My grandmother is the best when it comes to buying loads of yarn no one will ever want to have touch their skin. She means well, but she sees the price and thinks that because it's so cheap she can buy a whole bunch and save in the long run. Then she starts a project, doesn't use nearly all the yarn she's bought and gives the rest to me. So I have bins of yarn, in really odd colors and mostly baby or medium weight. They are for the most part very scratchy and unbelievably warm to work with. These yarns will never be hats, mittens, scarves or sweaters or afghans. So they are building up, taking up space in my storage and yearning to become something that is semi-useful at the least. Now I have a pretty decent adjustable pattern that can take all these yarns and use them (and get them out of my storage). So, here it is. It may not be written too clearly in spots, and I apologize in advanced for that. This is the very first pattern I've written myself. Tell me if there are any bits that need to be explained more clearly.
Green Shopping Bag
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Materials:
H (5 mm) crochet hook
H (5 mm) crochet hook
approximately 375 yards of medium weight yarn
I used Loops & Threads Impeccable 100% acrylic yarn in fern, 268yds per skein
Darning needle
Scissors
Abbreviations:
ch=chain
sc= single crochet
hdc= half double crochet
slst= slip stitch
The gauge on this is not critical, neither is the hook size or yarn. Use whatever yarn you have with an appropriate hook. The bags dimensions will vary accordingly. My bag finished at around 11.5 inches tall, 10 inches wide and 5.5 inches deep. There are six pieces to the bag, they are made up and then everything is sewn/slip stitched together.
Piece 1 - Bottom (make 1)
Row 1/foundation ch 22, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. - (20 sc), ch 1 turn
Row 2 sc in each sc across, ch 1 turn -(20 sc), ch 1 turn
Repeat row 2 for about 45 rows. I stopped when my piece was about 10 inches. Finish off.
Piece 2 & 3 - Sides (make 2)
Row 1/foundation ch 23, hdc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across. - (20 hdc), ch 2 turn.
Row 2 Hdc in each hdc across (20 hdc), ch 2 turn.
Row 3 Hdc in 1st hdc, *ch 1, skip 1 hdc, hdc in next hdc*, repeat *to* across until there are 9 ch1 spaces. Hdc in last 2 hdc, ch 3 turn.
Row 4 *Hdc in ch 1 space below, ch 1* repeat *to* across hdc in last 2 hdc ch 2 turn
Row 5 Hdc in each hdc and each ch 1 space across (20 hdc)
Repeat rows 2-5 seven times, then row 2 once more. Finish off
Piece 4 & 5 - Front & Back (make 2)
Row 1/foundation ch 45, hdc in 3rd ch from hook and each chain across (42 hdc), ch 2 turn
Row 2 Hdc in each hdc across, (42 hdc), ch 2, turn
Row 3 Hdc in 1st hdc, *ch 1, skip 1 hdc, hdc in next hdc*, repeat *to* across until there are 21 ch 1 spaces. Hdc in last 2 hdc, ch 3 turn.
Row 4 *Hdc in ch 1 space below, ch 1* repeat *to* across hdc in last 2 hdc ch 2 turn
Row 5 Hdc in each hdc and each ch 1 space across (42 hdc)
Repeat rows 2-5 seven times, then row 2 once more. Finish off.
Take the bottom and lay it with a long edge wrong side to wrong side of either front or back along the foundation row. Slip stitch or chain though both layers. In the same way line up the other front/back and then the sides. You should have the bottom with all four sides sewn to it. Now, one edge at a time sew from the bottom to the top edge. Weave in all the ends and trim them. (I'm sorry I don't have pics of this in progress, I know my explanations are probably confusing) Really, this is just the way I chose to construct this bag, you can sew the seams so they are on the inside if you prefer.
Handle (make 1)
Here again, if you have a method you prefer use it. This is just how I chose to do mine.
Ch 7. Hdc in 2nd ch from hook and across (5 hdc) ch 2 turn.
Hdc across, ch 2 turn. Repeat this last row until the length of the handle is about 7.5 times as long as the bag is tall. In my bag the total length of the handle is about 82 inches. Finish off, leaving a good sized tail for sewing. Sew the last row to the first row as flat as you can. Now that you have a very large loop, lay it flat on a table in a very long oblong shape. It should look like two long straps side by side with a loop at each end. Mark the center of the long strap part, mark the center between the short edges of the bag bottom. Place the center marks so they line up and evenly space the straps along the bottom.
Pin the rest of the handle along the side to the top edges and sew in place. Sew in any loose ends and you're done!
This is actually a pretty strong bag. I took some things out of my pantry to see how much it could hold. I put four one pound boxes of Duncan Hines cake mix, a 1 pound box of spaghetti and a 3 pound jar of applesauce, so 8 pounds of stuff and it was easy to hold and walk from my kitchen to my front door and back. The bag stretched, but not too much. More importantly it did not stress along any of the seams.
I started this on July 12th and was done with it on the 14th. As you can see the handle is a slightly different color than the rest of the bag. That's because I used the one full skein of the Loops & Threads yarn I had and then after sewing the bag up I didn't have enough for the handle. So I chose the same weight yarn of a (what I think is a) complimentary color to make the handle.
I hope you like the pattern and can use it. I am thinking of translating it for knitting, but that may take a few weeks. Until the next post then!!!
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