The Honey Clutch by PetiteKnit is such a fun knit. I love all things honeycomb brioche and constructing this cute little bag. I used a different (easier) technique to knit the honeycomb brioche in the round, and I sewed everything by hand. Keep reading for more on my experience knitting the Honey Clutch:
I first saw the Honey Clutch on instagram and immediately wanted to make one. It’s a small zip-top pouch knit in honeycomb brioche with a fabric lining sewn inside.
MATERIALS
- Yarn (fingering + lace = sport weight)
- Knitting Needles (US 1.5)
- Fabric
- Zipper
- Notions – Sewing Thread/Needle/Fabric Scissors/Pins
Fabric
I bought the fabric for my Honey Clutch first and decided that I would pick yarn to accent it. This floral pattern was so beautiful to me. It had a small enough design that I thought would work well in the clutch. I ordered one yard since that was the smallest increment you can get; I’ll make as many little Honey Clutch bags as I can to get the full use out of it. They also had a lot of other super cute fabric patterns to choose from.
Yarn
I used Magpie Fibers Feather in Soiree and yarn that I dyed held together for the Honey Clutch. This is the first time I used yarn that I dyed in a project! I tried to match the berry color in the fabric and I think, with the Soiree color, it turned out great.
SWATCHING
I rarely ever swatch for gauge; I’ve been fortunate enough that most knits have worked out for me. I know I should probably get in the habit of doing a quick swatch, but I’m usually really eager to just start knitting the project. I did do a small swatch for my Honey Clutch to test different color combinations before I eventually ended up using the Magpie Fibers.
Honeycomb brioche is my favorite stitch. I love how it looks and how fun it is to knit. I first learned honeycomb brioche from my Favo Sweater, and I loved it so much that I modified my Penguono to include it too. The Honey Clutch pattern gives directions for knitting a swatch in honeycomb brioche which is different than how I learned the stitch. It was really interesting to learn a new way to create the same stitch.
HONEY CLUTCH | KNITTING
Double Knit Base
The Honey Clutch starts off with the bottom/base of the bag which is double knit. I first learned double knitting when I knit the collar for my Penguono. I used my interchangeable mini chiaogoo needle set in US 1.5 on an 8″ cable. I didn’t realize this clutch was knit with such a small needle from the pictures, but was glad I already had the size required.
Conversion Error
The pattern directions for double knitting were really clear, and it was a lot easier than the way I had done in my Penguono. I noticed that there was an error in the length conversion throughout the pattern and on Ravelry. It says the base is “17cm (7¾ inches)”, but 17cm is actually closer to 6¾ inches. Since the designer is from Denmark, I followed the centimeter measurements and knit to 17cm.
Pick Up Stitches
Picking up stitches was easy since the double knitting created a clear stitch to go through. The directions clearly say how many stitches to pick up from each side. Since I had knit to 17cm (instead of the 7¾ inches), everything matched up perfectly.
Because the Honey Clutch is smaller, the pattern recommends using DPNs on the small ends, and the same circular needle for the long sides. My chiaogoo mini set comes with two sets of US 1.5 needles — 2″ and 3″ length needles. I picked up the sides of my clutch with the 3″ length needles on a 22″ cable, one of the ends with a US 2 DPN (that’s the closest size DPN I had), and the other end with the 2″ length needles on the 8″ cable I used for the double knitting.
Honeycomb Brioche Sides
The pattern describes knitting the honeycomb brioche in the round, across all the different needles. The method in the pattern is different than the way I had learned. It describes working the different rows on RS and WS. So even though it’s “in the round”, you’re really working flat/back and forth.
I knit honeycomb brioche in the round for the sleeves on my Favo Sweater, so I decided to use that method instead. I prefer this method because the steps are easier and you don’t have to turn your work at all. I ended up using this “in the round modification” with my 3″ needle tips + 22″ cable and magic loop instead of knitting across different needles.
In the Round Modification
Here’s a video I found that shows the technique I used:
If you like this technique too, here’s what I did in my Honey Clutch:
- Set-up Round 1 as described in the pattern
- Round 1 of honeycomb brioche as described in the pattern, but don’t turn your work
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- Round 2: *P1, P1 together with the slip stitch* repeat to end of round
- Round 3: *K1b, K1* repeat to the end of round
- Round 4: *P1 together with the slip stitch, P1* repeat to the end of round
- Round 1: *K1, K1b* repeat to the end of round
And then just repeat the four Rounds until it reaches the required length, ending after either round 1 or 3. I hope this technique is helpful for you.
End Tabs
Because I knit the honeycomb brioche in the round, I had to shift around some stitches to be able to knit the end tabs. The notes on sl1yo stitches didn’t apply to me either since my “in the round modification” didn’t use that type of stitch.
I used my smaller needles on the 8″ cord to double knit the end tabs. I was unfamiliar with the Italian bind-off, but this video showed me exactly what I needed to do.
I didn’t follow his set-up rows as mentioned in the video since I had already been doing double knitting. Then, I separated the slipped stitches and the knit stitches and used Kitchener Stitch to bind off which I was really familiar with from knitting my 9″ circular needle socks.
Plackets for Zipper
The pattern references tutorial/help videos on the designer’s website, but the link just directs you to the homepage (not the specific video). I eventually did find the videos on YouTube. There aren’t English subtitles available (yet), but it was nice to see some of the steps in action.
The plackets for the zipper were fun for me. I liked joining the stitches with the sides and watching it all come together.
HONEY CLUTCH | ZIPPER
The zipper is sewn in by hand. I wasn’t feeling confident about sewing, and I procrastinated a while before starting this step. The video was helpful in showing the steps and it was actually less intimidating than I thought.
I used a 7″ zipper and kept it un-zipped so I had more room to see around it. I used the basting stitches to lock it in place before sewing the main stitches. My stitches aren’t the most even, but they did the job.
I felt really accomplished when the zipper was finally in. My clutch looked like a real bag, and I only had the lining left to complete.
HONEY CLUTCH | LINING
Since my zipper sewing was successful, I wanted to dive right into the lining so I could just finish my Honey Clutch.
The lining was a bit of a challenge for me. I cut the fabric to the required dimensions and folded it according to the sketches in the back. I had to hand sew everything since I don’t have a sewing machine. It took a long time for me and my stitches are far from perfect.
I was just happy to finish all the measuring and sewing without any major issues. In this step, using a sewing machine would have been a lot easier/faster.
Securing the Lining
Once the lining was complete, I hand sewed a few stitches in each of the 8 corners to lock everything in place.
My fabric scissors came with these little clips that I used to hold my clutch together with the lining. With the fabric secure, I sewed in the lining following the technique in the video.
Unfortunately, my stitches weren’t very invisible and I had to go back to make more secure/obvious ones.
FINISHED OBJECT
I loved knitting this little honeycomb brioche clutch. I wish the pattern had a few directional photos, but the youtube videos were really helpful. It was so much fun creating the tabs and zipper plackets; the construction came together in a really cool way.
I struggled with the hand sewing, but that was completely my issue. I loved the fabric I chose, I’m so happy that I was able to use my own hand dyed yarn in this project. This Honey Clutch was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to pop it into a larger bag to keep organized, or to just quickly grab it on the way out. Check out my Ravelry Page for a look at what I’m working on next!
