Cotton Twine Mesh Bag - free crochet pattern

Another version of the mesh bag, this time made with 2 balls cotton twine. This is suitable as a beach bag to contain a beach towel and a few essentials. If using for heavier stuff, it is best to line the bag with non-stretchable fabric.

Cotton Twine Mesh Bag
by Mimi Alelis, March 2017
https://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/2017/03/cotton-twine-mesh-bag-free-crochet.html

Materials: 2 balls cotton twine
4.5mm/G or 8/0 crochet hook
Yarn needle for weaving ends and sewing the strap
Gauge: Gauge is not so important, but for the model shown, rounds 1-4 is approximately 5 inches in diameter
Finished Measurement: bag is approx. 13 inches wide, when layed flat
Stitches Used: ch = chain, ss = slip stitch, sc = single crochet, dc = double crochet, tr = treble crochet, st = stitch, rnd = round

Pattern
Rnd 1: Starting at the bottom, ch 4, join with a ss on 1st ch, to form a ring, ch 3 (counts as dc), 15 dc in ring, join with a ss on top of beg ch 3. (16 dc)
Rnd 2: (Ch 4, sc in next dc) 14 times, ch 2, dc in last dc. (15 loops)
Rnd 3: (Ch 4, sc in next loop) 14 times, ch 2, dc in dc of last loop. (15 loops)
Rnd 4: Repeat rnd 3.
Rnd 5: (Ch 4, sc in next loop, ch 4 sc in same loop) 14 times, ch 4, sc in last loop, ch 2, dc in dc. (30 loops)
Rnd 6: (Ch 4, sc in next loop) 29 times, ch 2, dc in dc of last loop. (30 loops)
Rnd 7-30: Repeat rnd 6.
Rnd 31: Ch 3, sc in next loop, (ch 4, sc in next loop) 12 times, ch 1, dc in next loop, turn. (14 loops)
Rnd 32: Ch 3, sc in next loop, (ch  4, sc in next loop) repeat across except on last loop, ch 1, dc in last loop, turn. (13 loops)
Rnds 33-40: Repeat rnd 32, at the end of rnd 40, 5 loops remain.
Rnd 41: Ch 4 (counts as 1st tr), tr in the next loop, 2 tr in next loop, tr in last two loops, turn. (6 tr)
Rnd 42: Ch 4, tr in each tr across (6 tr). Fasten off, leaving enough length for weaving in.
Shaping other end and finishing the strap
Attach thread on the next available loop at rnd 30. Repeat rnds 31 up to 42.
Rnd 43 onwards: Repeat rnd 42 up to desired length of strap (taking into consideration that strap will stretch a bit). Fasten off, leaving 10-inch tail for sewing. Sew to other end securely. Weave in ends.

Random stuff -

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! 
I have yet to round-up my 2014 crochety and yarny stuff...Meantime, please have a look at these random stuff I came up with.

My new favorite crochet bag - this beautiful bag was crocheted by my friend Cat Yanna. I just sewed in the lining and handles. (Pattern details). I really love the texture of the Abaca yarn and the flower motif used in this project :)

Favorite Projects
My favorite projects in 2014, were of course mostly the ones made using my patterns.
Here's some from my crochet buddies:
From Yolanda: Romantic Shrug projects

Romantic Shrugs

From Bheng - Lacey Top projects from Sienna Top pattern in It Girl Crochet book from Interweave

Sienna Top projects

From Ravelers - some recently finished Flower Accent projects.This is the all-time most popular free pattern in my portfolio :)
More projects can be viewed in this search result on Ravelry.

2015 is the year of the Sheep!
And this only means lots of fiber and yarn for us :)
How about making some sheep amigurumi or any sheep themed project?...there's so many to choose from, check out Ravelry Pattern Search

Celebrity style crochet bag

I finished my celebrity style crochet bag more than a month ago, but had to wait several weeks more for the imitation leather handles I ordered on Etsy. On my previous post, I showed the various handles I bought and I chose the one from yeahshop.
I haven't had the chance to model the bag myself...here it is on Divvy:

It's quite neat inside too, with a ready-made lining I got from an old bag. I also attached magnetic snaps.

Buying imitation leather handles for crochet bags

I've crocheted many bags for myself and for gifts for the past several years. I never thought of using leather or imitation leather handles for it...but when I found it available on Etsy shops at affordable prices, why not?
It can make a simple handmade purse quite stylish. Or it can make the 24-hr celebrity look-a-like bag look more like the original ;)

Here are my recent purchases:

Imitation leather handles, round toes from 3Dpatternpaper, China, $13.20 (including shipping)

Microfiber leather handles, soft, from pursehandles, Hongkong, $14.00 (including shipping)

PU leather and cotton tapes handles from pursehandles, HK, $8.50 (including shipping)

Imitation leather handles from yeahshop, HK, $13.50 (including shipping)

I bought from different shops so I can compare the quality, the price and the service. I chose Etsy sellers with good feedback and those that are nearer in location. Each shop was good on service, quality and price. For the brown handles (the first and last photo), which look almost the same - I can say that I liked more the one from yeahshop since its a bit softer. I'll be using it for my celebrity bobbles bag...showing in my next post :)

Bobbles bag, 24-hour bag, or Celebrity bag

A french designer created this bag, made more popular by celebrities (like Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz) wearing them. Since the bag is crocheted, it surely got many crocheters interested in trying to make their own version, and some crochet designers even wrote up patterns (for sale) for their look-alike bag.
In our crochet group on Ravelry, we picked this bag for our anniversary Crochet-A-Long (CAL). Thanks to Umme Yusuf for the free pattern, Bobbles Bag, which we used for our CAL.

