Knitting Pattern - Backpack

Here is the pattern for the backpack that I made a couple of weeks ago! I had fun making it :) (I didn't use the yarn suggested in the pattern) The pattern is from the book Kids Knitting: Projects For Kids of All Ages by Melanie Falick.

Materials Needed:

• Approximately 22 yards bulky yarn, such as Rowan Recycled Chunky or Chunky Tweed.
• Approximately 110 yards bulky yarn, such as Rowan Recycled Chunky or Chunky Tweed, in a contrasting color.
• 1 size 9 24-inch circular needle (or whatever size 24-inch circular needle feels comfortable)
• 3 buttons, each approximately 1 inch in diameter
• 1 wooden bead or ring with a hole large enough for both cords to fit though snugly (hole should be approximately 5/8 inch), for back pack (available at arts and crafts stores; if you cannot find a bead you like, make one with polymer clay)
• Stitch marker
• Yarn needle
• Knitting spool or 2 double pointed needles to make the cord for the backpack.
• Scrap Yarn or safety pin

To make the bottom of the pack:

With your main color of yarn and circular needle, cast on 34 stitches. Work back and forth in garter stitch (knit every row) until the piece measures 4 1/2 inches. Bind off.

For the body of the pack:

1. The body of the backpack is knit in the round. With the main color of yarn and circular needle, cast on 102 stitches. Join the first and last stitch and knit the first round, being careful not to twist the stitches when you join them. Place a marker between the first and last stitch to mark the beginning of the round. Work until the piece measures 5 inches long.
2. Take your gauge by measuring with a ruler the number of stitches in a 4 inch wide section of the pack. The gauge of the backpacks in the photograph (in the book this is from) is 14 stitches over 4 inches (or 3 1/2 stitches per inch). The exact size of this backpack is not important, so you do not have to match the gauge exactly, but you should try to be close to make sure you don't run out of yarn. If you are knitting very loosely (fewer than 3 stitches per inch) you may not have enough yarn for the backpack and the accessories.
3. Continue to knit in the round until the body of the backpack measures 10 inches long.

For the drawstring holes:

1. Bind off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next round, then knit 3 stitches. Repeat (bind off 2, knit 3) all the way around.
2. Knit the next round, casting on 2 stitches over the bound off stitches of the previous round. You should have 17 holes for the drawstring.
3. Knit 1 round. Bind off the first 68 stitches of the next round (you should have 34 stitches remaining on your needles).

For the flap:

1. To make the flap, work flap (knit back and forth, not in the round). With the second color of yarn, work in garter stitch (knit every row) until the flap measures 4 1/2 inches.
2. To make the buttonhole in the flap, knit 16 stitches, bind off 2 stitches (as for the drawstring), then knit the remaining 15 stitches.
3. Knit 16 stitches, then cast on 2 stitches over the bound off stitches from the previous row. Continue in garter stitch (knit every row) until the flap measures 6 inches. Bind off all stitches.

For the drawstring:

With the second color of yarn and a knitting spool or double pointed needles, make a 55 inch drawstring.

this is from the book to show how to make the cord

1. Cast on a few stitches. (For the backpack, cast on 3 or  stitches) Knit to the end of the row.
2. Slide the stitches to the "bottom" tip of the needle. Turn the needle so that the "bottom" becomes the "top." The working yarn should be coming from the bottom stitch.
3. Knit the stitches again, pulling the working yarn up from the bottom stitch when you knit the first stitch.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the cord is the length you want it to be (55 inches for the backpack). It takes a couple of rows before you are able to see the cord forming. Before that, it looks like you are creating a big knot instead of a cord.

Finishing:

1. Thread the yarn needle with the main color of yarn and sew the bottom of the pack to the body, beginning at 1 corner so that the back of the pack (the side with the flap along the top edge) is sewn to a long edge of the bottom.
2. Find the drawstring hole centered under the flap. Pull the cord from the outside of the backpack in through the hole, then out through the next hole (in either direction). Work in and out of the holes all the way around, exiting a second time from the center hole (the hole where you started). Pull both ends of the cord together through the ring or bead.
3. Attach the end of the left cord to the lower left corner of the pack by securely sewing 1 1/2 inches of the cord to the pack. Repeat with the right end of the cord on the right side.
4. Find the spot on the pack where the buttonhole falls when you fold over the flap. Mark with a safety pin or a piece of yarn. Sew a button to the marked spot on the pack. Weave in loose ends