Knitted Backpacks

I knit these for my cousins in California. It made more sense to knit the same item three times rather than racking my brain for individual gifts. The pattern is from AnnyPurls; the main reason I chose it was the number of ways the bag could be varied. They were very easy to knit. I used Vanna's Choice yarn for the bags and a combination of Vanna's Choice and Wool-Ease for the pockets and puppets. Overall it was a very easy pattern to follow, and I would definitely knit it again. I saw an idea on Ravelry to needle felt an initial instead of making the pockets, so I might wind up making one for myself. For some reason my bags turned out larger than they were supposed to, so if you make the pattern, measure your bag before you cut the lining fabric!

This was the first one I made, and I misread the pattern, making the stripes wider than called for. I think it makes the bag a little more grown-up.

The pocket on this one was the most difficult part of the pattern. It was a cabled piece and it took me a few tries to get it right.









The only trouble I had with this was that the sails seemed out of proportion with the boat, but it turned out just fine.








Here's a closeup of the finger puppets. They were easy enough to knit, but embroidering the features nearly drove me batty. If I made the pattern again, I would either substitute something for the puppets, or find an easier puppet pattern.

~Sarah