Crochet Bags, Totes and Coin Purses!

I have been so busy lately designing and making some very practical items!  I love making toys, but every now and then I just like to make something different.  And when I deviate from my norm, I like to make something useful as well as attractive.

It all started with this scandinavian style bag.  I saw bags of this style on Pinterest, but did not find a pattern.  So, I set out to make a pattern myself.  It turned out pretty good and I was pleased with the result.

But I couldn't make just one!  These were so much fun to make and worked up so quickly that I had to make some more!   (Any other crochet artists out there like me?)

 Next it occurred to me that some cute charms dangling from the purse would look nice, so voila!

 Well, just as I was about finished with my bag frenzy, my daughter suggested that I should design a nice beach tote.  I don't get to the beach often, but I can always use a nice roomy tote bag!   I wanted something a little more elegant than a plain bag, so I decided on a nice diamond pattern.

 I liked the teal tote, but not the handles, so I decided to continue to try to improve the tote bag.  I think the tan color and the brown leather handles look great!  The leather handles were another technique that I had to learn, but found it was not as difficult as it seemed.    So glad I learned this as I can now use it on other projects such as baskets!  So fun!  And, I used a recycled leather belt for the handles.  Doing my part to save the Earth!

So, looking at the bag, and glancing over at the remaining leather belt buckle, I realized that I could also utilize that on my project!  The buckle gives the tote a more dressy look, making it suitable for use in almost any setting.

 So there you are.  I thought I would be finished with bags for awhile.  But then, I kept seeing these little coin purses popping up all over the place.  I was intrigued on how these were done and how the clasp would be attached.  Well, guess what?  They are not hard to make at all!  And the combos of color and patterns are endless!  More fun!  I love these little coin purses and look forward to making them in a variety of styles!

So, that's what's been going on at Reny's Place during the past couple of months. 
Comment and tell me what you think and if there are any projects you would like to see me try.   I love a good challenge!

You can find some of these bag patterns HERE

Happy Crocheting!
Reny

The Cutest Little Unicorn Babies, Sleeping Unicorns,

In preparing for a craft show this fall, we have decided to make unicorns one of our featured items.  This means we want to have unicorns is different sizes and styles to offer.  My friend sent me a pic of the cutest little sleeping unicorn babies!  I fell in love with them and could just imagine happy little children playing with and sleeping with these adorable stuffed toys!

The pattern is not my own creation, ( I wish I had thought of it) but it was offered free online.  You can find it here.   There is also the option of purchasing the digital download for a modest price.  I decided to purchase the pattern because it is so cute and I felt the designer totally deserved some compensation for her labor.  Being a designer myself, I understand all the time and work that goes into a design from conception of the idea to the finished pattern.

I did find a few flaws in the pattern in regards to stitch counts, but these were easily figured out by paying attention to the final stitch counts in each round. 

One thing that was missing that would have made the pattern easier to complete were assembly instructions.  While this may seem to be a no-brainer, it does help those not experienced in amigurumi to put their pieces together without worrying that they are doing it wrong. 

The center unicorn was the first one I made.  See how awkward
it looks?

I also tweaked the leg attachment a bit.  Since I didn't have the assemble instructions to tell me how to attach the legs, I wasn't sure if they should be attached to be stiff and unmovable or not.  So I made the first unicorn with legs attached by stitching it on in a circle around the  end of the leg.  This looked ok, but felt stiff.  The legs on my second unicorn were much more to my liking.   I stitched them closed in a line and then sewed them to the body.  This gave me legs that would flow down more naturally for a sleeping animal and would be easier for a child to hold and snuggle.

I'm quite satisfied with the two behind.  So much more flexible!

I love the Pipsqueak yarn and happened to get it by accident.  I couldn't find the white I was looking for, but my hubby found a cake with white and several other colors as well.  It was just a matter of winding the different colors into separate balls (including the white I originally wanted) and suddenly I have a great selection of colors without buying a separate skein for each color!  Now that's a win-win situation thanks to my hubby who is now a better yarn shopper than I am!

 You can find these cute little unicorns in my  Etsy shop if you're interested in buying one.  For those of you who love making your own here is the pattern  link.

Blessings!
Reny

There's No Such Thing as a Graffalo!,

Where have I been all these years?  The Graffalo has been around for about two decades, but I just recently learned about him.




You see, my grandson, Paul, loves adorable, cuddly monsters.  And about a week ago he was reading me a book via Facetime about this scarey, terrible but cute and gentle monster.  The book was sweet and the illustrations were adorable.   I knew right away that Paul should have his very own Gruffalo.  After all, the Gruffalo would make a great playmate for Bowser!

So I set myself to the task.

