Anouk is small, playful, teaming with vibrant, youthful energy. She likes to be decorated, to change her look. One day she is stylishly sleek, without adornment, saturated color. Another day, she is glittering with rhinestones, cabochon rivets, a skull ornament, or fierce look-at-me spikes.

Vianne is refined, formal, captivating. You admire her across the room. She, too, likes the way adornment and color can change her mood. How will you dress her?

Both move with ease through any landscape, the crowded streets and plazas of famous cities, the isles of trains and old churches, gardens mysterious with fog, windswept beaches or boardwalks. Where will you take them?

Finished Dimensions

Anouk Bag

8 1/2" (21.25cm) wide across the front/back at bag bottom
5 1/2" (13.75cm) wide across the front/back at bag top
4" (10cm) deep
7" (17.5cm) tall from bottom to frame rod

Vianne Bag

14" (15cm) wide across the front/back at bag bottom
9 3/4" (24.25cm) wide across the front/back at bag top
6" (15cm) deep
14 1/2" (36.25cm) tall from bottom to frame rod

Pattern Difficulty

Intrepid Easy: Requires knowledge of knitting and purling, increasing and decreasing, knitting in the round on circular needles, and some hand-sewing during the finishing process.

Gauge

Pre-felted gauge: 12 stitches and 16 rounds = 4" (10cm) in St st with a double-strand of worsted weight yarn.

Materials

Anouk and Vianne Hardware Kit includes:

6" (15cm, small) or 10" (25cm, large) purse frame
27" (68cm) purse chain (for Anouk)
Six Noni 24mm bag feet
Amazing Snap or Poseidon turnlock
11.25 x 13.5 in sheet of stiffener
1 Noni Design Label

Yarn Requirements

Anouk (small) Bag: 500 yds (457m)
Vianne (large) Bag: 1500 yds (914m)

Needles and Other Materials

Size 11 (8mm) 24" (60cm) circular needle
Tapestry needle & sewing needles
Nylon beading thread
Stitch markers

Pictured Samples

Each of the bags pictured was made using Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool. Anouk is pictured in Orange. Vianne is pictured in Hot Pink.

There are skull people . . . The mom of one of my girlfriends has knitting and accessory bags with skull and crossbones printed on them. I've seen people wearing skulls emblazoned across hats, the backs of leather jackets, knitted mittens.

And then there are people who don't know they are secretly skull people . . . I would be one of these. I have always been a great appreciator of the day of the dead, but not a skull person . . . until I screwed this little skull ornament onto the front flap of my Anouk bag. I love it. I want more. And because they are so easy to attach - just screw in place - it makes it easy to put them anywhere you want a little skull: a bag, a change purse, the front of a notebook cover. I can even see one screwed into the uppermost eyelet of your favorite lace-up boots. . . or sneakers. . . or. . . Have fun with these guys!

Click on the Additional Details tab for Skull Ornament dimensions and basic instructions for how to apply to bags, garments, and other things.

Dimensions of a single Skull Ornament

.5" (1.25cm) wide
1" (2.5cm) tall
.25" (6mm) deep

Skull Application Instructions

To attach, simply pierce fabric or leather with an awl or leather punch respectively, then put screw end through pierced hole and screw back in place. For an extra-secure attachment, use a dot of clear fingernail polish or fabritack or other non-permanent adhesive into the female part of the screw assembly. Screw in tight using a screw-driver.

Many of the newest designer handbags are decorated with cabochon rivets, and the newest releases almost always sport them. Now, the home-knitter and crafter can use these same top-quality rivets to make similar cutting edge designs on the flaps and bodies of felted, fabric, or leather bags. 

Now available in Gunmetal, and Antique Brass so you can match your bag hardware with each, our package of 20 9mm Cabochon rivets add interest to felted and finished bags, knitted and ready-to-wear garments, coats, boots, sandal straps . . . Both rivet head and shank have smooth caps so they are pretty on front and back.

Picture a grid work of cabochons on the front of a purse, a row of them around a purse flap. Decorate the centers of our Bling Flowers. Embellish the outside seam of a pair of jeans. Or the ruffles of your Ella coats. Of the top of some soft leather boots. As soon as you start designing embellishments with Cabochon Rivets, you will start to think of countless places you could put one, or two . . . or more.

Click on the Additional Details tab for Cabochon Rivet dimensions and rivet application instructions.

Dimensions of a Single Cabochon Rivet

Rivet top width: 3/4" (10mm)
Rivet top height: 2/16" (4mm)
Rivet shank length: 5/16" (8mm)
Rivet back width: 5/16" (9mm)

Rivet Application Instructions

Not only do Cab Rivets add a glint and sparkle to projects, but they are also easy to apply.

To pierce fabric or leather, use an awl or leather punch, respectively.

To pierce felt, simply use the sharp point of size 6 or smaller double-pointed needle. Next, arrange the rivets as desired, press the rivet back through the fabric from back to front (from wrong side through to right side), and snap the rivet front on.

Cabochon Rivets can be set with a custom fancy rivet setter (an expensive tool that I didn't think worked very well when I tried it with my super useful concave anvil). Consequently, I devised another way to set these rivets that is not only more economical but also easy and just as effective: once all of the rivets have been placed, twist off the rivet top and put a little Locktite Superglue (I prefer "extra time control") in the receptacle on the back of the rivet front or on the top of the rivet back and a little on the bag itself just around the hole where the rivet resides; then snap the rivet together. Hold in place for a few seconds and the rivet is set.

Let's just say you didn't use enough glue the first time. . . to make sure all your rivets will stay put, give them all a bit of a nudge. If you ascertain that the rivet is not secure, remove the top again and repeat the instruction again. Hold until the glue is set (about 15 seconds with the above-recommended glue).