Pattern: Dice Bag

Hogwarts House Colors Drawstring Bag

This bag is VERY adaptable and I'm not going to write the numbers of exactly what I did, mostly because I can't tell you! There will be very few hard and fast numbers in this pattern, so just do it- it'll turn out nice in the end no matter what as long as you follow my simple instructions.

Materials
-2 skeins KnitPicks Merino Style in your choice of House Colors (1 of each color)* (shown here in Gryffindor- Hollyberry [MC] & Harvest [CC])
-US 3 DPNS (sef of 5 best)
Darning Needle


Instructions
note: first section of the bag is worked back and forth. I use the DPNS but if you prefer you can use straights

Decide which color will be your Main Color (MC) and your Contrasting Color (CC). In the bag shown I've used Hollyberry as the MC and Harvest as the CC.

Using MC, CO 29 sts
Row 1-?: K1, P1 across.
Work this pattern (seed stitch) until the bottom looks approximately square (or whatever other shape you'd like your bag to be)

Once you've finished working the bottom of the bag, it's time to bring the other DPNs into play & switch to circular knitting. Pick up stitches along the other 3 sides. Use one dpn for each side.

Next, we're going to knit a round with the MC. You should increase a bit- I did about 4 stitches at each corner, and make sure that your final number of stitches is divisible by 2- this is important! (If you want to make your job really easy, make this number divisible by 12, too)

On the next row, we start the color pattern (work this loosely! Any unevenness will be remedied in blocking, and we want to minimize how much color pattern "pulls in" as much as possible!):
Join CC
Bag Round 2: K1 with MC, K1 with CC, cont around.
Rounds 3-?: Repeat Round 2
note: Use your preferred method of Fair Isle for this, but make sure to be consistent. One color will be raised slightly out from the bag over the other one, and make sure you keep carrying the colors the same way so that the raised color does not change. So if you knit with the MC in your left hand and CC in your right hand, do that for the entire bag.

Continue in the color pattern for 5 inches or so, shorter or longer if you want. Break off MC and knit 2 rnds with CC.

Border and Drawstring Area:
With CC, Purl 2 Rounds
Knit 2 Rnds
Now it's time to make the holes: Take your total number of stitches and divide by 12. Subtract 2 from that number. We'll call that number "G"
Eyelet Row: (K "G" stithces, YO, K2tog) Repeat instructions in () until end of row
K2 Rnds
P2 Rnds
K2 Rnds
Bind Off

Weave in all your ends, and now we'll make the "Icord" for the drawstrings. While you're making the Icords you'll want to give your bag a quick soak in wool wash (or even just water) and then strech and block it over something to give it a more "Square" look and to also pull out the fair isle section so that it looks more even and also comes closer to the size of the border, which will be a little looser than the fair isle section due to it not being pulled in by the yarn carrying across the back. Let that dry while being blocked over a form (I used the end of one of those FridgePak soda 12-packs with a bag over it).

I-cord Drawstring (Make 1 in each Color):
With DPN, CO 2 Sts
K2 sts, slide knitting back to beginning of needle, K2 sts
Continue until your icord is "long enough" (12" for me but you can make it longer, shorter, etc)
Draw yarn through the 2 loops on needle and use darning needle to weave through the bag eyelets, then secure the 2 ends together in chosen method (I prefer to try and sew them so they look vaguely seamless)

Repeat this process with the other color. Make sure you weave the second icord in from the other side, so that the 2 strings will come out of 2 sides of the bag as shown in the photo. This means that you can pull on the 2 sides and the bag will close nicely.

* Recommended House Colors of Merino Style:
Gryffindor: Hollyberry & Harvest
Hufflepuff: Crocus & Coal
Ravenclaw (book): Storm & Cinnamon (this may be a bit dark for your bronze tastes, if so, you can substitute Andean Silk in Navy and Mustard (mustard is a REALLY good bronze)
Ravenclaw (movie): Storm & Fog
Slytherin: Moss & Fog


Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pattern. You can use the bag for carrying Dice, knitting supplies, or whatever you want. You can knit it smaller or bigger, use a different pattern on the bottom (I prefer seed stitch, though) use a different yarn, really, it's pretty adaptable. This was adapted from my original Knitted Dice bag pattern.

I decided to write this pattern out for the Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 contest.