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How to Buy

How to Buy

Peruvian Drawstring Pouch

PATTERN DETAILS

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RELEASE DATE:  November 2000 -- This pouch was originally designed for Alpacas Magazine, and appeared in its Winter 2000 issue (published January 2001).

DESCRIPTION:  This is a small, round drawstring bag in stockinette and garter stitch with a patterned band in your choice of three Peruvian textile borders.  Make a small one for your pearls or a large one for an evening bag - or use as a gift container!  The size of the basic pouch varies depending on the yarn and needles you choose (example: size 000 needles & size 10 thread makes a pouch about 2.5 inches square, while size 4 needles and sport-weight yarn makes a pouch about 4.5 inches square, using the narrow Sunrise and Sunset border).  If you choose the wider borders, the bag will be a little taller.

SOURCE OF PERUVIAN BORDER PATTERNS:  I traveled to Peru in 1998, spending three weeks in the Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca areas.  While there I had the opportunity to purchase a number of lovely woven textiles.  Two of the border patterns provided for this pouch pattern came from a lovely  “manta”; a cloth about three feet square, finely woven in seven colors of animal fiber (probably wool, but it could be alpaca) with columns of animal, human, and geometric figures separated by narrow geometric-patterned bands.  I purchased the manta from a small antique shop just around the corner from the Cuzco cathedral.  The third pattern, the Double Spiral Swirl, is from a border pattern on a beautiful five-color woven belt that I purchased from the maker, a street vendor with many skirts and a lovely face marked by the character lines of her long life in the high Andes.

SIZE:  The size of the basic pouch varies depending on the yarn and needles you choose (example: size 000 needles & size 10 thread makes a pouch about 2.5 inches square, while size 4 needles and sport-weight yarn makes a pouch about 4.5 inches square, using the narrow Sunrise and Sunset border). If you choose the wider borders, the bag will be a little taller.

SKILL REQUIRED:  Intermediate.

MATERIALS:  

• YARN:  Alpaca yarn is a wonderful first choice for this Peruvian-influenced pouch, but it can also be made from any other yarn.  Luxury yarns are especially fun to use, since this is a small project that will not take a lot of yarn.  Other yarn choices, besides alpaca, can include ribbon, silk, mercerized cotton, “eyelash” yarn, etc.
  • Main Color - I can’t give you an exact amount since it will depend on the thickness of the yarn you choose.  100 yards is probably more than enough, but the thicker the yarn, the more yards you will need.  A good color choice for the main color is one that is intermediate in shade between the contrast colors.
  • Contrast Color A - Choose a color much darker or lighter or in sharp contrast to the main color.  The number of yards depends both on the thickness of the yarn you choose AND on the width of the border.
  • Contrast Color B - Choose a color much darker or lighter than the other contrast color or in sharp contrast to it.  You will need fewer yards of this than of either of the other two colors.
• NEEDLES
  • Double point needles in the appropriate size for your chosen yarn (see the gauge section below for further information).  If you are using a fine yarn, a single set of 4-5 needles is probably sufficient, but if you are using thicker yarn (meaning the bag will be larger in diameter), then you’ll need long double-points, or two sets of double-points, or one set of double points and a short circular needle.
• MISCELLANEOUS
  • End of row marker
  • Darning needle for sewing in ends
  • Adhesive tape for ends of drawstring cords
  • (optional) Electric mixer & one beater – for making the drawstring

GAUGE:  The gauge will vary depending on the size of yarn and needles you choose. Select your yarn first, then choose the needle size that will make a stockinette gauge swatch which is just slightly tighter than you might choose for a sweater made of the same yarn – you want the pouch to be firm.

 bottom of pouch

drawing of 3 versions of the pouch

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