should I ever knit this bag again I would apply what I have learned about where to decrease. I cast off with a 12 mm needle to ensure the top does not pull in. Being a perfectionist, I can see a couple of areas that could have been tackled better, but since 7 days of angst have gone before, I have relaxed my perfectionism a tad and hope this can be fudged come side seam sewing together time.

Now to cast on for the second side……. Now half way up side 2. A successful day with much knitting achieved. Have also ordered, today, a magnetic clasp to hold the back shut and some stud feet to keep my precious bag raised off dirty floors, both in antique brass. I also ordered long 28” black leather handles, with stitch holes ready punched for attaching. Not sure if I will use these, I’m a bit fussy about how handles look, so we shall see.

05 July 2015:

Both sides of the body of the bag now complete and stitched together. Now to cast on and knit the base of the bag.

Decided the long thin shape of the base would mean the bag did not have good stability so made my base 10” x 7” with a gentler slope. See pic of black base shape. I also decreased and increased this one stitch in from each edge, so it was better shaped for stitching to the main bag. Increasing and decreasing on the final edge stitch is always a disaster.

Felting with a front loading washing machine, for my first ever attempt at felting - deliberately that is ahem! - was fun! Perhaps could have left a bit longer but was fearful I went too far.

I have put a bucket inside while the bag dries, I have turned it upside down over my Vitamix as thought the newspaper stuffed round it may stretch it out of shape. I think I will need to cut Buckram to make an internal base and also for each side to give the bag rigidity, or it will just flop down, especially once its top rim is loaded with flowers.

11 July 2015:

All leaves and one test rose felted. Drying on the Aga now. Did not make the rose I assumed from the book, though not clear which rose one was meant to make! Instructions again lacking in clarity. Made another rose from Nicky’s Book Fabulous Felted Bags. After much debate I felted this before shaping it into a rose, pinning it in position and now leaving it to dry. Will proceed with remaining roses in this manner. Note to self, each rose weighs 25 gms……more wool required!

12 July 2015:

Stiffening now loosely tacked in place inside bag, studs applied to base of bag to keep it raised off dirty surfaces, these pushed through stiffening in the base (stiffening double thickness here). Have hand stitched bought leather handles through stiffening and outer side of bag body, the top green flap over will cover the stitching of this where it is at present visible on the reverse side of the bag. Have laid test rose and 3 leaves on one part of bag to get impression of bag when completed, pic taken.

Think best plan is to attach all roses and leaves through both bag and stiffening and make the lining the final part of the whole procedure, this to cover/hide all the stitching. Will probably add some pockets to the lining before inserting.

19 July 2015:

Leaves and roses now sewn on, what a nightmare, this was not enjoyable, had hoped to employ sewing machine, but these hopes were quickly dashed, so all done by hand…still it held my stiffening in place instead of basting the top section. Still to put the lining in, hopefully tomorrow. Ended up savaging an old plastic bucket of my father’s from many years ago. I sawed it up and used the bottom third as the base and stiffening for my bag, it has worked very well, though I will miss the use of my bucket, my dear departed father will be glad I used it in such a Heath Robinson construction.

25 July 2015:

This has been waiting to get time to put the lining in. All done and dusted today. Not a nice project to make but am thrilled with the end result.

FINISHED - Hurrah!