One Skein Mesh Crochet Bag

EDIT:: Hold your horses!! Before you read on, you might like me to direct you to the updated version, which is a far more straight forward pattern with pretty much the same results. GO HERE for the new written pattern. And go HERE to YouTube for the video tutorial. Ta! x

The first anniversary of my blogging ways today. That went quickly! Yay me! I’ve enjoyed all of it so far. I’ve learned so much and (conversely) haven’t learned anything at all! I wasn’t sure what it would be like, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I wonder what the following year will bring!?

In celebration of this momentous occasion (and it totally is momentous), I’m sharing a crochet pattern of mine.

I’ve made a couple of mesh bags before, but they required more than just one ball of yarn. I didn’t want loads of balls/skeins rolling about everywhere, and I didn’t want to spend loads of money. Crochet can be an expensive hobby!

There are some photos below that show the bag’s strap stage, and there is also a delightful diagram to help show how the rounds are joined. I found it tricky to word the pattern for those bits!

A Crochet Market Bag

It’s a deceptively good-sized bag. When I was making it, I was unsure there’d be much point in it, but you can actually fit loads in this mesh bag. It has a good amount of stretch.

The yarn I used is Rico Essentials cotton dk in Emerald. I used a 3mm hook.

At the end, I had approximately one metre of yarn left. Your tension will probably be different to mine, and if you’re worried about running out of cotton, you could skip a round or make the strap shorter. The yarn is lovely to use, and I want more!!

Crochet Mesh Bag Pattern

• 3mm crochet hook
• Rico Essentials Cotton dk in Emerald
• The pattern is written in UK terms.

Start with a magic ring (or ch4 and join with a slip stitch).
Round 1: Ch3, 11tr into ring. Join to third ch of initial 3 ch with a slip stitch. Pull the magic ring tight to secure. [12st]

Round 2: Ch3, 1 tr into same stitch. 2 tr into each space. Join to third ch of initial 3 ch with a slip stitch. [24st]

Round 3: Ch3, *2tr in next stitch, 1 tr in next* around, ending with 2tr in last st. [36st]

Round 4: Ch1, 1dc in same st. *ch3, skip 1 stitch, 1dc in next* around until the second to last st (stitch).
At this point, ch1 and make a htr into beginning dc. Have a look at the diagram to see how to join rounds at the end. Bear in mind that it’s just a partial section of the round, showing the important bit. Placing a stitch marker on the last stitch of each round from here will help. [18 ch sp].

Round 5: *Ch4, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch2, 1htr into the top of the last st of the previous round (ie into the top of the htr of previous round).

Round 6: *ch5, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch2, 1tr into the top of the last st of the previous round.

Round 7: *ch6, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch3,  tr into the top of the last st of the previous round.

Round 8-9: *Ch7, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch3, 1double tr into the top of the last st of the previous round.

Round  10:  Three increases will be made at even intervals in this round. *Ch7, 1dc in next ch sp, ch4, 1 dc in same ch sp. (Ch7, 1dc in next ch sp) x 5. Repeat from * two more times, finishing before the last ch7. Instead, Ch3, 1double tr into the top of the last st of the previous round. [21ch sp]

Round 11-12: *Ch7, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch3, 1double tr into the top of the last st of the previous round.

Round 13-20: Ch8, 1dc in next ch sp* around until second to last ch sp. Ch4, 1double tr into the top of the last st of the previous round.

Round 21: As Round 7.

Round 22: As Round 6.

Round 23: Ch1, 1dc in same stitch, 4dc in each ch sp, 1dc in top of each dc of previous round, sl st to join to first st.

Round 24-25: Ch1, 1 dc in same space, dc around, sl st to join to first st. Do not cut yarn.

The Crochet Bag Strap

Continuing from Round 25,
Row 1: Ch1, 1dc in same space, 1dc in next 7 sts, turn. [8]

Row 2: Ch1, 8dc, turn. [8]
Repeat Row 2 until the desired strap length or when nearing the end of the yarn. My strap measures approx 18″.

Turn your bag inside out. To attach the handle to the other side of the bag, first count how many stitches are around the top of the bag. I had 100 stitches. The strap needs to be in the middle. I counted 42 stitches along the right side of my handle (42 + 8 = 50. That’s half of the stitches around the top of the bag). The next stitch (see pic below) was where I started to attach the other end of the strap. Make sure there are no twists in your bag strap!

The hook should be on the right-hand side. If it isn’t, crochet another row of the strap or take one away.

Ch1. Insert hook through first stitch on strap and the chosen stitch on the other side of the bag (see pic below). Yarn over and pull through all loops/stitches. Repeat for the last 7 stitches, leaving out the initial ch1.
Fasten off and sew ends securely.
Finished!

Make sure to sew the ends in really well.

A Finished Crochet Mesh Bag

I only made one crochet mesh bag, which I frogged a few times in the design process. This crochet pattern is mostly a way for me to practice pattern writing. I’m not a professional, it took blinkin’ ages, and it’s free! Useful feedback would be gratefully received. Thanks.

