How to knit your Milo Beach Bag

Take our hand. We’re gonna walk you through how to knit your Milo Beach Bag with our video tutorial, top tips and knit hacks.

It’s May and it’s time to cast on for our shiny new knitalong! What’s a knitalong? Read all about it here and find out how you can join in – AND be in for a chance of winning an Ariel Top Knit Kit.

We’re knitting up the Milo Beach Bag. It’s the perfect pairing of our two recycled yarns, Mixtape and Jersey Be Good.

Let’s get technical – yeah!

Fishnet stitch

The Milo Beach Bag is knitted in fishnet stitch. It’s made up of two steps – a yarn over, which creates a new stitch, followed by a decrease, which evens out the yarn over. This means you’ll have the same number of stitches on your needle as you started the row with. Simples. See the fishnet stitch in action in our video.

WEAVING IN THE ENDS

Our video shows how to weave in the ends in garter stitch knitting – it’s the same idea for weaving in the ends in fishnet stitch too. Just follow the path of your stitches for a few centimetres (we recommend 10cm) and then trim.

paracord strap

The strap of your bag is made using a macrame technique, which is basically weaving and knotting. Here’s how…

Need more help? Check out our Wool School page on the WATG site.

Top tips

(Don’t) do the twist. Mixtape can occasionally get a little twisted. To minimise this, pull the yarn from the outside of the cone rather than from the centre.

Sticky fingers. Having trouble getting those tassel ends on? Wrap some sellotape tightly around the end of your paracord before inserting it – much easier!

Finish it like a pro. For a super-clean finish, you could use sewing thread in a matching colour to sew down the ends of your yarn after weaving in the ends – this way, those pesky yarn ends definitely won’t poke out to the right side of the fabric.

Pimp your knits

Mix it up. Can’t decide what colour handle to make? Why not make more than one? You just need two additional tassel ends for each, plus around 50g of Jersey Be Good yarn.

Get in line. Why not add a lining? Just cut two pieces of fabric the same shape and size as your finished bag, seam the bottom and the sides, and tack it to the top of the bag.

Go big. Once you’ve knitted up a Mixtape Milo, why not try one in Jersey Be Good? It makes for a heavier-weight, more structured bag.

Order up your Milo Beach Bag Kit and #knitwiththegang!

 

13 Comments

  1. I started on my Milo Beach Bag in Cinder Black at midnight last night! These hints are great and I’ll be sure to reference them as my work progresses ;)

      • My Milo Beach Bag is coming along nicely! I’m a little behind on the deadline because I made my mother the Bag It Up Clutch for Mother’s Day (I used Phantom Purple and Foxy Red!) AND I had to restart the Milo Bag several times due to the increase section in the beginning. I finally figured out that to help mark which row to knit what, I attached a WATG safety pin on one edge. That way when I was able to keep track of what row to knit what. When I started on the edge with the pin I knew to knit a row of Step 3, and when the pin was on the opposite side I’d knit Step 4. Worked for me! Once I got past Step 5 it’s been smooth sailing :) Can’t wait to finish it this weekend so I can use it at the beach next week!!!

  2. Hi, Igot the PDF for the Milo bag and got the fishnet stitch right, but I’m very confuse with the increase/decrease parts at the beginning and end of the instructions. I guess I’m a visual person!!
    Any help?
    Thanks.

  3. I just finished my Milo beach bag handle but I am having trouble figuring out how to attach the tassel Ends.

  4. Hi :) I lost the pattern, is it possible to get a new one or do I have to buy the kit again? Thanks lou

    • Hey there – if you email our Customer Service team at [email protected] they shouldbe able to help. Just let them know the pattern and if you have the original order ref/email too, that would be handy.

  5. Hi, I love the Milo bag, but i have trouble with the paracord strap. It twists. Any tips?

    • Hi Claudia. If it’s twisting then it may be that you’re weaving a little tighter on one side than the other – or that you’ve come out of sequence with the macrame technique. Are you using Mixtape or Jersey Be Good for the handle?

  6. Lovin’ my Milo Bag [Gray Mixtape and Denim Jersey Be Good for the handle]. I, like a few of you, started over numerous times trying to get the increase just right. I found a different way to increase/decrease and I loved the look. The ends of the bag have a defined and professional finish. Much easier for me too. Here’s a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cibdJgOayHk. Happy Knitting!

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