A Bit of a Time

This past few months has been a bit of an emotional, and physical, roller coaster if I'm being honest. 

And that's held up some projects and changed the scope of others. So let's dive into what's on my needles and where it's all going, shall we?

When last I posted, I had finished a double-knit earwarmer, and was pondering and planning a few others to have a bit of a series exploring and/or refreshing aspects of double-knitting with the added techniques of increases and decreases. The first one is pretty basic if you've done any double-knitting. The increases and decreases are the only "spicy" bit, and only if you haven't knit a shaped shawl like those from Tania of Epic Knits/Knit 1 Roll 20 or Lisa of Nifty Knitter Designs. It's a very approachable little project.

To go with that, I started playing around with some tweaks to the concept, keeping the basic shaping. This led me to a 3 color design, and a 2 pattern design for earwarmers 2 and 3. A slight jump in skills but still very approachable, and I think a natural progression from basic double-knitting to slightly more flashy looking projects. I plan on knitting those up pretty soon. And then I thought the natural place to go was cables with a touch of texture. Again, building on what you've already learned and/or refreshed from the first 3. 

And then my brain got involved.

Fiber friends, I'd be lying if I said sometimes my brain isn't my biggest nemesis. 

Because of course I couldn't just stick to front crossing cables on the same colored background. Noooo, not me. I had to switch colors and have alternating panels both color wise (which would've been more than enough. An excellent middle ground), and cable twist direction. 

I bit off much more than I originally envisioned. Here's the supposed earwarmer 4 in progress. It's not quite halfway knit:

So! Upon reflection this is now earwarmer 5 lol And I need to scale back a bit for a properly placed 4 with not quite the time and contortion commitment. I'm pausing this one briefly just to catch my breath. I really went headlong at it with no real plot. Sometimes looking before I leap, even in knitting, is a much better idea.

What else have I been up to? I got the idea, made a plan and am nearly halfway through a 3 color shawl lol! 

This one's one of those back burner ideas that finally just clicked and I was off to the races. And it timed well with GST checks to get the yarn and extra long circular needle ordered (Plus one for Cherish the Ladies which I'll be re-diving into soon... ish)

I'm using Briggs & Little Sport (ordered from Halifax's Fia Fia🔗; link goes to their website. Canadian wool bought from a Canadian, and Atlantic Canadian too!, shop), and chose Fern green, Mauve, and Magenta for my sample colors. Wanna see?

The photo is a bit older now because I have roughly half of the second openwork done; it's in the Magenta. That will be followed up with another slipped stitch section, a section of Fern openwork, a final slipped stitch section, and then the bottom border with garter stitch, slipped stitches, and beads along with a picot edge. 

Talk about bringing some drama!

This is my Three Hand Reel design. 3 Hands, reels or jigs, are choreographed dances often combining elements from solos and céilís. My favorite was the one created by The Dance Brain, aka my 2 dance besties (S &H) and me. The colors are reminiscent of each of us too. And fittingly it'll end with a bit of added pizazz and sparkle, just like any good performance piece. A little nod to my dance days, and the friends who were on the ride with me. Good times!

This seems like as good a place as any to mention that I can no longer leave the house without my cane. Walking even a km has become really difficult. I still do it; I gotta get groceries and check the mail after all. And just het out of the house in general. But I've really been struggling with this downturn in my mobility. Not a fun time, fiber friends. I'm hurting pretty badly after an ill-advised "I need to get out!!!!" "moment" yesterday. I did get to capture this though:

This isn't far from my house. Maybe 5-10 minutes of a walk down to the water for someone walking a normal non-dragging speed. I think it took me just shy of 40 minutes to get there yesterday. sigh

Ah, my Rock in the ocean. There's something strangely soothing about a moody ocean. It was what I needed yesterday, even if I'm hurting extra today. Seems like that's a constant trade off lately.

Back to the good stuff!

I knit this little shawl mock up to try out another of my back burner ideas. It's not quite what I have in mind but it's close and it makes an adorable wrap for my little bear friend. She's quickly becoming my mini model for little one off's:

She's quite adventurous, climbing the trees in my backyard. 