Please don’t then publish this pattern without my permission, please don’t pinch the pattern to sell, and if you want to make the bags to sell, please give me credit. And send me a message to say what you’ve been up to, as I would love to hear from you. Ta very much!

Thanks very much and thanks for reading!

xxx

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Triangle Granny Shawl

This cute triangle granny shawl is a really fast make, which I speedily churned out last week. It has turned out much nicer than I thought it would, I’m ever so pleased! It has also come at a very convenient time because as soon as the last end was sewn in, the temperature dropped, and it was literally freezing outside.

Whilst there are numerous Granny triangle shawl patterns already out there, I didn’t bother checking any out until after I’d started this one. It was mainly to see if I was doing it the way others did. Mostly I was, but I think they’re all unique in some way.

I’ll share what I did to crochet my triangle granny shawl here (with pictures), so if you want to make it, you can. It is an excellent beginner’s project and a fantastic yarn stash buster.

I started crocheting it on a Monday and finished it on a Friday. It was taken out with me when I went places, so I could pick it up and stitch a few rows here and there. Or I just plonked myself in front of the telly of a chilly night.

Yarn for a Granny Stitch Shawl

I’ve used Drops Lima, which is an Alpaca/wool mix double knit yarn. I fell in love with Drops when I squished a few balls of it in a shop in Nailsworth (just outside Stroud) last year.  It was Karisma, which I went on to use in the Lilypad Fireplace blanket. For this triangle granny shawl, I used Drops Lima in the following: Off White (x5 balls) and one of each of Goldenrod (!), Powder Pink, Cerise, Pistachio, Grey Blue and Dark Blue. They come in 50 gram balls.

The pattern uses UK terms, but it really isn’t difficult to translate to US crochet speak. Essentially, a UK tr is a US dc.

I used a 4mm hook. The 3ch at the beginning of rows always counts as a first stitch.

And whilst you’re here, please feel free to look around. Have you checked out my other free crochet patterns?

Crochet Stitch Abbreviations:
ch= chain, ch-sp= chain space, dc= double crochet (US single), tr= treble crochet (US double), htr= half treble (US hdc).
ss= slip stitch, st= stitch, ^ = little arrow pointing upwards!

Granny Triangle Shawl Pattern

To begin, get yourself a slip knot and put it on your hook. You’ll need to do this for the colour changes too.

Ch4 and join with a ss to make a circle. (A magic circle might work better for this but I didn’t even think of doing it at the time!)

Row 1: Ch3 (remember that this counts as the first stitch!) [top left pic ^], 2tr into the circle, ch2, 3tr into the circle [top right pic ^], turn.

Row 2: Ch3 [bottom left pic ^], 2tr into the first st [bottom right pic ^], (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in last st (top of the 3ch), turn.

Row 3: Ch3, 2tr into first st [right pic ^], 3tr in next sp between clusters, (3tr, ch2, 3tr) in centre ch-sp, 3tr in next sp, 3tr in last st, turn.

Continue as Row 3 until you’ve used all the main colour. Cut yarn and fasten off. I used 5x 50g balls.

It should look something like this ^.

For colour changes, make a slip knot with your chosen colour and attach to the top of the first st with a ss. Carry on as normal. I worked two rows of each colour. – Side note, feel free to change colour using your preferred method. I no longer change colour by securing with a slip knot. It’s still OK to do it like this though.

Crochet Scallop Edging

This is a very simple and pretty way to finish off your triangle granny shawl.

Attach the Powder Pink yarn.
Row 1: Ch3, work 1tr in the top of each stitch all the way along to the centre, (2tr, ch1, 2tr) in centre ch-sp, continue tr sts to end, turn.

Row 2: Ch3, 4tr in same st, *Miss 1 st, ss in the next, miss 1 st, 5tr in the next; Repeat from * to centre, 7tr in centre st, continue on your merry way until the end of the row. The last scallop of tr stitches is finished with a ss in the same st, which should hopefully be the last st of the row. Cut yarn and fasten off.

Back loops only for this row apart from the slip stitches.
Row 3: With the right side of the scallops facing you, attach Cerise. Ch2, htr in each tr st, ss in each ss to centre. For the middle scallop: work 1htr in each of the first two tr, 1tr in the next st, 3tr in the next (middle) st, 1tr in the next st, 1htr in each of the last two sts. Continue in pattern to end. Cut yarn and fasten off. Sew in your ends!

Blocking your crochet granny shawl may be a good idea at this stage, but as I’m incredibly lazy I haven’t bothered with it. It would definitely benefit the edging if it is particularly curly, but I think it adds to the scallopy effect.

And that is it! I feel like I’ve seen the word scallop a few too many times now, not sure I’m keen.

