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 ;)

Pineapple Motif Earring - free crochet pattern

Pineapple Motif Earrings - free crochet pattern

by Mimi Alelis

Materials

Cotton thread size 10, or size 20, or even finer thread, approx. 5gms.
(sample shown is made from Aunt Lydia's classic crochet cotton thread size 10)
Crochet hook size 1.5mm
Pair of non-allergenic earwires

Motif
Note: Ch 3 at the beginning of rows count as dc.
Leave an 8-inch tail at the beginning for attaching the earwire.
Row 1: Ch 4, dc in 4th ch from hook, ch 2, 2 dc in same ch, turn.
Row 2: Sl st in next dc, sl st in ch-2 space, ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in same space, turn.
Row 3: Sl st in next dc, sl st in ch-2 sp, ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in same sp, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in next ch-2 sp (shell made), turn.
Row 4: Sl st in next dc, sl st in ch-2 sp, ch 3, (dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in same sp, dc in space between the two shells of previous row, shell in next ch-2 sp, turn.
Continue rows 5-15 following the diagram below.
Finishing:
At the end of row 15, fasten off and weave in end. Sew on the earwire using the tail end at the beginning.

Note: Complete written instructions in downloadable pdf, now available (for sale) on Ravelry.

Pineapple motif earrings using Altin Basak size 50 cotton thread

For the love of crochet...

I recently got my order of threads from crochetgal on Etsy. I plan to order more especially when I saw the good quality of the Aunt Lydia's threads and the affordable prices! As usual the drawback is the shipping cost and the transit time, since its from the U.S. Shipping is roughly the same as the cost of the item, and the waiting is about one month! But its worth it, and I'll definitely order some more as soon as I have enough funds.

I'm loving these cotton and bamboo threads :)

 Haven't decided what to make from these single balls of thread. They definitely would be nice for wearables and accessories. However I would need more if its for a wearable top...what color and how many balls to order?? Hope I can figure that out soon :p

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of coming up with small projects made from these threads. I first tried using the cotton thread, size 10, silver color. I used a steel hook size 1.5mm to make this pineapple motif that I made into an earring. 

Pattern in my next post :)

Interweave Crochet Summer 2012...

It has taken me a while to come up with another wearable design since I got published in Interweave Crochet Summer 2010 issue....so I thought of taking a shot at it again. When I saw their call for submission for Spring 2012 issue last year, I prepared and submitted the proposal for a tunic I was working on. They got it middle of June last year. After a couple of months waiting, I didn't get any response from the editor. I waited some more, and after four months I had to ask! They said it was for consideration for the Summer issue. So there, I needed to wait some more. Towards the end of November I got a letter from the editor with an offer to include my design in the Summer issue. Yay!
Then I had to wait for the yarns....I received it only in the middle of January 2012 (probably got delayed because of the holiday season).
I had to work on the sample right away. I also didn't have time to make changes on my original design and pattern since there wasn't much time. I was fairly confident, but I almost didn't make it to the deadline. By the time I finished, it only had 3 days to fly and arrive to its destination in the U.S. I mailed it via Express Mail Service at the Post Office. (I trust Philpost more than Fedex, and its less expensive too..)

Now I present here my latest published design, but before that some behind the scenes pics and some notes.
Last February 2011, I blogged about crochet ribbing.in this post. I showed a project using a hdc ribbing. That project was to become a tunic. I don't know exactly how yet, but I started with a bottom edge of hdc ribbing. The inspiration for the design came from this knitted tunic (my son suggested this while he was looking for design ideas for me):

After I decided to use the hdc ribbing, I thought the main stitch should be a bit interesting, but easy. I recalled the stitch pattern in my old project...so I based the main stitch pattern on it:

After repeating the sleeve edging twice and collar three times to get it right, I was finally happy with the design. This is the first sample I made using Cannon cotton threads:

I was excited to make the sample for Interweave, but unfortunately the yarns arrived a bit late...

Got the yarns on january 17, 2012

Soft, cuddly yarn

Winding the yarn....

When I began crocheting, I didn't have time to take progress pics as I was already running after the deadline. But when I finished it, I still have a bit of time left to try it on and have my son take pics ;)

Finally, here is the professional model on the magazine :)

Btw, while you were not looking the Lauren Sweater was on the Top 5 patterns on Ravelry...hehe

Interweave Crochet Summer 2012 details can be seen here on Crochet Me.
My design was also mentioned on Fairmount Fibers Blog here. They are the distributors of Manos del Uruguay yarns. (More details here.)

No Turning-chain Dc (photo tutorial)

Have you been using the technique to make a double crochet (dc) at the beginning of the row, instead of the usual chain 3? I just recently found out about it, when I stumbled upon this video...and I thought, how clever! I could really use it, mostly because its easier to do a stitch on top of a dc than on the turning ch.
I made my sample swatch starting on the first row.

Ch 12, pull the loop on the hook up to the height of a dc,

with the middle finger hold the loop in place while you yarn over on the same loop, (now you have two loops on the hook),

then yo and pull through the bottom loop on the hook (you have two loops remaining on hook),

yo and pull through two loops (dc made).

Dc in the remaining 11 chains across.  (12 dc)

Turn, and use the technique again to begin the next row. When you get to the last stitch, you'll find that it is easier to make a dc on top of the 1st dc of the previous row, than a dc on a beginning chain 3.
After several rows, you will see that the edges look better than when using a turning ch-3.