I still haven't knit the sleeves for my Jeri🔗 (link to The Wayward Knitter Payhip shop) cardigan lol. The weather has warmed up and my cozy cardigan, though not forgotten, has been decidedly neglected. My hands want lighter yarns right now; the shawl is fingering/sport weight, and the earwarmer is DK. 

It's the first day of summer! What are your crafting plans as the weather heats up? I've been looking at my pattern collection, and I have to be honest I'm tempted to embrace my oft-suppressed inner mermaid.

Inner mermaid? While chatting with a friend about aesthetics, she asked me what I thought her vibe was, and I immediately said she's largely a Hobbit with a bit of an edge. She laughed and said that was fair given that to her I'm a Lisa Frank mermaid with a glitter problem. She's not wrong, fiber friends! Gimme the bright colors with a decided leaning to the cooler tones and if I can incorporate sparkle/bling or otherwise unexpected bits, yeah I'll do it. 

What does that look like? Picture the above palette on this gorgeous skirt Folly Skirt by Espace Tricot (sorry gang, I'm not finding their individual patterns listed on their website, https://www.espacetricot.ca🔗

Or this crocheted skirt (appropriately) called the Mermaid Skirt🔗 (link goes to designer's Etsy shop)

My mum would probably describe the vibe as "hippy dippy". I prefer mermaid comfort. I think a long skirt to go with my existing and in progress shawls comes first and then I can start exploring patterns for tank tops and other sleeveless tops. I have lots of shawls and cardigans to toss on when things are chilly.

Ok! I think that's it for today. I'll pop all my links in and get this up for your reading and viewing pleasure. Speaking of viewing: did you like my little video clip? Should I add those when I have them? I promise not to give any spoken commentary; no one needs to hear a cartoon character chattering in a nature clip lol

Yours in yarn, and not enough consideration for physical pain,

Síle

Mid-Year... Wait! What??

Sad but true. 2024 is more than half gone. You'd think someone were throwing clocks, time is flying by so fast lol 😂 

When last I popped in and wrote, I was restarting my sample of Cherish the Ladies. It was going quite well too. Until the circular needle's cable snapped that is.

I confess: I cried over this one. Fortunately, I was able to act quickly and I didn't lose any stitches. Or beads. 

But I'm afraid this little mishap has impacted my work knitting a lot. I'm trying to track down a longer circular needle in the required size. The one that the cable snapped on was a 32 inch/80cm length. To prevent another snapped cable I want to locate at least one of a 40 inch length; I'd prefer longer but anything longer than 32 inches should distribute the weight better, preventing another snapped cable.

My issue isn't actually *finding* a longer needle. At least online. But shipping costs are an absolute nightmare. A circular needle isn't exactly the heaviest item, and most shipping is equal to the price of the needle itself, if not more! That's just not feasible for someone on a limited budget.

That said, I will be in Town Friday to Sunday, so maybe I'll luck into finding something suitable. If it doesn't interfere with your crafting, cross your fingers for me and/or send along some needle finding vibes, please.

Here's the photo I took not long before my circular needle gave up:

It was looking so good! Hopefully I'll be back at it soon!

With this little hitch in my plans, plus an unhealthy dose of brain fog preventing me from writing up the instructions for my Countess Cathleen cloak, I've had to focus my energies into a personal project... or 2.

I finished my second Harvest cardigan (pattern by Tin Can Knits🔗; this link goes to the pattern page on their website) last evening! For this one I used 9 colors of yarn, and my shiny math rocks. To say it's colorful feels like a large understatement! And very random considering each stripe was chosen by rolling a D10 (for the color) and a D8 (for the number of ridges on the body, and number of rounds on the sleeves). Roomie got 2 photos of me modelling the finished sweater; one of the front and one of the back:

Of course I blinked right as she snapped the first one 😆 I love how cozy it feels, and how colorful it is. It's definitely one of a kind!

So yay! A large finished project in the books for me!