I’ve been wearing it like a scarf. Look! A crappy self-portrait. I chose this one for the Minecraft picture in the background. It wasn’t until afterwards that I cleaned the mirror. Wish I’d done my eyebrows.

When trying to take pictures, it takes twice as long when the cat wants to get involved.

I hope you like this granny pattern. Feel free to leave a comment or say hello! And check out my summery granny shawl here! Or, if you’re from the future and a few years have passed, check out my 4ply granny triangle granny shawl that is the best stash buster ever!

If you like this Granny Triangle Shawl, please feel free to check out some of my other Free Crochet Patterns. This is one of my first, eeek.

Crochet Granny Owl Decoration

For 2019, I have written an update and created a video tutorial on YouTube: How to Crochet a Granny Owl . Cheers.

A while ago I wrote about how I was working on a crochet pattern. It was a design idea that I came up with a few years ago, but I wasn’t entirely happy with it. I dug out my old and poorly written crochet pattern and decided to play around with it; give it a little makeover. I now think it is ready to be unleashed so it can fly off and make new friends!

Here are lots of crochet granny owl decorations in various stages of making. They don’t take too long to put together.

I’m only hurting them because I love them.

I made eight little crochet granny owl decorations in the end, each of which turned out a little different depending on how I tweaked the pattern. Every single one has a unique personality.

What I like is that you can add bits or leave bits off. Wings, tufty ears, a hangy loop. The wings can be sewn on completely or half-sewn on so that they flap about. They work beautifully as cute handmade Christmas decorations, too.

Owly with wings and tufty ears.

Owly without wings and tufty ears. This one has suffered a minor injury to his hanging loop. He was attacked by a scissor-wielding boy.

A friend of mine knew what I was up to and offered to help turn my pattern into a fancy pants PDF that could be downloaded. This is something I have no experience in, and I am unbelievably grateful that she spent so much time making it for me. She is an amazing artist and graphic designer. It looks so pretty! I have given her an open favour in return, I wonder what it’ll be…

The PDF should be just below. It has the pattern and some (hopefully) helpful pictures.

GRANNY OWL PATTERN (2)

I love these crochet granny owls. I feel a weeny bit of proud of myself! They’re very cute. I think a snowy owl version would look lovely hanging from a Christmas tree. Or, I’m thinking of a Halloween version?! I’d love to see one of those. Also, I’m sure it could be turned into other creatures besides an owl. Can’t think of any at the moment though…um… turn it upside down, add a few curling tentacles and it’s an octopus??

If you like this pattern, please take a look at my other free crochet patterns.

I’m also on Pinterest come and have a look. I flippin love Pinterest!

I often share quite a few crafts I’ve made from other people’s patterns, but there hasn’t been much that has come directly from my own brain. Sooo, I am going to rectify that now and share a crochet pattern for little flowers that I’ve come up with myself.

It’s a pattern for some delicate little flowers. I’m sure there are lots of similar ones out there, but this one is nice because I created it for my friend’s daughter. She wanted some hair clips with crochet flowers, and this is what I came up with.  There are two sizes because the first size I made was just a bit too big to stick on a hair clip. So, I downsized the flower motif. I don’t remember if I took photographs of the original flowers I made; this idea happened about two years ago!

Little Flower Crochet Pattern

Please excuse me if the pattern doesn’t work; I’ve never done this properly before. My notebook has words and pictures that I deciphered, translating that has been…interesting… Gosh, if that doesn’t fill you with confidence!

For both of these quick crochet patterns, I used a 3mm hook and Stylecraft Special DK. I’ve written the pattern in UK terms.

Small Crochet Flower Pattern

Chain (ch) 6 and join with a slip stitch (ss).
Round 1: Ch3, 1tr into the ring (counts as 1 pair of spokes), (ch5, 2tr into ring) x5, ch5 and join with a ss to the top of the ch3 – [6 petals].
Fasten off (Fo).

Round 2: Join new colour with a ss between a pair of spokes (pictured above), 6dc in each 5ch sp (space), ss in between each pair of spokes, join with a ss to the first ss. Fo and sew in ends. (Round 2 is pictured, below).

Extra Small Flower Pattern.

Ch5 and join with a ss.
Round  1: Ch2, 1htr into ring (counts as 1 pair of spokes), (ch3, 2htr) x4, ch3 and join with ss to the top of the ch2. – [5petals]. Fo.

Round 2: Join new colour with a ss in between a pair of spokes. 4dc in each 3ch sp, ss in between each pair of spokes. Join with a ss to the first stitch. Fo and sew in ends.

With the help of a glue gun, just wodge these on a hair clip. I can see lots of them together on a headband, too, or do whatever you like with them! I am pretty sure these little crochet flowers are very versatile!

My First Ever Written Crochet Pattern!

There, my first ever published crochet pattern. I do have more designs that I’m going to blog about, including one that I am completely in love with, which is very cute indeed. I want to see if I’ve got this one right before I get overexcited though. I’d love to hear what people think, but please don’t hate it!!