Crochet: Another Idea For Bag Handles

I have made and sold or given away a ton of crocheted bags.  I was using the Fat Bottom Bag pattern for most of them, it was easy since I had the pattern memorized. 

I really enjoyed being creative with the bags, with the lining, embellishments, yarn colors, etc.  What I didn't enjoy was seeing the prices of bag handles shoot through the roof at Joanne's.  (Michaels no longer carries bag handles, I'm sure you already know). 

I couldn't afford to spend ten dollars on just the handles alone so I started getting creative there too.  Joanne's had unfinished rattan wooden handles that were only $2.99.  (They're 4" rounds)   For each handle I used a single crochet all the way around the handle, keeping my stitches tight so it would look neat and not bunch up when the bag was being used.  Here's a close up of what the handles ended up looking like and I think they came out pretty good.  (This is the bag my doctor's wife chose and purchased from me.)

Note:  The yarn, so pretty, is Deborah Norville (now Premier Everyday Soft Yarn) in Toasted Marshmallow. 

And the bag:

I found that shell button at Michaels and made a flap with a button hole in it for closure.  The shell, yarn, and lining all together was striking. 

This bag cost a total of only $15.00 to make; I sold it for $65.00.

Do you have any ideas for bag handles that would save in the cost of materials for your crocheting?

Have a blessed day!

Jade Textured Fat Bottom Bag

In the previous post I ranted on and whined about having to sell the house I've lived in for 52 years, and said I had to put crocheting on the back burner.  Well, somehow I found time to crochet and found it to be very relaxing and fulfilling.

Instead of crocheting night and day I decided that I had to set aside some time for myself everyday to do what makes me feel good.  With that goal in mind I managed to squeeze in enough time to (almost) finish another Fat Bottom Bag.  I am pretty proud of this one, if I do say so myself.  I was afraid the lining wouldn't go with the yarn well enough but it does the job as far as matching, well, blending with the yarn and adds a twist to the semi-rugged looking textured yarn that I used:

Handles purchased against my will at Joann's for about $7.00.
Yarn, purchased at Joann's for $9.99 per skein and I used 2 skeins.
Lining also purchased at Joann's was only a couple bucks.

When you add it all up, selling the bag for $60 barely covers the cost of materials and definitely doesn't leave much for all my laborious hours of crocheting and sewing spent on this project.  I think I'd have to charge $80 for this bag and others like it that I use the expensive Red Heart Boutique Changes yarn.  (This one in the color Jade).  Especially if I use the expensive store bought handles.  I had these handles on hand, I wouldn't have gone out to purchase them for this bag - I could have crocheted a nice set of handles that would have been just fine, as I did for the Grey Textured Fat Bottom Bag in a previous post.  I had plenty of yarn left over to make handles but this bag happens to be for a friend whose favorite color is green and I wanted it to be especially nice for her as she's a specially lovely lady.

You're seeing photos below of a bag not quite done yet but I couldn't wait to post the bag; as I said, I'm pretty proud of this one.  What do you think?  Should I add an embellishment to the outside like a flower or bow or should I leave it as is, leaving it up to the beautiful textured yarn to be decorative enough on it's own?  Leave me a comment below and I'd surely appreciate your input.  ;-)

The handles aren't attached yet so they look cock-eyed. lol  (Lining below)

My stupid camera decides what colors things will be, not the objects that I'm shooting.  I don't know enough about digital cameras to adjust the lighting settings and all that stuff.  One of these days..  Anyway, the lining is much more green than it appears here, and so is the yarn for the bag, for that matter.  It is a deep, lightly dark shade of jade and the sparkly yarn in this skein is tinted green as well and it all blends beautifully together.

So - let me know what you think:  Embellishment or no embellishment.  If you think it needs something to spruce up the outside of the bag, what do you think would work well with all that texture?  There's a solidish ribbon, the metallic yarn, a heavier fuzzy yarn, a boulce', and others that make up the textures in the yarn.

Crochet Tip: Using Your Machine To Sew Fabric To Your Crochet Project

If you're like me you spend a lot of time trying to figure out an easier, faster way of doing things that bore you.  Don't get me wrong, I love to crochet and I love to sew - on the machine - hand sewing is not my favorite, or fastest thing to do.  It takes me what seems like forever to hand sew a lining in one of my bags.

