geometrical clutch

Work is hectic these weeks. My lunchtime (read, happy hour) usually shortens to 15 minutes, evenings are filled with cooking, summer reading and all, so, I feel like an addict who cannot satisfy their needs.

However, after the fingerless gloves I managed to finish another project in 2 versions, the full-size one and a small one. The bigger clutch needs lining and zipping, the smaller one got a snap button and functions well. The WWRP made me refocus and, even though, I still prefer my little babies, I started considering a collection of bags. The early bird is out, the two others are on their way. The afghans are put on hold because it's too hot for them. And I've finally chosen the pattern for the upcoming dress. Well, taking into account the speed of my writing and editing, it's going to take a couple of months or more (yep, Bunny McCarrots is still unpatterned). So, I'll just share the projects for now.

 

 The true colour of the big clutch is in the W.I.P. picture. And it can almost hold an A4 folder :)

The small one can hold my phone, keys, cards and a bit of cash. And it can function as a purse if you remove the handle.

By the way, I got a mini lightroom! The small clutch was photographed inside it and looks decent with the natural colours.

Then I took the strawberry pattern from the Stripey pack, a couple of safety eyes, some embroidery floss and a spring hook and - voila! - a kawaii keychain is ready. It's really amazing how a couple of tiny details can make anything kawaii.

He lacks the spring hook in the first pic and has his leaves unblocked (it's clearly a boy, duh), and is "polished" for the second one. And here he models with my purse.

My top is ready, too, but, as usual, I don't like the way it fits and all. But there will be photos later anyway.

Stripey: Lunch bucket + Apple

The second add-on pack is live!

Today we have a lunch bag and an apple. You can choose any matching colours.

The patterns are written in the US crochet terms. The abbreviations used are as follows:

• ch. - chain,
• sl. st. - slip stitch,
• sc - single crochet,
• sp(s) - space(s),
• hdc - half-double crochet,
• dc - double crochet,
• BLO - back loop only,
• FLO - front loop only,
• NJ - needle join,
• decr - decrease (2 sc crocheted together),
• incr - increase (2 sc worked in one stitch),
• Rnd - Round.

You will need:

• 2,5 mm crochet hook (US size C/2),
• DK yarn leftovers. I used:

For the lunch bucket:

1. Purple - 5 g,

2. Lilac - 5 g,

3. Yellow - 2 g,

For the apple:

1. Red for the apple - 10 g,
2. Green for the leaf - 2 g,
3. Brown for the stem - 50 cm (about 2 feet).

• polyester fiberfill,
• tapestry needle,
• stitch markers,
• a pair of scissors,
• good mood,
• a glass of ice coffee (God bless the one who invented it!)

Notes: the lunch bucket will be a bit tricky with several rounds of sl. sts for a more distinguished bottom and NJs for colour changes. But you can just skip the tricky details and work it the way you feel confident. However, I'm all in for constant learning :)

Lunch bucket:

Starting with the bottom and lilac:

The bottom is worked in spiral rounds without joining:

1 Rnd: ch. 2, 7 sc into the 2nd ch. from the hook = 7 sc,

2 Rnd: incr around = 14 sc,

3 Rnd: (incr, 1 sc) - repeat 7 times = 21 sc,

4 Rnd: (2 sc, incr) - repeat 7 times = 28 sc, 

5 Rnd: (incr, 3 sc) - repeat 7 times = 35 sc,

6 Rnd: working into the FLO of Rnd 5 - sl. sts around, fasten off, weave in the ends.

Join purple into the BLO of Rnd 5:

The body is worked in rounds that are joined with sl. sts. As we have no increases and decreases here, there is a nice trick to make the the seam less visible: start every round with a chain, but don't count it. The first stitch will be the full-size single crochet of the round, the last sc will be worked into the same st as the first ch.

1 Rnd: working into BLO: 35 sc, sl. st into the first sc, ch. 1,

2 Rnd: 35 sc, sl. st into the first sc, ch. 1 = 35 sc,

3 - 5 Rnd: repeat 2 Rnd, finish off with a NJ (or a sl. st.), join yellow,

6 - 7 Rnd: repeat 2 Rnd, finish off with a NJ (or a sl. st.), join lilac,

8 - 10 Rnd: repeat 2 Rnd,

11 Rnd: 3 sc; ch. 10, skip 5 sc; 10 sc; ch. 50, skip 10 sc; 7 sc, sl. st. into the first sc, ch. 1 = 20 sc, 2 sps,

12 Rnd: sc into every sc and ch around, sl. st. into the first sc = 80 sc,

13 Rnd: sl. st. around, finish off, weave in the ends.

Holding the bucket upside down and working into the BLO of sl. sts of Rnd 6: sl. sts around. You can skip this round, but it will make the bucket more.. um.. bucket-ty.

Apple:

Starting with the leaf and green yarn:

1 Row: ch. 8, sc into the 2nd ch. from the hook and the next 6 chs, ch. 1, turn = 7 sc,

2 Row: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, (1 sc, ch. 1, 1 sc) into the corner ch.; working around the remaining loops of Row 1: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc; ch. 1, turn = 16 sts, 1 sp,

3 Row: 8 sl. sts, (1 sl. st., ch. 1, 1 sl. st.) into the ch.-1 sp, 8 sl. sts; sl. st. into the first sc, finish off and weave in the ends.

 

Stem with brown:

Leaving a long tail at the beginning: ch. 7, sc into the 2nd ch. from the hook and the next 4 ch.; holding the leaf and stem together - sc into the last ch., finish off, don't cut or weave in the ends.

Apple with red:

Working in spiral rounds without joining:

1 Rnd: ch. 2, 8 sc into the 2nd ch. from the hook = 8 sc,

2 Rnd: incr around = 16 sc,

3 Rnd: (incr, 1 sc) - repeat 8 times = 24 sc,

4 Rnd: (2 sc, incr) - repeat 8 times = 32 sc, 

5 - 9 Rnd: 32 sc,

10 Rnd: (decr, 6 sc) - repeat 4 times = 28 sc,

11 Rnd: 3 sc, (decr, 5 sc) - repeat 3 times, decr, 2 sc = 24 sc,

12 Rnd: (decr, 4 sc) - repeat 4 times = 20 sc, stuff,

13 Rnd: 2 sc, (decr, 3 sc) - repeat 3 times, decr, 1 sc = 16 sc,

14 Rnd: 16 sc,

15 Rnd: decr around - 8 sc, fasten off, stitch the opening close, weave in the ends.

The wide end of the apple is the top. Pull the long tails of the stem from top to bottom, tighten them shaping the apple, make the double knot and cut the yarn.

   

Voila!

The basic Stripey pattern (with a backpack and a pear) is available here:

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