I started from the feet up as I wanted the body, legs and feet to be one piece.  Once I got that part the way I wanted it, I knew the head and face needed to be next.  I started with his 'terrible jaws' as they looked like they may be a bit complicated.  First the lower jaw, then the upper one that also served as his nose and snout.  I had to do his black tongue next because it needed to be attached before I finished the jaws.  A poisonous  wart on his nose was easy.  I just stitched it on.  /the teeth were embroidered on after he was assembled and the tusks are simply felt cut and sewed on.

The head was pretty simple and the snout was stitched to the lower part of the face.  The eyes were easy.  Just circles with safety eyes placed in them.  The ears and horns were fairly simple and the arms were not a problem.

The difficult part of this Gruffalo were the fingers,  fingernails and  toenails.  I'm not totally satisfied with them, but am out of ideas for how to make them more realistic.

Here is the pattern.   I used worsted weight yarn and a G hook unless otherwise stated.

 GRUFFALO INSPIRED PATTERN

Feet and Legs:  Make 2 leaving yarn attached to 2nd one.

1.  Chain 7.  Sc in 2nd ch. from hook.  Sc in 4 chs.  3 sc in end.  Turn work and sc in 5 sts.  3 sc in last st.  (15)

2.  Sc in 5, inc in each of next 3 sts.   Repest.  (21)

3.  Sc in 5,  inc in each of next 6 sts.  sc in 10.   (27)

4.  Sc in 7,  Inc in next 7 sts.  Sc in 12.  (33)

5.  Sc in each st.  (33)

6.  Sc in 10,  Dec x’s 6,  Sc in 10.  (26)

7.  Sc in 10, Dec x’s 3, Sc in 10.  (23)

8.  Sc in each st.  (23)

9.  *Sc in 1, dec.*   Sc in last 2 sts. (16)

10-12.  Sc in each st.

13-14.  Sc in 8,  Change to grey yarn, Inc in next 3 sts.  Change back to brown yarn.  Sc in 3.  

15-17.  Sc in each st.  

18.  *Sc in 1, inc.*  (24)  Fasten off 1st foot. 

Repeat for 2nd foot, but do not fasten off.  Connect legs together with a sc.

19.  Sc around each foot to form the first round of the torso.  Place a stitch marker at the end of this round, (48)

20-23,  Sc in each stitch.  (48)

24.  *Sc in 7, inc.*  (54)

25.  Sc in each st.  (54)

26.  *Sc in 8,  inc*  (60)

27-31.  Sc in each stitch.  (60)

32.  *Sc in 8,  dec.*  (54)

33.  Sc in each st.

34.  *Sc in 7, dec.*  (48)

35.  Sc in each st.

36.  *Sc in 6, dec.*  (42)

37.  Sc in each st.

38. *Sc in 5, dec.*  (36)

39.  Sc in each st.  

40.  *Sc in 4, dec.*  (30)

41.  Sc in each st.

42.  *Sc in 3,  dec.*  (24)

43.  Sc in each st.  Fasten off.  Stuff body.

Head:

1.   Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Inc in each st.  (12)

3.  *Sc in 1, inc*  (18)

4.  *Sc in 2, inc.*  (24)

5.  *Sc in 3,  inc.*  (30)

6.  *Sc in 4, inc.*  (36)

7-8.  Sc in each st.

9.  *Sc in 5, inc.*  (42)

10.    *Sc in 6, inc.*  (48)

11.  *Sc in 7, inc.* (54)

12-14.  Sc in each st. 

15.  *Sc in 7, dec.*  (48)

16.  *Sc in 6, dec.*  (42)

17-20.  Sc in each st.

21.  *Sc in 5, dec.*  (36)

22. *Sc in 4, dec.*  (30)

23-25.  Sc in each st.

26.  *Sc in 3, dec.*  (24)

27-28.  Sc in each stitch.  Sew the head and body together by matching the stitches of each.  This should make a nice clean join.

Lower snout:

1.  Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Inc in each st.  (12)

3.  *Sc in 1, inc.*  (18)

4.  *Sc in 2, inc.*  (24)

5.  *Sc in 3, inc.*  (30)

6.  *Sc in 4, inc.*  (36)

7.  *Sc in 5, inc.*  (42)

8-10.  Sc in each stitch. 

11.  *Sc in 5, dec.*  (36)

12-13. Sc in each stitch.

14,  *Sc in 4, dec.*  (30)

15.  Sc in each stitch.  Fasten off.  Fold in half to form lower jaw.  Stuff lightly.

Upper snout:

1.  Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Inc in each st.  (12)

3.  *Sc in 1, inc.*  (18)

4.  *Sc in 2, inc.*  (24)

5.  *Sc in 3, inc.*  (30)

6.  *Sc in 4, inc.*  (36)

7-10.  Sc in each stitch.  Fasten off.  Fold 1/4 of one edge in to for upper snout.  Place on top of lower snout with open side facing down to lower jaw.  Stitch together on sides where jaw hinge would be..  See  pics.  Attach the upper and lower snout together.  Stitch a green wart to the upper snout.  Embroider some teeth.  For the tusks I cut them from felt and stitched them in place.