I may have mentioned it before but I had decided that 2024 was going to be my Year of Going For It in regards to my knitting, both personal and designing. Bringing some of those large and/or potentially over the top projects out of my head (where, I confess, my mind likes to tell me these big ideas are "too much" or "too loud" or "no one but you will ever want this thing"), and into reality. My multicolored Harvest was a jumping off point. So is my Cherish the Ladies wrap; I had talked myself out of using the beads. But then I remembered the advice someone gave me on Discord. It can be summed up as: You'll never know if there are like-minded knitters out there if you don't show off the projects that will attract them. Which makes a lot of sense, and it's not like I'm at a loss for big ideas! My design list has 24 ideas in the planning stages, and 3 more besides Countess Cathleen and Cherish the Ladies in the sample/writing stage. (Plus a dozen or so titles without firm enough ideas to really flesh them out just yet.) Of those, 7 definitely fit my idea of over-the-top/larger than life designs. 

When I look at my personal projects, I've got a couple... ok, there are several. Including one I started just the other day. 

As some of you may remember, I love double-knitting. And because I have a love of reading fantasy books, leaning towards urban fantasy (Oh! Author plug! Are you familiar with Seanan McGuire? Her October Daye series is awesome! If you're voting for the Hugos, and don't know what to pick for Best Series: vote for October Daye/Seanan McGuire!!! You won't regret it! She also writes the Incryptid series (on my tbr list, the Wayward Children series (super good!!), and a few others I'm blanking on. She is phenomenally prolific, and talented. Check her out if you haven't!), and like shiny things like math rocks, I discovered the designs of Tania Richter, aka AetherFang. In 2017, she introduced us to a Yarn Quest, a DnD style knitting experience. One of the patterns is for a blanket. A 20 square/chapter adventure involving double-knitting the charts that correspond to the dice rolls you make while reading through the tale she wrote for us. 

I'm going to have a very warm and colorful blanket to remember my character's Quest when I get it done :) I'm using the remnants from my super colorful Harvest cardi to start with. Chapter 1 is underway in red and black. You can find Tania's designs in her Payhip shop, Knit1 Roll20🔗. And as a teaser, here is the result of my first 2 dice rolls:

I'll keep you updated as I knit along the Yarn Quest. 

On a side note, I'll be teaching a basics of double-knitting workshop to an online group of friends in August. I'll be updating, and adding to, my double-knitting resources here in preparation for that. 

And that, my fiber friends, is everything I have to tell you about today! I'm looking forward to the trip to Town tomorrow, and my friend's wedding on Saturday.

Until next time, I remain

Yours in yarn,

Síle 

Nothing Like Starting in My Usual Way

If you've been here before, you know what I mean lol.

Let's jump in!

January 6th came and went with only an Instagram post to mark it. Why is January 6th important? It's Knit Dance Repeat Design's anniversary! And this year marked 9 years. Which means something big(ger than normal) in 2025. I have no clue what exactly yet! But I'll definitely be thinking on it throughout 2024. Here's the photo that I had to crop down to make the Insta post:

Hmm, I still need to gather all of the links for my FOYAL pattern highlight post. Sooo... next time? We'll see what happens.

I have an exciting photo to share! Ta da!

And you're most likely looking at it and thinking 'Ok... it's a close up of textured knitting. Not exactly earth shattering, Síle.'

Ah! But what if I point out that little cluster by my forefinger? ;) No? Still not sure what I could possibly be excited about? 

It's the first 2 rows of a knotwork motif. On my Countess Cathleen cloak. 

That's right, the knotworks have been started! Which means The Countess is nearing completion, and is that much closer to tech editing and beta/test knitting :) *insert Kermit the Frog arm flailing gif here*

What else is happening around KDRD right now? Excellent question!

So I'm behind my, admittedly loose and flexible to the extreme, schedule for releasing the Four Hand Reel tote. I need to sew (what on Earth was I thinking?!) and attach the lining, and following up on some feedback from my brilliant group of testers, I decided that I would include a photo tutorial/walk through of the lining process with the pattern (separate pdf).

Dear fiber folks, I am not a sewist. Anyone with any sewing knowledge whatsoever is going to wonder what I'm doing to this poor fabric in aghast amazement. My humble apologies, sewing community.

