When my youngest son and his beloved were married, I saved some of the ribbons and dried the roses from my granddaughter's bridesmaid bouquet. When Christmas rolled around I thought I'd make my daughter in law and her mother little sachets as mementos. I had some ivory silk blend in a DK weight that would do nicely, I thought, for a fancy little sachet bag filled with the rose petals and tied This is a freeform, make-it-up as you go along pattern. No gauge; no size. Use DK or finer yarn and a suitable needle. Cast on 38 stitches for DK and work a couple purl rows (or seed stitch rows) in the round. (You can change the number of CO stitches to suit your yarn but there should be an uneven number per side in order to center the heart.) Knit four more rows and then follow the chart at left repeating twice in the round.
When the chart is complete, knit 4 more rows, then purl one row and knit one row for the bottom of the eyelet band. Now it is time for the eyelet row that you will thread the ribbon through to cinch the bag closed. \*K2, YO, K2TOG, K2, YO, K2TOG, K3 (center stitches), YO, K2TOG, K2, YO, K2TOG, K2\* across one side of the bag then repeat for the other side. If you have changed the CO number then you will need to adjust this row to fit. Next, knit one row and purl one row for the top of the eyelet band. Then, knit 4 rows and you are ready to bind off using a cable bind off which gives a nice little saw tooth edge that is less complicated than you think. Cast onto the left needle two successive stitches using the cable cast on. Knit each cable cast on stitch in order as it appears on the left needle and slide onto the right needle. Pass the first stitch on the right needle over the second stitch like a regular BO. Knit the next 3 stitches on the left needle binding them off one at a time as usual before knitting the next. One stitch will remain on right needle. \*Now cast on two stitches as before using the cable cast on. Knit the first stitch, slide to right needle and pass the remaining stitch on the right needle over this new stitch, then knit the second cable cast on and pass the stitch on the right needle over it. Knit and BO the next three regular stitches as usual\*. Repeat until one stitch remains on the right needle and tie it off to first stitch on first side of the bag to close the edging. Stitch up the bottom, lace the ribbon and fill with rose petals scented with a little rose oil. I modified this pattern slightly at Valentines Day. See my blog for specifics. 2012 Pat Higgins
