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Monday, October 26, 2015

Purse with yellow flowers

































Size really depends on type of material and size of hook you using.
The one on the picture is 30cm x 34cm (12”x13,5”)





You need: 
Acrylic yarn or cotton of your choice

Crochet hook suggested for your material – I mainly used E/3,5mm and G/4mm

Yarn Needle

A bit of fabric for lining

Zipper 25cm / 10”

Nice buttons, little flowers or beads. Simply anything you would like to decorate your purse with.



Terms/Abbreviations: I used US terminology
ch       chain 
slst      slip stitch
sc        single crochet
hdc      half  double crochet
dc       double crochet 
st        stitch 
3dctog.  3 dc together
2sctog.   2 sc together

Note: Please read all instructions first, so you can choose one of the various options of this pattern, which best suites your project.

Purse - pattern







































For this purse I made 18 hexagon flowers ("African flower"). It is all depending on size of your purse. The pattern can be use for any amount of hexagons.

When I have all the hexagons I need, I sew them together – back stitch only. The other option is to join them together with sc’s if you like. Then I sew the hexagons together in  rows and sew the rows together afterwards. You should end up with sort of tube or cylinder.



When all the hexagons are attached into tube, I continue with the lower part and bottom of the purse. I came up with two variants.


























B:
Round 1: Start where the arrow is pointing. Join, ch1, *sc in the same st, sc in next 9 sc, sc into the joining, sc in next 9 sc*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc. In this case I crochet sc’s in back stitches only, but it’s optional.
Round 2: ch1, *slst into same st, slst in next 3 st, sc in next 5 st, 2sctog in next 2 st, sc in next 6 st, slst in next 3 st*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc.
Round 3: ch1, *slst into same st, slst in next 3 st, sc in next 5 st, 2sctog in next 2 st, sc in next 5 st, slst in next 3 st*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc.
Round 4: ch1, *slst into same st, slst in next 2 st, sc in next 3 st, hdc in next 2 st, dc in next 3 st, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next 3 st, slst in next 2 st*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc.
Round 5: ch1, sc into same st, sc in each st around, finish the round with slst in first sc.
Round 6 - 12: Repeat round 5. Leave long tail.
You can make more or less rounds, as many as you desire. Flatten it out and sew together from inside.

                            ****************************************

There is another way to fill the spaces between hexagons. This proved to be better while using acrylic or stretcher yarn.

























A:
Round 1: Start where the arrow is pointing. Join, ch1, *sc in the same st, sc in next 9 sc, sc into the joining, sc in next 9 sc*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc. In this case I crochet sc’s in back stitches only, but it’s optional.
Round 2: ch1, *sc into same st, sc in next 3 st, hdc in next 3 st, dc in next 2 st, 3dctog in next 3 st, dc in next 2 st, hdc in next 3 st, sc in next 3 st*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc.
Round 3: ch1, *sc into same st, sc in next 4 st, hdc in next 3 st, dc in next 3 st, hdc in next 3 st, sc in next 4 st*, repeat from* to*, slst in first sc.
Round 4: ch1, sc into same st, sc in each st around, finish the round with slst in first sc.
Round 5 - ?: Repeat round 5. Leave long tail.
You can make more or less rounds, as many as you desire. Flatten it out and sew together from inside.

                           *******************************************

Continue with the upper part of the purse now. This part is done same way as the lower part. I added round 13 (repeat round 5 on B chart above) and I finished this purse with different colored row of sc’s.

You can finish with fancy edging (round 14, chart B below). It is up to you.
Always start at the side closer to your body (backside of the purse). If the stitches do not add up to the pattern on the chart, don’t worry, just slst to fit the pattern. It’s going to be hardly visible.
Fancy edge chart B: *ch3, 2dcs into base ch of ch3, skip 2 st, sc in next*, repeat from* to*, slst at the end.


























For some purses I used another option:
Fancy edge chart A: *slst, skip 2 st, 5dc into the next st, skip 2st*, repeat from* to*, slst at the end.



























Zipper:
There are a few ways how to put the zipper into your purse. You can find two of them here: 



























Handles: 
To make the handles stronger I used size smaller hook but it is depending on how stretchy the material you are using is.
Row 1: ch 6, sc into 2nd ch from the hook, sc into next 4 ch. (5sc). Turn
Row 2: ch1, 2sc’s into same st., sc into next 3 st., 2sc’s into last st. (7sc). Turn
Row 3: ch1, 2sc’s into same st., sc into next 5 st., 2sc’s into last st. (9sc). Turn
Row 4 - ?: ch1, sc into each st.. (9sc). Turn
You just need to repeat row 4 as many times as needed. I made my handles cca 60cm (24”) long. To finish the handle I crochet as follows:
Second last row: ch1, 2sctog. , sc into next 5 st., 2sctog. (7sc). Turn 
Last row: ch1, 2sctog. , sc into next 3 st., 2sctog. (5sc). Finish and leave long tail.