I had a thought, tried it, and it worked just fine.  The thought came when I was hand sewing lining into a Fat Bottom Bag.  I thought, "There's GOT to be an easier and faster way to do this!  What would Mom do?"  That's when the thought came to me.  Mom would have used Freezer Paper and sew it on the machine!
The problem I had when trying to sew the lining with the machine before this was unfruitful.  It came out horrid because the pressure foot kept tugging and catching on the crochet work I did and the thread would all bunch up making one hundred stitches in the same exact place - the work would not move forward.
All I had to do was put freezer paper between the pressure foot and the crochet work and TA DA!  No more catching, bunching, and each stitch went exactly where it was supposed to, one right after the other in a neat line.  Yea.  Thanks Mom!

You'll need:
Freezer paper, or Parchment paper would work just the same
The fabric lining for your bag (or other crocheted item)
Your crocheted bag
A sewing machine

Several of you have asked about stitch length....

**Set your stitch length to one you would use for everyday, medium weight fabrics.**  I haven't tried a zig zag stitch yet, nor have I tried a top stitch setting (where the machine makes a triple stitch) but I'd like to try and I'll let you know how it turns out.

Just put the paper next to the teeth that push the material along (for which I cannot remember the real name of at this moment!  ack!) , under the presser foot.  The place your work, with the fabric lining pinned into place, on top of the freezer paper, underneath the presser foot as well.

As long as you don't go off the fabric, don't stray onto the crocheted part of your work, this trick should work just fine.

Once the lining is sewed in, just remove the paper, one side at a time, tearing it carefully away from the machine stitching.

(I don't have an example shot just yet of this action because I didn't think to share this with you until I was all done with this bag but next one, if need be, I'll post the photo of actually pulling the paper away from the stitches.  For now, this is what it looks like to pull the paper away from stitches I made in an hand towel. lol)

It's best to do one side and then the other to make sure you don't pull any stitches too hard and pull them out.  Any little bits of paper that may stay stuck in the stitches of your work can easily be pulled out with your fingernails or tweezers, but I don't find that very many little bits are stubborn this way, they mostly come out when you pull the paper away.

That's It!  I hope this made something easier and quicker for you.  I do like the results of hand sewing my linings in my bags but when it comes to being cost effective for a boutique sale or craft fair, machine sewing is the only way to fly.  We spend enough hours on our crocheting - my doctor figured out I get about 12 cents per hour for my crochet work at the prices I sell my items for.  Save time, save money, save your fingers, save yourself.  Use the machine whenever you can!  ;-D
If you found this post to be useful, please indicate by leaving a comment below.  Also, if you found it to be boring or dumb, please feel free to say so.  I like to share my secrets but don't want to if I find out everyone already knows everything!  lol
Do you have a question about crocheting or sewing that we can help answer for you?  Is there something that's been on your mind that you've always wondered about either of the two?  Let me know in the comment section below and I'll see what we can do to find the answer for you.  Maybe it's something you just discovered yourself, put that in the comments too and I'll create a post for and by my readers that shares tips like this one (without the photos and extreme explanations).  It would be nice to help each other by sharing our knowledge, don't you think?  It'll be kind of like Heloise's book of household tips except it'll be this blog and about crocheting.  We'll see.  Maybe we could get together a book like that - I don't believe there is one out there.  We'll see.
Gotta go!
Have a great day, God bless you!

Crochet Pattern: Snapdragon Bag

Free Crochet Pattern:

Snapdragon Bag
by Cynthia J Luciene aka anitalite copyright July 5, 2012
Please link to this page to distribute this pattern.  It may not be sold by you, however,  you may sell whatever you make using this pattern.

With worsted weight yarn and a "J" size hook, ch 32
Round 1:  sc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch across, making a total of 5 sc in end ch, turn clockwise and working in the unused loops of beginning chs, sc in each ch across, work 4 sc in end ch and sl st to 1st sc to join. (38 sc total)
Round 2: ch 1, sc in each sc up to last two sc on same side.  2 sc in next-to-last and end sc (middle sc of 5 sc group from prev round) then still working in the round, sc in rem sc to last two.  2 sc in next-to-last and 2 sc in end sc as mentioned prev. sl st to 1st sc to join. (42 sc)
Rounds 3 and on:  Continue same as Round 2 until there are 80 sc all the way around once.
(Continue to work in the round for the following rows:)
Round 6:  ch 5, dc in same st as ch 3 (beg v-stitch made), *skip 2 st. 5 dc in next st (shell made), skip 2 st, v-stitch in next st; repeat from * around until last v-stitch then skip 2 st, shell in next, join to top of ch 3 with sl st to join.
Round 7:  sl st into next ch 2 space (middle of v-st), ch 3, 4 dc in same ch 2 sp (beg shell made), *v-stitch in middle dc of next shell, shell in next v-st - continue around from * until last shell then v-st in middle dc of next shell, join with sl st to top of beg ch 3 to join.
Rounds 8 and on:
Continue following stitch pattern in order Rounds 6 and 7 until bag is desired size.  (For the bag shown, 10 rounds of the snapdragon stitch pattern were used.)
Fasten off, weave in ends. 

For Handles As Shown:
(Of course you can use any handle you prefer, I thought fancy cording would also work well with this bag, I just didn't happen to have any on hand.)

Attach (with a sl st leaving a long - 10 " tail) worsted weight yarn to either side where you'd like the handle to be placed.  ch 3, dc in same stitch as ch 3, ch 2, 2 dc in SAME stitch. turn.
Row 2: sl st to ch 2 sp, ch 3, dc, ch 2, 2 dc in same ch2 sp; turn.
Rows 3 and on:  repeat row 2 until desired length is achieved.  If you want the open shells in the handle to all face upward instead of having one side of the handle with shell st up and then going down on the opposite side, just make your handle half as long as you really want it and then fasten off.  Attach to opposite side in the manner stated at the beginning of handle instructions and follow the directions from there.  When both sides of your handle are even just slip st together the ends that meet in the middle.  I used a longer tail than I normally do so I'd have plenty of yarn to weave in, assuring the handle won't pull apart with weight inside the bag as it's being used.

 Closure: 
I simply attached the worsted weight yarn to the middle-est stitch of the bag and made a ch long enough to go around an old vintage button I had from one of my mother's old coats.  Then I back-tracked on the ch with sc all the way to where I attached it.  I did use a bit extra of a tail here too, to ensure it wouldn't unravel with use.  This tail was about 10" long as well.  (Probably a bit overkill but better safe than sorry, right?)

Hope the directions are okay.  If you have any questions please comment below and I'll get back to you asap.  Thanks and have a wonderful day and fun making this bag.  I found it to work up quickly and the snapdragon stitch gives it a very fancy look without  being a complicated stitch pattern.  I am very happy with the results, are you?

God bless you and yours.  God bless America

On The Crochet Menu: Another FBB

What's on the crochet menu today?  Another FBB (Fat Bottom Bag), one I hope to sell very soon.  Many ladies are presenting a great interest in the bags since my friend - who goes to the hospital for treatments for Lupus - brought her FBB I made her to the hospital and the nurses there saw it and wanted to see more of them.  The nurses told my friend they would like to have a FBB like hers, proving my point in my previous post that word of mouth is the best method of advertising.

Here's the latest addition to my FBB inventory (below) and following this post is a quick (and easy) photo tutorial on how I made the handles for it.  Let me know what you think in the comments below, your comments are always welcome!

I made the flowers and leaves using size 3 crochet thread and a size 3 steel crochet hook.  I tend to like the thread flowers better than worsted weight but it really depends on each individual bag that I make.  Each one has a personality of its own.

By luck the lining I chose matches the thread I used for the flowers perfectly.  The purples and blues are really pretty against the black body of the bag.  I found this material at Jo Ann's in the designer area of the fabric section.








I was disappointed in the handles at Jo Ann's that day and was shocked at the prices of them.  They've gone up quite a bit and my little cheapy stand by handle - the unfinished rattan round handles  that were $2.99 are no longer available there.  Only the finished rattan handles were there and priced at $5.99!  I wasn't about to pay that much for a rattan handle so I decided to follow my boyfriend's suggestion, to look for cords or braids in the trims section and make my own handles.  Below is what I did to make a 3/8" cording work as handles for this bag.  If anyone has any better ideas about how to make handles, please do comment below!  Anyway, here's what I did:

 Before cutting your twisted cording wrap scotch tape around the ends and cut in the middle of the tape so both ends of the cut are held in place and will not ravel.  I only purchased one yard of this cording for the handles at a couple bucks a yard.   I cut the cording in half and used half a yard for each handle.

To ensure the cording won't ravel, apply a good amount of glue to all ends and allow to dry well on waxed paper.
This will also make a barrier so when you sew the ends together the stitches won't pull through and come apart.

In a zig-zag pattern, using heavy duty thread and needle, sew the ends together.  Go all the way around the cording with your stitches so it doesn't wiggle with a gap or bend funny.  You won't be able to get the needle through the glue you applied earlier so just stitch on the other side of the glue barrier.  I enlarged the photo so you'd be able to see how I made the stitches for this.  It doesn't look very pretty but it serves a good purpose and it won't be seen when the bag is put altogether.

To make sure the corded handles didn't slip around while being used, exposing the ends stitched together, I tacked the stitched part of the handles to the bag's handle flaps smack dab in the middle of the flap. 

Now all that's left is to secure your handle flaps over the handles and you're done.



Please leave feedback in the comments below.  I appreciate your views and suggestions and conversation more than you know.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope I at least inspired you to make something beautiful today.

God bless you and God bless America - One Nation Under God... United we stand, divided we fall.
Ronald Regan said, "If we forget we are a nation under God, we'll be a nation gone under".

Crochet Pattern: Grandma Rupp's Drawstring Ditty Bag For Little Girls

My Dad's mother, Luella Rupp, born in Louisiana, moved to Los Angeles and died here at the age of 89, was a craftsy gal.  She did everything from making felt lady bug refrigerator magnets, parrot earrings out of tiny little colored shells, to crocheting rope necklaces and button bracelets with tiny beads and antique buttons.  She also crocheted other things, like this cute little drawstring bag that she gave me when I was verrrry young, about 5 years old.  That makes this little bag almost 50 years old.  Wow.  It's pre-antique.  Holy crap!  That makes ME, well, never mind!!!! 
Please note pattern correction, make 12 motifs, not 20.
Thank you Kathy.

This little bag is simple enough for any beginner to make so here ya go, the pattern below:

Start with worsted weight (4) of white (or any color for main color A) and an F hook:

BOTTOM:
ch 5, join to first ch with a slip stitch to form ring
Round 1: ch 3 (does not count as a dc) Make 10 dc inside ring, ch 3,
Round 2:  2 dc in each dc around, (20 dc) until you reach ch 3, then ch 3,
Round 3: (2 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next) around until you reach the ch 3, then ch 3,
Round 4: (2 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next 2 dc) around until you reach the ch 3, then ch 3,
Round 5: (2 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next 3 dc) around until you reach the ch 3 and then join to top of ch 3 with a sl st.  Finish off, weave in ends.


MOTIFS FOR BODY:
(make 12)  <----note been="" br="" corrected="" has="" nbsp="" this="">

With color of your choice as long as it's a worsted weight (4) for "flower middle", and using "F" hook,
ch 5, join with sl st to form ring,
Round 1: (working inside ring:)  ch 3 (counts as first dc) 2dc, (ch 3, 3dc ) three times, ch 3, join to top of beg ch 3 with sl st.  Fasten off, weave in ends.

Attach green worsted weight (4) with sl st in any ch 3 space for "leaves" and still using "F" hook,
((ch 3 (counts as dc) 2dc, ch 3, 3dc )) all in same ch 3 space, ch 1,  **(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) all in next ch 3 sp, ch 1,  repeat from **two more times.  attach to top of beg ch 3 with sl st.  Fasten off, weave in ends.

Attach Main color A (white) in a corner ch 3 space with a sl st:
ch 3 (counts as a dc), 2dc, ch 3, 3dc all in same ch 3 space.  ch 1, ** 3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, (3dc, ch 3, 3dc) all in same ch 3 space (corner), ch 1;  repeat from ** around, 3 dc in last ch 1 sp, ch 1, join to top of beg ch 3 with sl st.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

JOIN MOTIFS

Lay motifs in two rows of six.  Join motifs using main color, yarn needle, with whip stitch.  Using whip stitch, join motifs at ends to form a cynlinder.  Join bottom of bag to bottom row of motifs using whip stitch.
Weave in ends.

RUFFLE TOP

Join main color (white) to any stitch at top of bag.  Ch 3, 2 dc in same stitch, **dc in next 2 stitches, 3 dc in next stitch; repeat from ** around, join to top of beg ch 3 with sl st.  Fasten off, weave in ends.

DRAWSTRING

Using chain stitch, make two lengths of drawstring measuring 2 feet each.  Weave chained drawstring into top of bag with your hook or a large safety pin.  Tie ends of first drawstring together about three inches from ends and fray the ends to make a tassle effect. 
Do the same with the second drawstring so that when you pull on each drawstring, the bag gathers up and closes.

All done!  Isn't that just the cutest little ditty bag you've ever seen?  I have cherished mine through the years, having gotten it from Grandma Rupp when I was so young.  I used to carry it to church with me as a child.  Now I am going to pass it down to my grand daughter who is just the right age to have one of these.  It's a pretty little bag that can be passed down generation to generation that doesn't take a long time to put together.

Crochet News: Well, Kinda - Bag Handles Tutorial

This is only "kinda" crochet news because it's not really about crocheting  but it involves something you might need when you crochet something:  Bag Handles!  They are no longer found at Michael's (the one by my home doesn't carry them anymore, does yours?) and I have relatively no other craft store local to me besides Joann's Craft and Fabric Store.  I'm sure you're very familiar with that one, it's a rather large chain.  Even so, I have to travel quite a distance to get to Joann's to purchase handles I use for the FBBs I make (Fat Bottom Bags found in Stitch N Bitch Crochet).

There are many different types of bag handles to choose from that give the bag you're making a character of it's own.  Well, these handles are wonderful but they are also expensive ranging anywhere from a couple of dollars (for the unfinished rattan round handles) to over $8.00 for the fancier handles made of finished wood or leather, or acrylic.

In making my bags I have found it fun (and cheap!  $$$) to make my own handles using the unfinished rattan handles at about $2.99 per pair:

To make the handles special for each bag I either use a single crochet onto the handle as I did for my Toasty FBB found HERE.

OR







I cover the handles with material that matches the lining I'm using for the bag as I did below:

Below is a brief tutorial on how to cover the rattan round handles found at Joann's...
(It's easy-peasy!)







1.  Separate the handle where the joint is.  You'll have to use a flat head screw driver or something similar to loosen it first because it is glued together.  There is also a nail driven into the handle which you'll pull out of ONE side of the handle:

(Be careful not to poke yourself with the nail, it may try to spring back into the hole it came out of.)







2.  Cut a strip of material that matches your lining for each handle (2):   Make the strip 2 1/8" wide and approximately 3 feet long.  (really!)  If you don't like the bunched up look and want it smoother than that you can always cut your strip of material shorter.  I just rolled the handle down the strip of material twice to figure how long to make it bunchy.

3.  Sew the strip lengthwise, right sides together, using the presser foot as a guide for your seam allowance (guide the edge of the material along the edge of the presser foot so your seam will be approximately 1/4" wide) .  If your seam allowance is too big it will be hard to get the material over the handle.

4.  Attach a large safety pin to one end of the sewn strip and push the safety pin inside your strip to turn it right side out.  Just keep pushing and gathering and pushing and gathering until you reach the end.  It's a long tedious process but it's worth the results you get:

This photo shows what it looks like when you've got the strip half way turned out.  It does get easier from here.  Don't try to push too much fabric down at once - it'll get all bunched up and be a real pain to push down.

(If you want me to show photos of this process in more detail please leave your request in comments below. ;-)

5.  Now that you have your strip turned right side out, just slide it over the side of the handle that does not have the nail in it.  (Again, be careful of that nail.)

(Sliding material over side of handle without nail)







6.  Now that the entire strip is bunched up on the handle you want to turn in the ends so there aren't any raw edges showing and take  a few stitches in it just to keep it securely in place.  This is the part of the handle that would go inside the handle flap of the bag.

That's it, no biggie, easy-peasy right?  Makes a great looking handle for your FBB or any other bag you make...

This is a bag I just finished that was ordered from me by a friend on Ravelry.  If you'd like to order a bag like this, please contact me HERE  Each bag is unique and if you'd like to see more like this check out my other posts or Anitalite on Ravelry.com.

Crochet Motifs: Putting It All Together

If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

Benjamin Franklin US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

I've always wanted to crochet a top or skirt or handbag using motifs so I picked a motif pattern from a Japanese book I have called 300 crochet motif, edging.  I thought "This is going to be fun and easy and is going to look gorgeous."   An investment in knowledge would have been the better way to go, but not me.  I think I know what I'm doing.  Ha.

Let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks!  Making the motifs was easy enough and went along quickly.  As soon as I had enough - or what I thought was enough - motifs to make a handbag with, I started sewing them together. 

This is what I ended up with because I didn't have a good plan in mind to begin with....

I mean, YIKES!  So I went on a search on the internet to see if I could find a pattern for putting all these together without having to ruin what I've already started....

I found several patterns that would accommodate what I already had laid out and sewn together...

This one looks very similar to what I had going so I'm working on following the lay out that was pictured on this blog:
Stitch And Chat. 

I've learned a lesson by all this, that I can't just crochet and expect everything to turn out easily.  I have to have a plan in mind besides just picturing something in my head.  I think in the future I'll make paper motifs and put them together first, making a pattern outline for my crocheted motifs.  Taking out the stitching after motifs were already sewn together was very difficult and nerve wracking.  I was fearful I would cut the wrong thread of yarn and ruin a motif or two.  A few times I pulled on the wrong loop when trying to take out a stitch and had to work the yarn back into the motif so it wouldn't hang like a dead leaf about to fall off a tree. 

I'm going to finish this bag, even if it kills me and it might do just that.  lol.  It's been a headache but once I'm done with this one I'll be able to make the next one (for my daughter) in no time at all.  I found crocheting the motifs was fun and easy and went along very quickly.  I'm really looking forward to the next motif bag because I know what I need to do now.  **take the time to check a pattern before just sewing motifs together and hoping I'm doing it right**  duh.

Will post the finished product as soon as I'm done (which at this rate could be in a year or so!  lol)

For The Love Of FBBs!

F.B.B. = Fat Bottom Bag
This is a lined, purple FBB #2, with a few add ons that I'll explain below...

 

I just finished this FBB and I'm very happy with it, so much so that I decided I'll keep this one for myself.  I think I've made about twenty FBBs in all and have given away most of them, gladly so.  There's a few technical flaws I made when making this purple bag so I wouldn't feel exactly okay about giving it to someone anymore than I would give someone a dead plant for the birthday.  It's just not right, and could be considered downright mean.  heh, heh.  

Starting with the pattern which is found in the book called Stitch N Bitch Crochet; The Happy Hooker, I improvised a little bit because I had the yarn and hook but not the pattern so I was making it from memory and probably made a few or more mistakes.  

I purchased this embellishment at Joann's Yarn & Craft Store for a few bucks and thought I would also use the beads that came with the big purple shell heart but forgot about them and made the round buttons you see on each side with yarn.

I lined the bag (check out THIS LINK for a photo tutorial for lining the FBB, or see a few tips and photos about lining a FBB by me HERE.  One of the technical flaws in this bag are the way I stitched the lining.  There are ways to make the stitching look neater and less visible but I was too lazy to get up and look for different  thread and take out the entire side I stitched already.

For the cell phone/ID pocket (in photo above) I crocheted two rectangle pieces and slip stitched them together.   I used a bead that came with the large heart (outside bag) for a closure.


The handles I purchased were only $4.99 at Joann's and of the light, bamboo type wood and did not go very well with the silky, dressy looking lining and the outer embellishment.  Having already sewn the handles into the handle flaps when I decided this, I was trying to think of a way to make the handles match the style of the bag better. 
I am pretty proud of myself for thinking of using single crochets all around the handles, as many single crochets as I could squeeze onto the handles so no wood would show underneath.  Changing the handles in this manner made the whole bag come together nicely.  I am thinking of using a spot of glue here and there to anchor the yarn to the handle so it doesn't twist about but changed my mind when I realized the glue would just pull on the yarn and look funky.   =)   I made the photo below extra large in hopes you'd be able to see how the sc looks when worked onto a handle.  For a photo lesson about single crocheting onto a ring or bar, check out an earring pattern I posted HERE.  The tutorial for doing this is at the bottom of the Dangly Earrings post. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments below, I'll do my best to answer you in a short time but keep in mind I have mental disorder issues and I am taking care of my mother who is seemingly worse every day.  Thank you for being patient and understanding while waiting for my replies.


signing off at a surprisingly reasonable hour of the night,
cynthia
p.s. Please check back soon, I'm working on designing bikini tops and bottoms for a company I am trying to get going and will post photos of my creations and possibly have a vote from my readers as to which one would be most desirable if you were to buy and wear one. 

Purple Lined Fat Bottom Bag

Yea,  I'm back to that.  The Fat Bottom Bag (pattern available in Stitch N Bitch, The Happy Hooker) has taken over most of my crochet time.  I made this one with  myself in mind but I'll probably give it to someone as I've done with all of the other FBBs I've made.  I can't help but want to see someone smile when I give a FBB to her.

I used a velveteen material to line this one with and found I do like it very much as it gives the bag body and structure or form.  Granted, it was a bit more difficult to do the gathering row because the material is so thick but I managed to gather it nicely by pulling my gathering stitches tightly as I went along.

I purchased dark purple handles at Joann's that would match this bag perfectly, only trouble being that the handles were cheaply painted and the paint kinda chipped or rubbed off easily and made the handles look used and junky.  I wanted a more elegant look for this bag because of the lining I chose the clear handles which go nicely with the shiny embroidery in the fancy lining material.

Adding a jeweled barrette I found at a 98 cent store to the outside as an embellishment completed the fancy look I was working on and I'm very pleased with this bag.  It'll cause me  a bit of pain to give it away but I'm sure making someone else happy with it will ease that pain and make me feel great.  lol.


One thing I'd like to point out for all Fat Bottom Bags - I was using magnetic snaps as closures on some of the FBBs I've made in the past.  I found the clasps to be more of a bother than they're worth.  They tend to not open easily and pull on the crochet yarn too much.  One bag that I gave to a friend of mine actually unraveled because of the way the snaps pulled on the yarn when she opened her bag each time.  I am going to repair her bag and add a different type of closure, probably a crocheted strap to go over the top with a button hole and a nice looking button or will make a yarn button for closure.

Denim Stripe Fat Bottom Bag, Lined With Work Shirt

(Quick note:
 Assuming you're a chick (female) and on that assumption another follows:  that you love to shop.  With that in mind, the links on this page all take you to either Amazon.com or Joann's where you can price check or compare a purchase for that particular bold face item.  I don't get credit, royalties, a kick down, annuities, a percentage, or anything else except the joy that I helped you find these wonderful things online to make your shopping experience easy and your crocheting much more fun.  grinning now)
 ------ end of "QUICK" note.  heh, heh.  Oh how I can babble on.)

Working with Red Heart's Stripes yarn was a lovely experience, truly.  The yarn did not tangle, it is twisted (is that the correct word?) nicely so my hook went through and came back out of loops smoothly as I worked along.  This colorway, denim stripe,  made a perfectly "denim" looking pattern for this bag.

I lined the bag with an old but rarely (if ever) used ladies work shirt.  It has cute metal flower buttons down the front and I wanted to keep them in the lining so I sewed closed the placard (button strip) with my machine. 

Secondly, I sewed closed the bottom of the shirt to where there was room enough for the pockets to fit inside the bag, giving me two inside pockets that were ready made.  (Yea, I AM lazy.  Yeppers!)


Thirdly, the shirt wasn't quite wide enough to reach across the bottom part of the bag (before adding handle flaps) so I just eased it in and made adjustments wherever necessary.  It came out a bit bunchy in the bottom but it worked out fine in the end.  (get it?  Fat Bottom Bag?  in the end?  Yea, right.  Get a day job, I know.  heh, heh.  )


The handles look great with this bag, I got them at the only place I know to get purse handles in my area (Michael's stopped carrying them, the dirty rats!), at Joann's.  They were the $4.99 variety which is fine and dandy but if you watch the ads for the store, you can get them up to 40% off and stock up on handles and other purse supplies there. (If you make Fat Bottom Bags - or any bag at all, you just have to go to a purse and bag supply sale at Joann's the first day the sale starts or there will be nothing left by the time you get there, a day later!)

The flower does not compliment the bag the way  I want it to but it'll do for now.  It gives me an excuse to go back to Joann's - to find an embellishment that better suits this bag.

Making this one with my mother's stand in caregiver  in mind, (the one who relieves me of my duties for six hours a day twice a week!), I can't wait to present it to her, finished and ready to use.  She said she had her eye on this when it was still a WIP and has no idea how it turned out so the surprise for her will be much more fun for me.  (Happy, happy, joy joy!  .... Tail's all wagging, lol)

On to the next FFB (That's Fat Bottom Bag for us seasoned FFB hookers, BTW), TTYL, TGIS, TTFN!

Monet Fat Bottom Bag Modified For Walker

NOTE: Please use the scroll bar down to view entire post. I can't get rid of the spaces between the second and third photos, sorry. I tried and tried. Stinking stubborn little things. It's going to be one of those daze.

