Dark gray and mustard - new crocheted bag

Inspired by the dark gray and mustard colour that is currently in almost every magazine, I wanted to try make a bag that would reflect this beautiful colour combo. This bag is 28cm x 28 cm!

This time I experimented with different materials. For the main part, ie the body of the bag, I used 'shantung suiting tobaco' which is a little bit thinner than ponti. The 2 meters of fabric make one bag, but when working with this material the bag comes a little bit smaller. The gorgeous mustard colour comes in very fine linen which goes wonderful as contrast to the dark gray. Because it is a smaller bag, I decided to use one button only. 

raw materials used in this bag

'Sunchi B Knit & Purl' is now available on Facebook. If you would like to stay updated with new products, become a fan!

(www.facebook.com/sunchibknit)

Giant Crochet Floor Rug - Work in Progress

The making of my rugs is a lengthy process. Here is the 11 meters of Indian cotton in it's raw form. The whole roll of this material will be used to make a rug that is 1100 mm x 900 mm.  

The fabric is first cut into strips and then crocheted into rug. Cutting of the fabric is the most lengthy process as this material is very hard and it needs to be cut manually. This is a very durable material that is just so very soft for children to sit on and it does make a conversation piece for anyone visiting your home. The making of the whole rug takes 28 hours.

The very last ball of fabric finishes off the rug!

You can now follow Sunchi B Knit & Purl with Bloglovin'... :)

New feature for my Blog

'Sunchi B's Pin Up Board' -  a new addition to my Blog! It highlights the flavor of the month, the colours and textures that inspire me and provides updates on the latest, in-house handmade items. I am starting it as a test feature! It may not necessarily stay permanent but is something I thought worth giving a go!

'Sunchi B Knit & Purl' is now available on Facebook. If you would like to stay updated with new products, become a fan!

(www.facebook.com/sunchibknit)

Crocheted teddy bear - Meet Chester

I have been working on a market version of my prototype teddy bear that I made earlier in the year. Although the prototype was knitted, I have decided to go for a crocheted look. Why? It is so much easier to make and you can make almost the whole teddy in one go.  Curious what it looks like? Here it is, Sunchi B presents to you 'Chester -  the crocheted teddy bear'.

Here I am sharing the process that went into making this cuddly teddy bear. I started off by crocheting a circle for a teddy's foot and from there I built it into a leg.

Then, I crocheted a second leg.  I joined the two legs by making a crocheted link between the two, and by adding and deducting the stitches, I defined the body of the teddy.

The teddy's head and arms were crocheted separately and then secured to the body. I crocheted the ears by creating new stitches of the each side of the head and then crocheting them to the desired length. The green scarf was knitted separately and then secured around the neck, so that it wouldn't come off. 

'Sunchi B Knit & Purl' is now available on Facebook. If you would like to stay updated with new products, become a fan!

(www.facebook.com/sunchibknit)

Hot Water Bottle Cozy - Entrelac Knitting

(apologies, the first paragraph of this post accidently got wiped out)


Hot water bottles are very commonly used throughout Europe to keep children warm in the cold months of winter or when the tummy is aching. This is the way I remember my Mum using it to stop my tummy ache. It is a very old concept and if you do a little research, you will find that a variety of different types of heating bottles were used as early as in the 16th century. These early hot water bottles were made of a variety of materials, such as zinc, copper, glass, earthenware or wood. To prevent burning, the metal hot water flasks were wrapped in a soft cloth bag.

Today, the modern conventional rubber hot bottles are made out of durable rubber, that can withstand sufficient heat and they are commonly covered in fabric with novelty design. So, here was the opportunity to for me to learn a new pattern and design a hot water bottle cozy. There is so many ways you can go with the cozy design, combining different colours or interesting patterns. Try it, it is heaps of fun to make.

Learning Entrelac knitting

Entrelac knitting is such an intriguing knitting pattern!  You look at it and the first thing you do is try figure out how do the colours interact with one another and what is the technique behind it. Entrelac may seem complex, but once  you create a base for it which is a set of triangles, you pick up the stitches of the side of each triangle and by working the rows, your stitches will be slanting to the right or left depending on what side you are with your knitting project.

It is very handy to use an entralac diagram as a reminder in which direction your knitting is going:

I found this image on:
http://fuzzyjay.blogspot.com/2010/02/entrelac-diagrams.html

Working with the shades of gray, PATONS wool (50%wool, 30%acrylic, 20%alpaca), the Entrelac knitting works wonders on this wool. It accentuates the different colour shades, making any garment stand out!