I'm hoping to have everything done, and put together in the early spring; March-ish most likely. And the pattern will be out shortly after that.

I don't know if you're aware of this but one of my favorite things to knit is lace. The problem with lace is you need a big enough space to stretch it out and block it. Blocking somewhere, like say an island in the north Atlantic Ocean, where it's often humid/damp takes a lot of time. Which impacts the space limitations one may live with. Unfortunately that all leads to having a lovely shawl pattern all ready for tech editing, and of course beta/test knitting, that you don't have final dimensions for. And you can't photograph it because it's in that state of lace looking like a plate of noodles before it's blocked. This is where the Planxty Hap resides currently. Sooo close to getting to you all, but not quite there yet. Perhaps this summer before the humidity kicks into high gear? I hope *crosses fingers... and toes*.

I have more cables coming up though!

If you've been here 5 minutes you've probably gathered that cables are an inevitable and omnipresent thing here at KDRD ;)

I've finally settled on the final arrangement of the cable, and twisted stitch, panels for the Cherish the Ladies wrap. I reached beyond the Irish dance world by going through it for this design.

As you know, I've been hard at knit on the Countess Cathleen hooded cloak which is inspired by the song and dance from Riverdance, originally danced by the incomparable Jean Butler. The title and character Countess Cathleen comes from a poetic name for Ireland herself. This had me going on a bit of a tangent for other references in poetry and song, which lead me to the rich tapestry of Irish myths and legends. Many of which I'd read but tucked away in a corner of my mind for safe keeping.

But this got me thinking about creating something for some of the Ladies. As is often the case, I started playing with charts, both cables and lace. As I continued re-reading tales, I continued to bring ideas to my charts. I also started thinking on the ladies of my own family. During all of this deep diving, and by complete chance, I happened upon the jig tune Cherish the Ladies. If that wasn't a perfect name for whatever I was creating, I didn't know what was.

Near the end I had 6 cable and/or twisted stitch panels, and had dubbed each of them with a name from Irish legends: Caitlín, Áine, Ériu, Bríghid, the Morrígan, and Danu. In my arranging and rearranging of the panels into the final wrap, Caitlín and Danu have been set aside for future use.

The other 4 panels form Cherish the Ladies, a large wrap knit in the round by including steek stitches, which once cut and unraveled give the wrap its fringed edges. The cast on is the bottom of the wrap; the panels will be upright rather than knit from a short side. That means a very large number of cast-on stitches; 625 to be particular about it. If it helps, I have to cast-on that number at least once too!

I'll be using sport weight wool; I have a large quantity (over 2700 yards!) of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in a gorgeous aqua/teal shade (Thirst Heather is the colorway name) ready for this project. Oh, and there are some beads in the Ériu panels. You know, in case there weren't enough interesting bits to this design ;)

Cherish the Ladies will be my next sample cast on once I have the Countess off my needles :) I'm really excited to bring this one to reality. Although that cast-on is going to make a lot of us cringe. I promise: it's worth it!

Ok, fiber friends, onto my personal projects for 2024! I've split these into categories with 2 options in each. Eventually I plan on making each of these patterns but I have to prioritize somehow. I'd like to note that all of these are designs by designers that have participated in the FOYAL at least once.

First up is a cardigan. I have the yarn to knit Jeri by Kat Riddell🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Payhip shop), but I'm also intrigued with Kadigan by Robynn Weldon🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Payhip shop), and know where I can get suitable yarn for it. Leaning ever so slightly in favor of Jeri right now, I confess; knowing I could cast-on immediately is hugely appealing. Here are both designs:

Next up is a shawl. And oddly neither option is lace! I'm still in love with the Tunisian crochet beauty Ard Rí by Aoibhe Ni🔗 (link to the pattern page on her website, YarnTower.com), but there is a cabled contender with King Under the Mountain by Nicole/Common Thread🔗 (link to the pattern page in her Ko-fi shop). I don't have yarn for either of these but I must have them... which makes me what to hiss "My precccccioussss!" and that leads me to Tolkien-ian thoughts putting KUtM ever so slightly in the lead. But do I want to have two mega cabled projects on the go, in the same yarn weight, at the same time?? I'm torn, fiber friends. They're both sooooo amazing *heart eyes* See:

(I included 2 pics of KUtM to show both areas of patterning)

Ok, I wouldn't be me without another pair of double duty projects! I have a double-knit cowl and scarf set, Céilí (kay-lee), ready to have its samples knit. I even have the yarn for the cowl already! Although I don't like wearing cowls so I really should get up over the hill and get the yarn for the scarf... I digress! One of these lovelies will be on my needles this year. And considering what my other year's projects are, the cowl might be the only one I actually get finished lol!

Oh, that's not entirely true! I have two projects earmarked for small family cuties that will definitely get off my needles this year. But you'll have to wait until those are done and delivered for details and pics ;)

I think that's a good outline of what I have happening/planned in my crafting life. Now, will my physical health allow all of this, that's a completely separate question! At least let's hope to not have another tendinitis flare lasting nearly 2 months with minor glitches the rest of the year; that really ate into my craft time, work and otherwise. I didn't even get gifts for the cuties done in 2023 *sad face*.

What are your crafting plans, fiber friends? Something for yourself maybe? I'd love to hear what 2024 will have you putting on your needles and hooks :)

Yours in yarn and big plans,

Síle

Hole-y Double-Knits, bat-people!

This tutorial shows how I made the eyelets for the drawstrings in my Hornpipe Bag pattern. It's also good for buttonholes in double-knitting, in case you endeavour to a double-knit cardigan or vest.

For this tutorial, I'm using two colors of worsted weight yarn, Fresh Green as the Main Color (MC) and Off-white as the Contrast Color (CC), for good contrast and so the stitches are a bit larger and visible for you.

While the numbers and spacing are for my Hornpipe Bag, I hope you'll be able to apply this tutorial to other projects as well.

At Rnds 64 and 65, the chart directs you back to the written instructions. Here's what rnd 64 says:

Rnd 64: [Work 6 sts as established, *cast-off 6 sts working them in their same colors, work 13 sts as established (20 sts worked per * * repeat); repeat from * 6 more times, cast-off 6 sts working them in their same colors, work 3 sts as established] twice.

And here's what my "bag" looks like ready to start rnd 64: 

Ok, so I work 6 sts as established:

... and then cast-off 6 sts, working them with their same color:

Now you work 13sts; you'll have 14 sts to the left of your eyelet because of the stitch that was used to cast-off the last eyelet stitch:

And you repeat these steps to the end of the round as it's lined out in row 64. Here's all of my eyelets done in my tutorial swatch:

Onto rnd 65. I'm going to break this down line by line.

 Rnd 65: *Work sts as established until you reach an eyelet. Turn the piece. (Before you ask: yes, this is worked the same in both working in the round and working flat):

Next step:

**Insert the right needle into the 2nd st on the left needle as if to knit it through its back loop:

Using the same color as this stitch, draw through a loop:

... and place it on the left needle. One new stitch has been cast-on.:

Now insert the right needle into the 2nd stitch on the left needle as if to knit it:

Using the same color as this stitch, draw through a loop:

... and place it on the left needle; a new stitch has been cast-on.:

Repeat from ** twice; you've cast on 6 new sts total:

Turn the work and repeat working from the * (ie the beginning of rnd 65):

One other thing I should mention that you're probably noticing about my swatch. The Contrast Color strands are looking a bit crossed over each other. It's mostly undetectable once those sts are worked into on the following rnd/row, but I also recommend when knitting flat (as I am with the swatch) to always do the casting off of your eyelets on a Right Side row, so this bit of crossing is on the Wrong Side/inside of your finished item.

And there you have it! This concludes my photo tutorial on eyelets (or buttonholes) in double-knitting.

Wanna See a Swatch?

No, really. I was playing around with double-knitting and texture the other day and I made this little bit:

I think it's kind of cute and also interesting. I've been toying with a double-knit blanket idea for a bit, and I think this might create the effect I was looking for in part of it. Possibly. I'll have to try a few other things out next.