Tongue:  With black yarn and C hook.  (2.75mm)

 1.  Chain 11.  Sc in 2nd ch. from hook and remaining 9 chains.  (10) Ch. 1 and turn.

2-8.  Sc in each stt.  (10)

9.  Dec., sc in 6, dec.  (8)  Ch. 1 and turn.

10.  Sc in each st.  Ch. 1 and turn.

11.  Dec, sc in 4, dec.  (6)  Ch. 1 and turn.

12.  Dec., sc in 2, dec,  (4)  Ch. 1 and turn.

13.  Dec. x’s 2.  (2)

14.  Dec x’s 1.  Fasten off.  Sew the tongue to the inside of the lower jaw with a good amount of it protruding from the mouth.

Attach the finished snout to the lower part of the face, being sure to leave room for the eyes just above it.

Ears: Make 2.

 1.  Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Inc. in each st.  (12)

3-4.  Sc in each st.  

5.  *Sc in 1, inc.*  (18)

6-12.  Sc in each st.

13.  *Sc in 1,  dec.*  (12)

14.  Sc in each st.  

15.  Sc open edge of ear closed.  (6)  Flatten ear, do not stuff.

Ear Center:  Make 2 with light brown or tan yarn.

 1.  Chain 5,  Sc in 2nd chain from hook and remaining 4 chans.  Ch. 1 and turn.

2-7.  Sc in each st.  Ch. 1 and turn at end of each row.

8.  Dec. x’s 2.  (2)

9.  Dec x’s 1.  Fasten off leaving long tail to stitch to center of ear.

Sew the assembled ears to either side of the head.

Horns:  Make 2 from ivory or white sport or baby weight yarn using C hook.  (2.75mm)

1.  Make 3 sc in a magic ring,

2.  Sc, inc, sc.  (4)

3.  Sc. in each st.

4.  Sc, inc.  X’s 2.  (6)

5.  *Sc., inc*  (8)

6.  Sc in each st.

7.  Sc in 2,,  inc, x’s 2,   sc in 2.  (10)

8-12.  Sc in each st.  Fasten off leaving long tail to sew to top of head.  Sew the horns to the top of the head.

Eyes:  Make 2 of orange yarn.

1.  Make 6 sc in a magic ring.

2.  Inc. X’s 6.  (12)

3.  *Sc., inc.*  (18)

Fasten off and leave long tail to sew to face.  Place safety eyes or use felt dot or embroidery the pupil before sewing on the eyes.

Arms:  Make 2

1.   Chain 6.  Sc in 2nd ch. from hook and next 3 chains..  Make 3 se in last chain.  Turn work and sc in 4 chains, and make 3 sc in last chain.  (14)

2-4.  Sc in each st.

5.  *Sc in 6 sc, inc.. *  Repeat.  (16)

6.  *Sc in 7, inc.*  Repeat.  (18)

7.  Sc in each st.  

8.  *Sc in 1, dec.*  (12)

9-13.  Sc in each st.

14.  *Sc in 5, inc.*  (14)

15.  *Sc in 6, inc.*  (16)

16-21.  Sc in each st.

22.  *Sc in 7, inc.*  (18)

23.  *Sc in 8, inc.*  (20)

24.  Sc in each st.  Fasten off leaving long tail to sew to body.

  Stuff lightly and attach arms to body.

Fingers and thumbs:

To make fingers and thumbs, flatten hands and insert hook through stitches at end of hand where finger or thumb would be positioned.  Pull through a loop and chain 1 to lock. Sc in same stitch and in next adjoining stitch.  Ch. 1 and turn.  Sc in each st.  For the thumb I make 2 rows of sc and then fastened off.  For the fingers I make 3 rows of sc.  Each finger and thumb is attached separately.  Weave the yarn ends down through the finger or thumb and pull into inside of hand to hide.

For the finger and toe nails I attached a sport weight white or ivory colored yarn and used a ‘C’ hook  to attach to end of fingers and toes.  I chained 3 , fastened off and weaved and hid the yarn ends in the same manner as for the fingers.

I defined the toes by using long stitches across the front of the feet going from bottom to top around the end of the foot and pulling the stitches tight enough to make a small dent in the foot.  I then attached the toenails to the defined toes, hiding the ends inside the foot.

For the purple prickles on his back, I simply looped in short strands of purple yarn as you would do in rug hooking.

All in all, i think I like this guy!

I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I enjoyed making it.

Blessings!

Reny

(Please do not copy and post this pattern and claim it as your own.)