I used one row of “crab stitches” to go around the handle to make it look fancier. You can find the “crab stitch” on youtube.
Sew the handles on the purse. If you feel the purse is to soft, sew the handles through the purse and lining. You can decorate the joining if you wish to do so.







































There it is. You should have nice purse now, or an inspiration for one at least.
To my knowledge this is as best way I can explain how to make my favorite purse.
Please be understanding, and if you come up with any problems or difficulties, write to me, and I’ll be more than happy to help.

Have a nice week 
Clara

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Autumn shell purse with zipper charm









































Pattern / tutorial :
35cm x 33cm (14” x 13”), bottom cca 25cm x 10cm (10” x 4”)
The size really depends on type of material and size of the hook you are using, which is up to you.

You need: 
I used 320 grams of  100% cotton
Crochet hook G/4mm
Yarn needle, 30cm (12”) zipper
A bit of fabric for lining (I used strong cotton)
A few beads for a charm

Terms/Abbreviations: I used US terminology
ch       chain
slst      slip stitch
sc       single crochet
dc       double crochet
st        stitch
sk       skip

Bottom of the purse:
It is worked in circular (oval in this case) crochet method. Slip stitch join at end of each round. Don’t turn, but continue in same direction.
Ch 30, sc into 2nd ch from the hook and follow the chart. I made 10 rounds but it’s really depending on how tight or loose are you crocheting and/or how big or small you would like to have the bottom of the purse.

























For the body of the purse you need to have in the last round of the bottom, the amount of stitches that can be divided by 6. Don’t panic if there are a few more or less, just modify it by increasing or crocheting together some sc’s equally.

Purse body:
I used this simple shell pattern but there are so many variations you can find. I was swapping two colours only and I worked in circular crochet method as well. I finished when my purse measured 35cm (14”).
 



Lining:
At this stage I put a lining in my purse. I made it on sewing machine then sewed it in the purse by hand, to the second last shell. I suppose, you can sew the lining by machine as well. I just don’t know how visible it’ll be on outside.


























Handles: 
Handle is worked backwards and forwards. 
Ch 6, sc in 2nd ch from the hook (5sc’s). Make 6 rows. 
Row 7: Increase in first and fifth sc’s (7sc’s)
Row 8: Increase in first and seventh sc’s (9sc’s)
From now on you just keep working backwards and forwards for as many rows as are needed. I worked this way until my handle measured cca 55cm (22”), then I decreased the same way as I increased at the beginning. All together my handle piece was cca 60cm (24”). Make two.
I sewed the two parts of handle together over very soft but tough string. That way the handle doesn’t stretch. I sewed the handle to the purse through the lining, that way it’s strong enough to carry all the things for a “girl’s” needs.


























Zipper:
I’m adding zippers to most of my purses. This time I put the zipper in at the end.
I used the method that you can see on pictures below. I think it looks very neat and tidy. Just remember to use a very small and sharp hook to go through the material around the zipper. I added two rows of sc’s to make it look better.
Than I sewed the zipper with the extension to the purse by hand.




























Zipper charm:
I thought this zipper charm could be nice addition to my purse.
Start with magic ring.
Round 1: ch3, 11dc’s 
Round 2: join between any dc’s, ch2-dc in the same space- crochet together, ch2, 2dc’s together – ch2 in every space between dc’s. (12 2dc’s together – 24ch).
Round 3: join anywhere. 2sc’s in every ch2 space from previous round, sc in every 2dc’s together from previous round. (36 sc’s).
I finished by adding some beads on one side, and little bells on the other, but it’s really up to your imagination how you going to finish your charm.

























And there it is. A rather simple and versatile purse or an idea for one at least. 

If you come up with any problems or difficulties, write to me, and I’ll be more than happy to help.
Have a nice week
Clara

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Scarves/Shawls

Hello everyone. I can feel that Christmas is getting closer by the amount of winter items I am being asked to make. Here are a couple of custom-made items I did that I would to like to share with you.

Pattern for this “Elegant shawl” is very easy to follow. You can make it as small or big as you like, and the variation of materials you can use is endless. The one on the photos is 210 cm x 30 cm (84”x 12”) and it’s made from “Himalaya everyday” 100% anti-pilling acrylic, using crochet hook 5mm.




Pattern for “Granny scarf” is easy to follow as well. What I like most about this scarf are the color combinations you can come up with. The one on the photos is 180 cm x 30 cm (72”x 12”) and it’s made from soft baby acrylic yarn, using crochet hook 5mm. Because you don’t need that much material it’s very economical, and you can use the leftovers from other projects.





























Have a nice week
Clara