What do you think? Something you'd like to try maybe?

Speaking of double-knitting, I should have a double-knit eyelet tutorial up later this week. And yes, it ties directly to the Hornpipe Bag pattern.

Yours in yarn and double-knitting experiments and photo tutorials,

Síle

It's Been a Hot (& Humid) Minute

Where does time get to? Too much summer relaxing that's the culprit ;)

Not really! I've been hard at work here knitting samples and working new ideas into clearer pictures of what I want to do next.

And checking in with the three absolutely fantastic test knitters on Yarnpond who're flying through my Hornpipe Bag pattern. I'm majorly impressed with both their knitting skills and speed, and their feedback about the pattern. This was definitely a good decision on my part to check out Yarnpond for running my test knits. I'm so pleased with things so far.

And that means the Hornpipe Bag pattern will be out sometime in August; exact date not fully determined just yet. Absolutely certain on August though, so be sure to pop back here or turn on notifications for my account on Twitter and/or Instagram (links in the sidebar) to get the news as soon as it's ready!

Ok, I confess to this year's North American Irish Dance Championships (affectionately known as NANs and/or NAIDC) stealing my attention away from my yarny pursuits earlier this month; July 1st to 5th. Held in lovely Montréal this year, they showcased the top talent in the CLRG's North American region. My Instagram feed ranneth over with so many fantastic photos and video clips! *insert starry-eyed emoji here* I do not envy the judges their task to pick the absolute pinnacles amongst such talented dancers! And the outfits! The bling! Love love love seeing all the color everywhere! Orange and red seemed particularly popular; particularly appropriate for the summer heat. Congratulations to every dancer that qualified to dance in Montréal and the absolute best of luck to those who qualified for Worlds next Spring.

Alright let's come full circle and come back to yarny things, like my patterns ;) One of the samples I've been working diligently on (well when the yarn hasn't been physically sticking to my hands; I dislike humidity.) is that for my mkal!

And I can say it's coming along very nicely, as is the pattern writing portion of the job. Quite honestly, I should have the sample done later this week or early next week. 

What can I tell you about the mkal? 

It's for an accessory that is suitable for anyone, roughly teenage and older, especially those that experience colder temperatures; think under -10°C/14°F. I live in Canada; I know those temps are coming back in the Fall. 

I can tell you the pattern uses worsted or Aran weight yarn. The sample I'm working on now is being knit with a wool and nylon blend (80% wool, 20% nylon) yarn. The one I plan to knit along with everyone during the mkal will be knit using a 100% acrylic yarn. I'm pretty certain any fiber or blend of fibers will work with this pattern. I'm not fully sure of the yardage just yet. I have my swatch result number and will soon have my actual yardage used number. I like to compare the two before I give an amount to anyone. Same with the gauge and finished measurements. My version of "measure twice, cut once". I think that's some good starting information for you to start thinking about an mkal with a late Summer/early Fall start date. 

Furry nephew Jakey is starting to walk on me, so that tells me I've been typing for what he considers too long. Aren't cats fun to live with? :D I got this photo of him next to me while I was knitting yesterday:

Sleeping like a furry angel. I can report his health has been perfect the last quite awhile, which is a relief to his humans and his sisfur Silver. 

So that's all my news! Unfortunately I haven't been working on any personal projects enough to show you anything today. Hopefully next post!

Hope you're staying cool and enjoying the summer, or winter depending where you live. Are you working on any interesting projects? I'd love to hear about them!

Yours in yarn and cat fur,

Síle

Picking Up and Working Stitches Reversibly, a double-knitting technique

This tutorial is for my Hornpipe Bag pattern, and shows how I went from knitting the base flat in rows to knitting the sides of the bag in the round.

For this tutorial, I'm using two colors of worsted weight yarn, Fresh Green as the Main Color (MC) and Charcoal (gray) as the Contrast Color (CC), and two circular needles: the working needle is a 3.75mm (US 4), while the needle used for picking up the selvedge stitches is a 2.5mm (US?). I used a 3.5mm crochet hook for casting on my stitches. (Need a photo tutorial for the crochet cast-on? I have one on this blog here.)

