ProCRAFTstination: Knitted Bedside Caddy

A few days ago, I saw this link on my feed about the Finnish snowboarding team and their unlikely hobby of knitting. I mean, here are a bunch of Olympian achievers that are still finding time to create things! It tickled me so much that when I glanced at my unfinished project sitting rolled up on a chair, I felt compelled to fin(n)ish it. See what I did there? ? I hadn’t touched it in what felt like ages, so I couldn’t even remember what stitch I used. Good thing I keep a craft journal, where I jotted down ideas, materials, and other details and comments on my trials and errors.

On my notebook, I titled the project: Gadget Dump. I was shocked to see that I had started working on this in 2014… really? That’s almost 4 years ago! I didn’t notice it had been that long, but that was when our household did its last spring cleaning and I salvaged this old magazine rack from my mom’s junk pile. Its original black canvas material had been ripped at the bottom and sides, presumably from wear and tear, so I stripped it off and was left with the frame. With just a few wipes, I revealed the black metal which surprisingly looked as good as new, which meant all I had to do was replace the pouch.

Old magazine rack frame… trash or treasure?

I didn’t want to just sew a piece of cloth together, so I chose to knit the cloth that I would work with. A problem I foresaw was that knitted material can be impossibly stretchy, and may not be able to hold heavy weights, so I clicked my way through Google until I found the perfect “sturdy stitch.” Those keywords led me to the Linen Stitch on a website called New Stitch a Day, where it was described as being “a tight, dense fabric (…) great for bags.” When I saw that it was a super simple 2-row pattern, I was sold. What made it even more ideal was that the stitch was pretty on the front and the back, and since both sides would be exposed, it was beautifully reversible.

The Sturdy Linen Stitch

Back of Linen Stitch looks like a seed stitch

I must’ve finished 90% of the desired length before I abandoned it; I could tell from the dust stains the separated my new work from the old. Did I just get tired of it? Got busy? I’m not sure at this point, but I was all the more determined to finish it once and for all. This year is about tying up loose ends, and lots of loose ends this one had. While I was casting off, I felt a mixture of accomplishment, relief, and sadness. Am I the only one who gets sentimental about casting off? It’s a similar feeling I get when I’m about to reach the end a book I really enjoyed reading.

After that, it was a matter of figuring out assembly. In my initial plans, I had written “sew together? zipper?” but wasn’t satisfied with either. If I sewed them together, I wouldn’t be able to give it an occasional wash. As for the zipper, I didn’t have any on hand, and I really wanted to finish it today. So I asked my boyfriend, and he suggested using buttons. I immediately pictured how that would work: 4 per side when folded over, and tied at the very ends. My mom usually keeps knick-knacks somewhere in the house, so I asked if she had 8 spare, identical buttons and she came back with these vintage, gold studs. The rest of the afternoon was spent on making measurements, marking, and sewing.

Vintage button details and a tied fringe

Finally, the finished product ? I love the color so much I decided to have it beside my bed as a dump-all caddy. My favorite thing about it though is that aside from being cute, I upcycled something with my own hands. I succeeded in transforming what would’ve been trash into something that can once more be treasured for years to come… and that is the greater treasure from all this. I hope everyone had a restful Sunday ?

My quick grab items: phone, planner, eye mask

Transformation complete: from junk to a pretty, functional home furnishing

For the curious: my materials and stitch are below.

Linen Stitch

Cast On multiples of 2

Row 1: *K1, wyif, sl 1, wyib; Rep from * to end

Row 2: *P1, wyib, sl 1, wyif; Rep from * to end

Kolor Match Chunky

8.0 mm / US 11 / UK 0 wooden needles

Gauge: I don’t do gauge, oops