The cool blues of this bag, the gentle undulation, and the way the Nubbles felts into what looks like bubbles and sea glass pebbles evokes thoughts of the beautiful Caribbean Ocean, hence the name.

Materials:
2 - 50 gr balls Crystal Palace Fjord  in #4889, Teal Lake (Color A)
1 - 50 gr ball Crystal Palace Merino Stripes in Color #61, "Seascape" (Color B)
1 - 50 gr ball (50 grams) Crystal Palace Nubbles in #9523, Scuba Dive (Color C)
One Crystal Palace Bamboo or DAISY Needles U.S. size #11 (8.0 mm) 26" or 29" circular needle
Purchased purse handles and closure hardware (if desired)

Gauge: 3½ stitches per inch in stockinette stitch using Fjord.

Finished size: Main body rectangle is 39" long and 15" high before felting, (measured flat before seaming). Finished bag is 10" tall, 7½" wide, and 3½" deep after felting

Techniques: The body of this purse is knit as a mitered rectangle. Then, it is seamed and the bottom is knitted as a separate piece and sewn on. A single crochet border is applied to the top of the bag before felting.

Abbreviations:
K Knit
P Purl
CD Corner decrease* (see how-to just below)
Sl 1 Slip one stitch purl-wise
P2tog Purl two stitches together
SC Single crochet
RS Right side
WS Wrong side
* To work a CD: Slip 1 stitch knit-wise, knit 2 stitches together, pass the slipped stitch over the two just knitted together, resulting in a decrease of 2 stitches (double decrease).

To work a cable cast on: Make a slip knot and put it on the left hand needle. Knit into the slip knot but do not remove it from the needle, and place the knitted loop onto the left hand needle (2 stitches). Knit between the two stitches and place the loop onto the left hand needle (3 stitches made). Continue knitting between the last two stitches on the left hand needle and placing the loop on the needle. Be sure that when you place the loops onto the needle, they are correctly mounted, which means they will need to be twisted a half turn clockwise.

Body of bag: With Color A, cast on 156 stitches using the cable cast on method. Odd rows are the right side of the work. ( Note: Nubbles rows will be worked in reverse stockinette to encourage the texture to distribute on the RS.)
Work 60 rows as follows, changing yarns as indicated:
[Note: this Body of Bag section edited for error on Aug. 30 '06 - if you printed pattern prior to 8/30, reprint.]

Color A Row 1: K30, CD, K90, CD, K30 (152)
Row 2 (and all even rows): Purl until otherwise shown
Row 3: K29, CD, K88, CD, K29 (148)
Color B Row 5: K28, CD, K86, CD, K28 (144)
Row 7: K27, CD, K84, CD, K27 (140)
Row 9: K26, CD, K82, CD, K26 (136)
Color A Row 11: K25, CD, K80, CD, K25 (132)
Row 13: K24, CD, K78, CD, K24 (128)
Color C Row 15: P23, CD, P76, CD, P23 (124)
Row 16: Knit
Row 17: P22, CD, P74, CD, P22 (120)
Row 18: Knit
Color A Row 19: K21, CD, K72, CD, K21 (116) (Note: Remember to go back to purling the even rows at this point)
Row 21: K20, CD, K70, CD, K20 (112)
Color B Row 23: K19, CD, K68, CD, K19 (108)
Row 25: K18, CD, K66, CD, K18 (104)
Row 27: K17, CD, K64, CD, K17 (100)
Color A Row 29: K16, CD, K62, CD, K16 (96)
Row 31: K15, CD, K60, CD, K15 (92)
Color B Row 33: K14, CD, K58, CD, K14 (88)
Row 35: K13, CD, K56, CD, K13 (84)
Row 37: K12, CD, K54, CD, K12 (80)
Color A Row 39: K11, CD, K52, CD, K11 (76)
Row 41: K10, CD, K50, CD, K10 (72)
Color C Row 43: P9, CD, P48, CD, P9 (68)
Row 44: Knit
Row 45: P8, CD, P46, CD, P8 (64)
Row 46: Knit
Color A Row 47: K7, CD, K44, CD, K7 (60)(Note: Remember to go back to purling the even rows at this point)
Row 49: K6, CD, K42, CD, K6 (56)
Color B: Row 51: K5, CD, K40, CD, K5 (52)
Row 53: K4, CD, K38, CD, K4 (48)
Row 55: K3, CD, K36, CD, K3 (44)
Color A Row 57: K2, CD, K34, CD, K2 (40)
Row 59: K1, CD, K32, CD, K1 (36)
Row 60: Sl 1, P2tog, PSSO and begin binding off all stitches until there are 3 stitches left on the left hand needle. P2tog, slip the stitch back to the left hand needle and then bind off the last two stitches.

Bag Bottom: With Color A, cast on 30 stitches and work 30 rows of garter stitch. Bind off.

Finishing: Seam the two short edges of the large rectangle invisibly. The sample bag shown in the photo was oriented so that the seam lies in the middle of one of the sides, however you may arrange it any way you like, since the felting process will not usually result in a visible seam, and the combination of mitered corners and Nubbles creates many interesting patterns and textures. To attach the bottom to the main body, pin and either single crochet it to the seamed rectangle (will provide a sturdier bottom corner) or sew it invisibly.
Around the top edge of the bag, SC 90 stitches evenly distributed, and then do one more round of SC.

Felt the bag using your preferred method.
It is normal for the Nubbles to felt less evenly than the Fjord and Merino Stripes, and this will create a unique undulating effect in the body and at the top of the bag. After felting, shape the bag to dry on a suitably sized box, and pinch the top corners to define them, then coax the rest of the top into a pleasing arrangement of subtle waves and flutes. A densely felted fabric can also be trimmed without fraying, if needed, to result in the look you want to achieve. Apply purchased purse handles, and closure hardware, if desired.

Pattern Copyright 2006 Crystal Palace Yarns/Straw Into Gold, Inc. - We are happy to share this pattern with knitters. The pattern may be used for non-commercial personal or knitting guild use. It is not to be used in any publication in print nor should it be reproduced in electronic/digital format without permission. Knitting shops carrying CPY Yarns Fjord, Merino Stripes and Nubbles are welcome to print and share this pattern with customers of our yarns.

Retail shops in the USA should contact CPY Wholesale for information on purchasing Crystal Palace Yarns - email cpyinfo -at- straw.com

or write to:
Crystal Palace Yarns, 160 23rd St., Richmond, CA 94804
phone: 510-237-9988, fax: 510-237-9809