Puppy Dog Drawstring Gift Bag

Puppy Dog Drawstring Gift Bag by Andrew Lucas

What Is Being Made

This is a small knitted drawstring gift bag designed by Andrew Lucas, measuring approximately 10 centimeters. The bag features a charming puppy dog design created through colorwork using oddments of yarn in beige, brown, and black. The finished piece functions as a decorative and practical gift bag with a drawstring closure, perfect for presenting small items or trinkets.

Craft and Techniques

This project is a knitting pattern classified as beginner level difficulty, making it an excellent introduction to basic knitting construction and shaping techniques. The pattern demonstrates fundamental knitting methods including colorwork integration, picot edging creation, and strategic decreasing to shape the base of the bag.

The bag construction begins with a garter stitch border, transitions into stocking stitch for the main body, and incorporates a decorative picot row created using yarn round needle and knit two together decreases. The base shaping employs progressive decreasing rows that gradually reduce stitch count from 36 stitches down to 9 stitches, creating a gathered bottom closure. The final stitches are bound and tied using a tapestry needle threaded with the working yarn, and the row ends are stitched together to form the bag's cylindrical shape.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch (gs) – created by knitting every row, used for the initial border and structural stability
• Stocking stitch (st st) – alternating knit and purl rows, forms the smooth main body of the bag
• Knit (k) – the fundamental knit stitch
• Purl (p) – the fundamental purl stitch
• Yarn round needle (yrn) – creates the decorative eyelet holes in the picot row
• Knit two together (k2tog) – a right-leaning decrease used for shaping and creating the picot detail
• Slip stitch (sl) – referenced in pattern abbreviations
• Bind and tie (B and T) – a finishing technique that threads the final stitches closed using a tapestry needle

Materials Required

This pattern calls for 3.25mm knitting needles and oddments of double knitting wool in three colors: beige (for the main bag body), brown, and black (for the puppy dog design details). Double knitting yarn weight provides an appropriate gauge for the 10-centimeter finished size and beginner-friendly working experience. A tapestry needle is required for the bind and tie finishing technique and for stitching the row ends together to complete the bag's seams.