My kid is a hoarder. I suppose all children are like that… They have their toys, they want them a specific way, they don't like to share (wait a second, sounds like some adults I know) and they like to take as much of their hoard with them as possible, even if it's just a quick trip to the store. I remember being tucked into bed as a kid and instead of just one teddy bear, I needed 500 tucked around me, protecting me like a giant roll of soft bubble wrap. If we were going out, why bring one toy when I could just as easily bring two? Apparently this is genetic.
With each errand we run, whether we walk there or take the car, my son needs to bring at least 5 toys with him. Between my bag, my keys, my phone, my son, his sippy cup, my reusable shopping bags and cold-weather accessories, throw 5 matchbox cars in there and you have a wonderful disaster. So goes it with all moms and dads and we learn how to juggle (both literally and metaphorically speaking) when it comes to our children and their accoutrements.
I noticed if I gave my son a bag of some sort, or even a leftover padded envelope from that day's mail, he'd stuff the toys in there and carry them around that way. While a brilliant solution to the hoarding-on-the-go challenge, I wanted him to have something a bit more classy than a reused padded envelope. Enter in the idea for the Treasure Bag.
What I like most about this project, is it's a quick on-the-go knit. I knit a good portion of it while in the movie theater, happily clicking away in the dark. The majority of it is just knitting in the round, so you don't necessarily need to see what you're knitting. There's a few yarn overs in there to create a path for the braided drawstring and it's finished off with optional duplicate-stitching and a simple 3-needle bind off.
My fellow parents out there know that the golden rule of knitting ANYTHING for children is to knit it in superwash yarn. This wonderful new 220 Superwash Multi yarn from Cascade is a great new member of the 220 family and is a 100% superwash merino wool and comes in at 137 yards per hank. This is an ideal project to use a variegated yarn such as this because it's meant to be a fun bag for them to fill up with their treasures. I went with a "boy-colored theme" but there are 14 happy variegated colors to choose from. I love the idea of getting kids involved in crafting even if they're not old enough yet to do it themselves, so have them "help" by picking out the shade they like best. No matter how filthy they manage to get it, you can throw it in the washing machine on cool, tumble dry low and have it ready for them to fill up again.
Having an unusual name, I could never get personalized anything as a kid. My friends with common names like "Jenn, Ashley, Kate" had cool personalized pencils at school, hair brushes, stickers or even jewelry. I was stuck with a generic "T" if I could find it. Occasionally someone in the family would take pity on me and get me something engraved with "TEG" or "Tanis." I'm afraid my son will have the same problem, having an unusual name himself. Because of this, I've given the option of duplicate-stitching the child's first initial on the bag, as well as a blank template in the pattern to design your own motif, or squeeze all 3 initials in there. Again, ask them what they want and have them help design it. Maybe put their age number on there or favorite animal. Personalize it! Grab a hank of 220 Superwash Sport in a solid, highly contrasting color and duplicate-stitch it on there together.
Voila! A personalized bag they'll be excited to use and call their own!
Download the free Treasure Bag pattern here.