TARDIS Bag

This was a project that almost happened accidentally. I just wanted to take a picture of myself crocheting, so I grabbed some blue yarn I had lying around and a hook and got started. Before long, I decided I was making a smallish handbag. And since the yarn was TARDIS-blue, I added some white and black embellishments to suggest the windows and "Police Call Box" sign of a TARDIS. I made one little loop at the top edge and one longer loop for handles. I can feed the longer loop through the smaller one to close the bag while I am carrying it. I'm very happy with the results!

Materials
Caron Simply Soft Royal Blue
Caron Simply Soft White
Caron Simply Soft Black
Crochet Hook Size E

Directions
Start with Royal Blue

Bottom
Rnd 1: Sc 6 in a Magic Circle (6)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st (12)
Rnd 3: *Sc 1, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 5x (18)
Rnd 4: *Sc 2, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 5x (24)
Rnd 5: *Sc 3, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 5x (30)
Rnd 6: *Sc 4, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 5x (36)
Rnd 7: *Sc 5, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 5x (42)
Rnd 8: In the front loop of each stitch only, sc around (42) - creates nice edge on the bottom

Sides
Rnd 9: *Sc 21, 2 sc in next st*, repeat 1x (44)
Rnd 10-27: Sc around
Rnd 29: *Sc 2 with Royal Blue, sc 2 with White*, repeat 10x
Rnd 30-31: Repeat rnd 29
Rnd 32-33: Sc around with Royal Blue only
Rnd 34: *Sc 3 Royal Blue, 2 sc Black, 1 sc White, 2 sc Black, 1 sc White, 2 sc Black*, repeat 3x
Rnd 35-36: Sc around with Royal Blue only

Handles
Rnd 37: Sc 10, ch 10, skip next 5 st; starting with 6th st, sc 16, ch 40, skip next 7 st; starting with 8th st, sc 6 (94)
Rnd 38-40: Sc around

Fine print: Not guaranteed to be bigger on the inside.

For the Horde!

This bag is a celebration of my World of Warcraft guild Inevitable Betrayal. I often have a hard time finding yellow wool for felting projects; all I could find this time was roving. Since it was thicker than the red worsted that I found, I used one strand of yellow and two strands of red throughout the project. I pulled each strand of red from a separate skein, so that I was using an equal amount from each. Later that helped me make the two straps an equal length, because I used what was left of each skein to make each strap.

Materials
Patons Classic Wool Worsted Bright Red - exactly two skeins
Patons Classic Wool Roving Yellow - one skein
Size 10 1/2 circular needles - 2
Tapestry needle

I developed the chart for our guild standard myself, and found a chart by Mindy White for the Horde symbol on Ravelry (see link below). I also decided to knit the bag in red with the two yellow stripes first, then embroider the letters and designs afterwards.

Directions
I used Judy's Magic Cast On* to cast on 40 stitches on each needle, then I knit the bag in the round.

Using red, knit 7 rounds.
Using yellow: knit 7 rounds.
Using red: knit 45 rounds.
Using yellow: knit 7 rounds.
Using red: knit 6 rounds.
Bind off.

Use charts to embroider letters and designs.

Chart for Inevitable Betrayal standard

Chart for lettering on the Horde side

I found Mindy White's chart for Horde symbol on Ravelry.

Add tassels to the bottom edge.
Knit two long I-cord** straps using one strand each of red and yellow and knitting three stitches in each row.
Before felting, the bag was 12 in. X 16 in., the tassels were 4 1/2 in., and the straps were 62 inches long.

I threw the bag and straps in a pillow case in the washing machine on hot for a few cycles until it came out felted to my satisfaction. The letters became very blurred, but I like how the tassels got kind of crazy. Finally, I used a large straight knitting needle to poke holes near the top edge to push the straps through and knotted them together on each side.

I don't have a lot of experience with writing out patterns, so let me know if you have questions!

Happy knitting and Lok'tar!

*I learned this method in Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Here's a YouTube video with information about its origins with Judy Becker and directions on how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhBIS0AhhQY.
**Simple tutorial on knitting I-cord: http://www.purlbee.com/knitting-tutorials-advanced-te/2006/9/29/i-cord.html.