It was a challenging design, and I wanted to make my own version too... with 3 strands of cotton thread, and 4.5mm hook. The basic stitch was single crochet, and the bobbles were 2dc,3tr clusters. I wasn't satisfied with my bobbles, since it didn't turn out as big as the celebrity bag, but overall it was a very good project and I plan to make it again with improvements.
Can't wait to show my finished bag!...I'm still waiting for the bag handles I bought on Etsy.
Meanwhile, here's a peek ;)

Time for change...with some crochet, some sewing, and probably some knitting ;)

Nowadays there are so many lovely free crochet patterns on the web. For me, there is not much need for more crochet patterns; on the other hand, there are so many opportunities for trying out patterns that are already available. I don't want to miss out on so many wonderful designs!
Btw, I highly recommend Pierrot Yarns patterns since local cotton thread can be used for most of their designs.
I also like Garnstudio patterns so much, but most of their patterns use yarns that would be difficult to substitute with cotton thread. If one can purchase the yarns stated in the pattern, so much better!

I still have a few surprising designs coming up, though ;)...
but for now here are some of my recent projects:

this bag from Pierrot Gosyo. I'm halfway on this, but I'm modifying the main bag pattern since it isn't working for the yarn substitution I made. But I liked the doily appliques so much, and followed the pattern.

This cellphone case I made to fit exactly the phone I'm using. The pattern by Lydia Busek is customizable. Details on this post.

My sewing project, T-shirt shrug with crochet insert.There's not much sewing here though...more details here on Ravelry.

And lastly, here's a quick and simple fashion makeover I made using yarn and upcycled T-shirt (the bottom part of the T-shirt shrug!), and a bit of crochet. More details here.

Bags on Ravelry

Thank you so much for the compliments on my bags!!

Since I am still very much into bags, I went on to do more searching on Ravelry.
Did you know...(as of this date)
* there are 3937 bag patterns listed on Ravelry and 1092 of those are crochet
* there are almost 10,000 bag projects and about 5960 of those are crochet
* the top bag lady is Pipp, with 82 bags - none crocheted :p



* the second bag lady is TerryRoss, with 73 bags - none crocheted :p



* the third bag lady is sfb, with 60 bags - only two are crocheted :p



* definitely not a bag lady, (but a real good crochet bag designer) Drew Emborsky has a new fun bag design, and its a free pattern on Ravelry :)



Lastly, here's an old bag pattern that I recently added to Ravelry as a free pattern :)



Oh, I forgot to mention - I have found the crochet bag lady (thanks, but its not me, Gene :)

A couple more bags

This had been an unfinished bag for the longest time. It was supposed to be a backpack, but I decided to just finish it as a tote.



This one is my recent favorite. I call it mini fat-bottom bag (same as the bag in my previous post).


Here it is again, turned inside out. I love the coordinating lining, which I just got from my stash.

Crochet Cell phone purse, makeup purse and more...

To go with my stylish hobo, here are my latest FOs:




And, the makeup purse turned inside out:


Here is the whole set:



I also want to show the Nizza Tunic WIP, I'm now working up towards the waist part. Here it is before I frogged it...I realized I only had 11 sections of dcs, when I looked at the picture on the pattern, there were 12 :p But just to show you how it looks like at the bottom part. The motifs are lovely, but it was such a chore to join motifs and weave in ends. I'm glad that part is over ;)

Stylish Crochet Hobo Bag

Finished at last! Can't believe it took so long - its just a small bag :p
I finished crocheting the rest of it (about 20%) in one day, attached the magnetic snaps, and sewed the cotton fabric lining (all by hand) :D
I found a nice piece of fabric in my stash...and only now did I realize I could even use the bag inside out, cool!



Project details here.

Crochet WIP update

My ravelympics bag is nowhere near the finish line yet...but I haven't given up, and I've been cheering for myself :p
Just yesterday, I changed my course and decided to work up a different look for my stylish bag. If it works out I'd name it stylish hobo bag - since I derived it from the stylish sack. Its a little smaller than most hobos, but it will carry more than just essentials.
Hmm...this doesn't seem to look good, but I have a few ideas in mind that might make it interesting...



Now, for the Nizza tunic progress was slow. But work will probably be faster when I finish the motif rows. So far, here's 3 motif rows done:



Each row has 15 motifs, and the 4th row will be half motifs. It measures 40" around, a little big for me...

