Spaghetti Tote
Yarn: KnitPicks CotLin (main, meatballs), KnitPicks Palette (spaghetti)
Pattern: I used the Hanna Tote from Love Crafts as a base to determine stitch count and construction. Substituted a slip stitch strap instead of stockinette.
Finished: November 11, 2026
Notes: I think I might be the only knitter who loves making i-cord. Ever since I discovered this, I've been wanting to make a spaghetti-themed item. So when I finished my Cloud Tote, my next project was obvious: spaghetti tote or die.
I admit this took much longer than I expected. I finished the knitted base first. It's simple, though I did cut off the original straps at the end and replace them with a slip stitch strap that is supposedly sturdier (I'm skeptical). To be honest, the knitting on this project is far from perfect. I wasn't bothered enough to go back and fix it since I knew a lot of it would be covered anyway.
Then I moved on to the spaghetti, which took forever. It doesn't look like it, but the plate has about 10 feet of i-cord. It was fun to make, and it was even more fun to bead. I got a bunch of red and green glass seed beads and went ham.
Then I sewed the spaghetti onto a needle felted plate. That was my least favorite part of the project. I used to be really into needle felting, but it's not my favorite craft. Also, I hate the way the wool makes my hands feel.
After that, pom poms. Easy to make, easy to sew on. I experimented with adding little white beads that look like parmesan, but it didn't look right. I might experiment with making a beaded brooch with them instead. Here's a close up of the spaghetti if you're curious.
The fork and spoon were fun to make too. I wanted to make them look more three-dimensional, but even my patience for tedium wears thin sometimes. They're a bit wonky, but I'm happy with how they turned out overall. I've never beaded an actual shape before, so it was fun to play around.
Then I sewed everything together. The placemat is a chunk of tablecloth I thrifted. I used the same fabric to create the bag's lining.
Speaking of lining, I ended up adding interfacing inside the bag. I've never used it before, but it helped a lot. The spaghetti plate alone weighs about 4 pounds, so the bag was pretty floppy before I added the interfacing.
In retrospect, I don't know why I didn't weave the bag. It would have been a lot less stretchy. I have a loom sitting in my craft room, and yet it didn't occur to me. Maybe next time.
Anyway, I think this turned out pretty fun, and I'm glad to have this project out of my system. I still plan to make the fish tank bag I mentioned when I posted about the Cloud Tote. My new knowledge of interfacing should help a lot with that project when I finally get around to it.
But that might take a while, because I have a bunch of individual socks that need pairs (and a whole lot of unused sock yarn). Probably nothing but socks for at least a few months.