(Please note that the demo piece has a different stitch count and motifs than the base in the pattern. I've given the correct numbers for the pattern throughout this tutorial.)

This is where your base is at:

The work is ready to work a right side row. You're going to pick up and work the stitches reversibly, working the first round of the sides chart instead of continuing to work flat.

Step 1:

With MC K2tog (this is the first MC st and the double stranded selvedge st), then with CC P1. Here's working the K2tog:

And how things look after working the P1:

Work across the next 74 sts (37 st-pairs) on the needle according to the chart.

With MC, K 1, with CC P2tog (this is the last CC st and the double stranded selvedge st). This is positioning the needles to work the P2tog:

And here's the result:

You have 78 sts (39 st-pairs) on your working needle. Place a marker and don't turn the work.

Step 2:

You'll notice the selvedge on each side of the base looks like a column of Vs. This is the left side:

Note that the yarns are in position to start working down this side.

Starting at the bottom of the left side, thread the spare circular needle through all of the right legs of the selvedge edge stitches until you reach the top. Here's the first 12 or so picked up:

And here they're all picked up:

Using the opposite end of the spare circular needle, thread it through all of the left legs of the selvedge edge stitches. You'll want to turn the base over to do this; here's the left side of the Vees getting started:

Once you've picked up everything, you should have 27 legs on each end of the holding circular needle. Here are all of mine picked up:

Hold the two ends of the holding needle together, as if you're going to work a 3 needle cast-off:

You'll be working the stitches off the holding needle onto the working needle. This does feel very tight and awkward. I recommend using a pointy needle for this, even if you use a double pointed needle to "grab" the new stitches and slip them onto the working needle. This is what I did with the fingering weight yarns and smaller needles of the bag; I didn't need to with the worsted weight yarns in this tutorial.

*Make sure both colors are at the back of the work. Using CC, K the first leg on the front needle:

Bring both colors to the front of the work and using MC, P the first leg on the back needle.

Bring both colors to the back and using CC, K one strand of the first leg on the front needle. Here's what it looks like to work into only one strand of a leg:

(It doesn't matter which strand you work into first. I go for the closest one rather than lifting one over the other. The strands were twisted together as you worked the selvedge so do what's easiest and don't stress.)

Bring both colors to the front and using MC, P one strand of the first leg on the back needle.

Bring both colors to the back and using CC, K the remaining strand of the first leg on the front needle.

Bring both colors to the front and using MC, P the remaining strand of the first leg on the back needle.

What do you have at this point? You've turned 2 selvedge Vees into 6 sts (3 st-pairs). Which is the proper ratio for picking up sts along a stockinette edge: 3 picked up sts on each side for 4 rows of knitting.

Repeat from * until 3 legs remain on the front and back tips of the holding needle.

Work the last 3 legs without separating the strands so you end with 78 sts (39 st-pairs) on the side.** PM. Here's what you have along that side:

You're halfway through!

Step 3:

Here's what the crochet cast-on edge looks like:

It has a similar row of Vees like the side selvedge did.

Work across the cast-on edge of the base section, using MC for the Ks (legs closest to you) and CC for the Ps (legs away from you) working without separating the strands of the legs. You’ll have 78 sts (39 st-pairs) across the cast-on edge. PM. Here's the cast-on edge all worked into:

Note that the top and cast-on edges match. This is also setting up the color blocking of the sides.

Step 4:

Starting from the top of the base section, thread the spare circular needle through the legs of the selvedge sts as you did for the first side. The right legs of the (upside down) Vees picked up:

And both legs picked up:

Work from * to ** above. (This is exactly what you did for the first side, the legs just slant the other direction.)

PM for beginning of the rnd:

There are 312 sts (156 st-pairs) in total. You've picked up and worked all of the needed stitches from the base reversibly, and worked your first round of the sides chart. 

Continue working rounds 2 through 63 according to the chart.

I'll have another photo tutorial on working the eyelets for the drawstrings on rounds 64 and 65 for you soon.