Knitted hand sanitizer drawstring bag
Knitted hand sanitizer drawstring bag
The new healthy fashion accessory, your own personal sanitizer bottle cozy! This knit drawstring bag is designed to hold a typical half ounce bottle of hand sanitizer gel, like Purell. It is knit in the round from the bottom up, like a toe-up sock. After you make the first one, you'll want to add color or pattern, anything that fits the 20 stitch round.
Choose a typical 4-ply worsted to knit at about 5 stitches per inch (20 st per 4 inches/10 cm) and your appropriately-sized set of five double pointed needles. I am using Cascade 220 and size 5 (3.75 mm) needles.
Using a figure-eight cast-on, make eight loops on two needles and knit each, to form the first three rows of stitches. Tighten up any loose stitches now so you have a stable base. See the Knitty article Tiptop Toes by Wendy D. Johnson for more, including an "Easy Toe" option. (I even leave the row of twisted stitches.) Here's what mine looks like:
Figure eight cast-on and first three rows
Knit eight stitches on one needle. Slip the last stitch you knitted to another dpn, pick up two more along the edge, and slip the first stitch from the other side to give four stitches on the new needle. Do the same for four stitches on the other side. Finish knitting the round, so that you have twenty stitches on the four needles.
20 stitches on four double-pointed needles
Knit, pulling firmly at each corner to ensure a neat bottom for the bag. Continue until you reach the shoulders of the bottle, about twelve rounds.
Body done
On the next round, do yarn-over, knit two together ten times to create ten holes for the drawstring. Then knit 1, purl 1 for the next two rounds and bind off in pattern. Weave in the ends.
Measure a length of yarn about five times your desired drawstring length and make a twisted cord. (Here is a page with instructions and video.) Thread the folded end through the eyelets and knot and trim the drawstring.
Here's one I started with a two-color pattern:
