My Year of Projects list has one more checkmark this week since I finished off the crochet bag that I’d started last week.
Last Week It Looked Like This
Now It Looks Like This:
The Original Pattern Was …
It’s the Crocheted Swirling Bag by Kathy Merrick, which I found via Knitting Daily as a free crochet pattern. I liked the visual attractiveness of such a unique bag.
My Variations
These are the variations I made to the pattern:
- Switched from hook size E to hook size G, making a larger crochet bag than the one in the pattern.
- Used two colors in an alternating pattern (blue, white, blue, white) instead of using four different colors.
- The pattern called for six rows each of the four colors for the top rows. I chose to do four rows of white, then four of blue twice and then two rows of each of the colors.
- Instead of making the drawstring as a chain with separate colors, I held the two colors strands together to work the chain in blue and white throughout.
- Seamed the base pieces together using single crochet instead of a woven stitch.
The last variation made a fairly big difference in the design of the crochet bag. The bag has a much more structured, geometric, three-dimensional look to it. I actually really like the effect and want to try to make another version of the bag with the same type of stitching in a contrasting color. For example, I am thinking about making a black and white bag with red stitching. Even though I like my variations, I think that the woven seams of the original bag are also beautiful and it would be nice to make one closer to the original too. This is a pattern that I’ll use again.
Hope you’re having a great time with Year of Projects. See the links to what everyone else is making here.
[...] my cute little sister showing off how to rock the Swirling Crochet Bag I made. She also happens to be wearing a crochet hat I made although that wasn’t a YOP [...]