Day at the Beach Bag knitting pattern for an colourful, sturdy, spacious casual, seaside inspired shoulder bag/purse with a bold slipstitch colourwork front design, lifebouy tassel and soft, comfortable strap in smooth cotton aran worsted yarn. Adjust strap length to use as hand held bag/purse.

Inspired by the joy of a day at the beach, this colourful bag is ideal to complete a casual summer’s outfit. Combining turquoise, white and orange brings to mind a view of sea, foamy waves and bright, bobbing buoys plus perhaps a trio of tasty gelato flavours to help keep cool.

The bag is self lined, i.e. lined with the same knitting as the exterior, and has a sturdy base with removable stiffening, so it can hold plenty whilst staying in shape and still be washed easily. It also has a soft, thick shoulder strap that doesn’t dig in. The tassel is detachable and can be tied to rear of bag and hung over the front, tied around handle of bag or omitted. Alternatively, the tassel can be added to a keyring fixture for a practical matching accessory.

The pattern uses the slipstitch technique to create a zigzag pattern. This technique uses only one colour of yarn per row to create a result that looks like multiple colours were used in the same row.

Dimensions:

Bag excluding strap
Height: 15cm (6”)
Width: 25cm (10”)
Depth: 11.5cm (5”)
Bag Strap Length: 55cm (21 1/2”)

Materials:

Aran or worsted cotton yarn in three colours 170m, 170m, 45m (185yd, 185 yd, 50yd) and e.g sample uses Rico Creative Cotton (Aran) 2 85m skeins in white 80; 2 85m skeins in Sky Blue 37; 1/2 85m skein in orange 74
4mm (US 6) needles
Oblong of sturdy, stiff card or plastic, e.g. mounting board, 23cm x 11.5cm (9” x 5”)
Tapestry needle
Two small sew-in snap fasteners
One large sew-in snap fastener
Small metal ring or keyring fixture (if making tassel)