I’m taking part in the Southeastern Ontario Yarn Crawl and one of the challenges was to create a project bag.
I decided to create one based on my circle bag but on a bit smaller scale. So out came the bag full of little balls of leftover yarn from socks and fingerless mitts. When I look at the bag I can remember all the different patterns made with the yarn.
I always like to line my bags and as in the circle bag I started with the lining to have a base to fasten the circles to. I also wanted a bit of a flat bottom and a couple of inside pockets suitable for holding crochet hooks, knitting needles and scissors.
Being the thrifty person I am, I used some material from my stash. The one I chose happened to be from an old tablecloth and it is one of my favourite shades of green. Flat bottoms are easily made and a search will find you lots of videos and tutorials. Once finished I cut a piece of plastic canvas to the size to fit in the bottom so it held the shape better.
Having crocheted circles lots of times I didn’t follow a pattern but with a 3.5 mm hook started with a chain of 4, joined, and then added dc stitches into the centre (usually 12). After the join, chain 3 (first dc) and continue around doing 2dc in the same stitch. The next round continued with 2 dc in first, dc in next 2 stitches. The increase continues with 1 extra dc as each round increases. If that is as clear as much I suggest you search making a crochet circle for more precise directions. The size of the ball of leftover yarn determined the size of the circle. You actually don’t want them all the same size.
I crocheted a band to attach to the top of the bag for anchoring the circles onto. The circles are pinned onto the lining (wrong side). Some are edge to edge and some are overlapping. Sometimes as space appears when trying to fit circles together so I just added a small circle on top of that.
I leave a tail of yarn on each circle to use when stitching them together.
The handles are knitted strips fastened onto the cloth handles. I prefer to line the handles as well as I always find that using just yarn on its own tends to stretch out. The addition of the material stops this from happening.
As this is a yarn crawl I chose crochet circles to represent the wheels of the vehicle taking me from store to store. The circles can also represent balls of yarn. I added a button and loop closure after taking all the photos. I was going to use velcro but thought it would catch the yarn from the project.
My bag is now ready for the mystery knit/crochet project which will be released in parts starting April 1, 2019.
The yarn crawl starts April 1, 2019 and finishes May 25, 2019 at Fiberfest in Picton. It consists of 14 lys (local yarn stores) from Cobourg to Smith Falls. Purchasing the pattern for the mystery knit/crochet along gives you info on each lys and surrounding area. There are prizes you can win, a bag to design, a mystery pattern to finish and the absolute joy of visiting many different yarn stores. It is your choice to visit as many as you want. At each store you visit you get a free pattern. If you want more info, check out the Ravelry group or the Facebook group.
I’m really looking forward to participating in the yarn crawl and hope to meet others with their project bags along the way.
Kea
It’s wonderful! I love how colourful and pretty it is, as well as practical!
Crafty Gardener
Thank you.
Linda
It’s lovely! what a great use of scrap yarn and fabric. xx
Crafty Gardener
It’s a never ending challenge to keep using up all those little balls of left over yarn. Thanks for visiting today.
Lorrie
That’s a great little bag and a good way to use up bits and pieces.
Tammy S Asad
Your bag turned out so great and the yarn crawl sounds like a whole lot fun!
Nicola Newington
What a good idea. You have inspired me to drag out a bag of small pieces from a stalled blanket project and somehow make them into a bag with extra crochet pieces filling in the gaps. Thank you.
Jennifer
That is really fun. What a great project!
Myrtle
The bag is beautiful Linda. The yarn crawl sound very interesting so will be waiting to hear more when it is done.
Margie
What a cute bag! This is the first time I’ve heard of a yarn crawl. Sounds like it’ll be blast for knitters.
Julie
I love a good stash buster project, this seems like a great way to use up even really small bits of yarn. Perfect!
Teresa
Great use for yarn scraps! Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.
Margy
A nice bag filled with memories. The yarn crawl sounds like lots of fun. – Margy