(Btw, the baby photo came from one of those forwarded emails. Just thought I'd use it, and if anyone objects let me know...)

Some Progress...

On my crochet WIPs:
My sack bag is about 20% done, I am calculating how slow I've been working on it...and seems I won't be able to finish it as a Ravelympic project, but I'll try.



I seem to be more inclined to work on the Nizza tunic. I've already laboriously frogged the old bag project, since I have set my mind to make the tunic in brown.



I would surely run out of thread - probably need a total of about 6 balls...but I could easily order some more ;)
I finished rnd 1 or the first round of motifs (15 motifs joined in a circle). The motif only has 3 rounds, so its very easy to memorize. After making the first motif, make the succeeding motifs same way, except connect it to the previous motif.




For those of you who want to try making a wearable, or working with thread for the first time, this isn't as hard as you may think. Except maybe for the sewing of the sleeves - which you have to be brave enough to try.
So, if anyone want to crochet along with me let me know...

Chic cell phone purses

I love making cell phone purses...so I came up with another design of my own ;)
Here I used 3 different shades of cotton thread, but one is actually the other two colors combined for a tweed effect. Crocheted with two strands of thread held together, or may be substituted with one strand of DK weight yarn such as Catania. (See project below)

Pattern is available for purchase, here.
The pattern includes options for crocheting a necklace strap, a loop for the metal attachment, or a handle. It also has instructions for optional button closure and crocheted button cover.


My project using Catania yarn.
I used dark brown as color A, and beige as color B. For the tweed effect on the flap, I separated the strands of about 4 meters each color of the 4-ply Catania. Then I crocheted the flap using two ply of each color.

Crochet a flower keychain

Again I needed a small project to work on to get me back into the groove of crocheting ;)
I rediscovered this site - a company based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I first heard about Pingouin from Beth (yarndiva) over at Crochetville. Lots of wonderful free crochet and knit patterns, though instructions are in Portuguese. Good thing they have useful charts, which makes the pattern quite understandable.
I found this flower keychain, and wanted to make it to embellish a plain sc purse I made. Here's what I came up with. I used either Anchor or DMC embroidery floss, from my stash, and a 2mm hook. I also used some beads from my stash.



Here's the bag that I made a few years ago, my sister used this for a while. Its quite small but can hold basic necessities.
I have not yet attached the metal keychain thingie when I took this photo.

More steel for crochet projects

And I don't mean wire to crochet with :p

Just my luck, I got a lot of metal the other week from two different sources.
One was from Malaysia, from Lily. She was so kind to buy me these, since I don't know where else to buy it. My favorite Tulip steel hooks:


The other came from China, which my son bought for me. More than a hundred pairs of magnetic snaps!
He didn't have much time to buy other craft supplies for me, though. Besides, the fair was for wholesalers. He did get a lot of catalogs and I just drooled over it :p


I'll be adding these snaps to my online store soon... (Don't worry Yasmin, I had not forgotten that you needed these too.)

Going Green - Mesh Bag

This beige mesh bag was made with Catania cotton and Cannon thread held together.
This green bag, was made following the same pattern, but crocheted with 3 strands of Cannon thread. I used up 4 1/2 balls of the Cannon.

It did not turn out as well as I expected. The beige one can carry the 36 balls of thread nicely and it doesnt pull down too much, but the green one stretched a lot with the weight. It contained only 28 balls, but the bag seemed to have reached its maximum weight capacity :p

Got distracted again - crochet mesh bags

I have a tendency to start on new projects, when I need to finish something that is more important. It actually helps me, since I'm able to accomplish both...after sometime :p
My current distraction: mesh bags. I love crocheted bags and in particular, sack style bags. So I thought of making a mesh sack. It looks cool, and you can save from using a lot of disposable shopping bags. This bag would help save the environment, no?
Furthermore, they are easy to make.
I tried some free patterns online, but I ended up starting over and making my own pattern instead. A flat bottom just wouldn't look good when it is filled with stuff. So as much as possible, I try to make the bottom hold up the stuff and maintain that cool look. Also, I prefer a shoulder strap instead of handles, as I find it more practical.
I used 2 skeins of Catania, and 1 1/2 balls of Cannon thread and 4mm. hook for this bag.
Are you beginning to see a trend here? Catania cotton and Cannon cotton thread, works so nice together! I'm able to maximize the Catania by adding the Cannon, which is more affordable and readily available to me. The result is comparable but better than when I used 3 strands of the Cannon, since the Catania has more bulk and yet feels soft. I find this combination great for bags and maybe other accessories as well. I thought this bag could carry two dozen of my Cannon threads, but when I rearranged it at the bottom, it could hold 3 dozens! Its heavy, but its comfortable to carry around.
Then I decided I wanted a smaller mesh bag, so I made one. This time I used 3 strands of Cannon threads. I used up exactly 3 balls to make this bright pink bag:

Pattern for sale here ;)