After making so many Fat Bottom Bags and giving them away, I kept thinking "I should be making something for Mom.  She sits with me all day and sees me making all these things for other people."  I couldn't think of what she would be able to use these days and what she would really appreciate.


One day Mom says, "Aren't you going to make a purse for me???"  My heart sank.  I was so excited to show her all the bags I'd finished, each with a personality of its own, and here she was - bagless and feeling left out of my generosity. 

I made this bag for Mom's walker since she wouldn't be able to carry it and use the walker at the same time. 
It was easy enough to modify the pattern a bit but I think I could have done better, I just haven't thought of the better way to do it yet.

I used a vintage broach of my Nana's (Mom's Mom) to embellish this bag with, making it extra special for Mom.

The bag hangs on Mom's walker by two straps I added to the handle flaps.

The straps button to the handle flap and another button and a loop were added to keep the bag closed when she's not getting something out of it.

I lined the bag with pretty matching fabric I had in my stash.







And that's about it.  She seems happy with it, the only problem we discovered is that she can't see the ground where the bag hangs because Mom has a tendency to be hunched over while using her walker.  If she stood more upright as she's supposed to, she'd be able to see over the walker and the bag.  I think.  At any rate, she is feeling less neglected and seems to be happy with her new bag.  I think if I slide the bag to one side or the other she'll be able to use her walker safely with the bag attached.

I love this yarn, BTW, it's Red Heart Super Saver in Monet.  I purchased the yarn at Walmart for about $2.87.  The broach was in Nana's collection, didn't cost me a dime, as were the buttons - free - from our button stash we've had for many years.  The lining, as I said, I found in our fabric stash.  This was a fun, easy, and very inexpensive way to make Mom smile and feel loved.

Banana Berry Fat Bottom Bag

My Banana Berry Fat Bottom Bag, My Favorite One

This is my favorite of the Fat Bottom Bags I've made so far.  (Clicking on the link previous takes you to the Amazon site and the page where this book can be previewed and ordered, if you want it and you know you do.)
  This one didn't take me too long, I had lots of practice as you can see from several older posts.  I almost regret giving it away but I did buy two skeins of this yarn (Red Heart Super Saver in Banana Berry)  and there's enough material left over to line another bag, yea.

For the handles, as I mentioned in the post Chunky Fat Bottom Bag, I used hot glue to anchor the handles in place so they wouldn't slide around.  If using circular handles that the pattern calls for, this step is not necessary.

For lining this bag I used the same procedure as I outlined  HERE

Big And Chunky Fat Bottom Bag

 I made this bag for my friend with this chunky yarn - Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick And Quick - not called for by the pattern for the Fat Bottom Bag which you get in the book "Stitch and Bitch Crochet, The Happy Hooker".  (It's a fabulous book with detailed, funny instructions on each stitch, gauges, yarn weights, and has many wonderful, diverse patterns in the book that would make any "Hooker" Happy. )


Back to making the bag with chunky yarn.  To use the heavier weight yarn I omitted some of the middle rows  the body of the bag because the result would have been too chunky to gather and look nice. Also I had to dec the amount of gathering stitches and add one extra row of gathering stitches in order for the handle flaps to fit the small handles I bought and for the dec in rows of the first piece.

Before adding the handle flaps I lined the bag with 1/4 yard of matching fabric, cutting the fabric to fit the bag while easing it inside the bag and adding a few pleats where  necessary.  The lining is sewn in with heavy duty thread using a blind hem stitch.




Next I added the magnetic snap closures.

I hot glued the handle flaps in place to the handles themselves in order to keep the oblong handles from sliding around and getting sideways while the bag is carried.  I discovered why the pattern calls for round handles. heh, heh.  Being the weirdo that I am, not liking to be told what to do I thought I would get creative and use these different handles to go with each bag's personality.  Well, I should have stuck to the round handles but using the hot glue to anchor them in place, I am glad I didn't conform only to what the pattern called for.  That's the rebel in me I guess.

After sewing the flaps and adding the embellishment I am done but for a cell phone pocket that I'll make out of the lining fabric.  I tried to crochet one but the thick and chunky yarn wasn't suitable for making such a pocket.


And that's it.  Now, if you don't already have the book, go to Amazon and order it!  It's the best!

UPDATE!!  I finally found the link to a blog that has a photo tutorial for lining your fat bottom bag...  Here it is, it adds to this one, and this one adds to hers, so definitely check out this link if you wanna line your bag.  It will save you a lot of time, believe me! 
Go HERE