Star Wars Crochet

A while ago I ran across pictures of crocheted star wars figures, but was sad to learn I had to wait before I could get my hands on them because they were being put into a book/kit. Now the kit has been out for a while and I have completed half of the characters. 

These patterns were created by Lucy Collin and can be purchase in the Star Wars Crochet Kit. I have seen them in Michaels, but I ordered mine from Amazon.

I have found the patterns easy to follow and I love the finished product. My only struggle is finding the right color yarn which is the main reason they are not all done yet. But I think I have found greens that match well enough for me so I am currently working on the rest of the characters.

So far my favorite is R2-D2. I love how his legs swivel around. But I definitely need to make Luke next. 

My Favorite Purse Pattern

I found a crochet purse pattern a while ago that I absolutely love! It uses African flower motifs as the main design. The flowers are very pretty and using different color combinations creates a totally new look for each new bag.

Here are just a few that I have created:

So far those are my favorite purses. I've made one for myself which I use all the time and my sister loves hers as well. I'm so happy my mom showed me how to sew the linings for the purses; it makes the purses so much sturdier. They don't stretch out and nothing falls through the little holes in the crochet part.

Here's the link to the pattern African Flower Bag.

Boy Messenger Bag

While me and my sister were enjoying our new messenger bags my brother decided he would like one as his own. I often feel bad that I crochet my sister so many things and barely make my brother anything buy she loves everything I make and I fall in love with more feminine patterns.

After a bit of searching I was unsatisfied with the messenger patterns available online so I decided I would make my own using the technique I used to make my sister's bag. But his was going to be simply double crocheted.

Sadly I didn't record my stitch counts, but it is a simple pattern so I'll explain what I did.

Materials
Simply Soft and Pound of Love Yarn
Hook: I
Tapestry/ Yarn Needle

Base Rectangle

Row 1: fsc until it reached 15 inches long.

Rows 2-?: sc in each stitch until it is 3 inches long

Sides

Attach yarn to one corner, ch 1

Round 1: sc in each stitch around in each sc, join

Round 2: ch 2, dc in each sc, 

Round 3-(26): ch 2, dc in each dc (until the sides are 10 inches tall; don't tie off)

Flap

Row 1: dc along the back (the # fdc used for the base rectangle), turn

Row 2-(26): ch 2, dc in each dc (until the flap is 10 inches long), tie off

Handle

Row 1: On one side of the flap dc (the # rows in base rectangle), turn

Row 2- (34): ch 2, dc in each dc

Repeat on other side of the flap

Sew their edges together. (You can make the handle longer or shorter based on your preference by adding or subtracting rows.)

You can use any stripe pattern or make the bag on e plain color, but the color sequence I used was:

4 turquoise

2 black

4 green

2 black

Then I lined the bag. The handle is folded and stitched together with some fabric lining inside to make it more sturdy and stop it from stretching.

It looks great for a boy and he calls it his satchel. 

Now all three of us have bags we constantly use. His first excursion with his new bag was to the library where he filled it full of books. It made me cringe slightly to see so much weight in it, but it is holding up nicely.

* While I've done my best to write up the pattern there may be errors. Let me know if you're having trouble following the pattern or if you see a mistake. Enjoy!

Rainbow Messenger Bag

Since I love my messenger bag so much my sister thought she should have one too. My messenger bag is perfect for me and when browsing the internet I found one that was perfect for her to.

I made my sister a rainbow bag and she loved it. It is the Spring Messenger Tote by Susan Gater on Ravelry. I love the pattern, but it was more time consuming for me to make. 

To make her bag durable I lined it as well. I didn't take pictures when making the lining, but maybe later I'll explain how I create my linings.

 She now uses her bag just as much as I use mine.

Now I want to try out her Spring Petals Backpack but that'll have to wait until I finish some of my current projects.

Moogly's Mesmerizing Messenger Bag

I'll start out by sharing a bag I have fallen in love with and use constantly:

  Moogly's Mesmerizing Messenger Bag

I love messenger bags! And I love this simple yet elegant stitch pattern. Before making the bag I thought they might be difficult to make, but moogly explains and illustrates her simple steps  very well so that I had no problem making my bag.

Moogly gives her own instructions for how to line the bag. Lining crocheted bags is well worth it. It makes the bag so much more durable, it stretches less and nothing falls through the stitching. I sewed my lining a little differently than she did but it turned out great.

This is the bag I use the most now. I use it when shopping for more yarn, going to work or heading out on errands. I've got so many compliments on this bag I almost want to make another one, but my want to crochet list is a little long so I might not get to that for a while.

Catching Up

So, I haven't posted in a while, a very long while. Work and school have been taking up much of my time. Even though I've been busy I have still found time to crochet. I've tried various new patterns, some I love and others were worth the experience but I won't be attempting again for a while.

I'm working on some posts about patterns I've fallen in love with and others that I have created.

Also, I have created an Instagram account so I can post pictures of what I'm working on and follow some other crocheters. I haven't posted much yet, but it'll be coming soon so don't miss it!

Olaf Scarf #2

Another Olaf Scarf!

This Olaf scarf is more 3-d than my first one. But the fun thing about multiple Olaf scarf patterns is you can mix and match the sides to create your own combination. 

I love Olaf!

Materials

Yarn: Pound of Love in White and Orange

          Simply Soft Black and Brown

Hook: I-9

Yarn Needle

For this scarf I crochet on side, then beginning in the middle I repeat on the other side.

Starting on the white side

Row 1: 15 fdc, ch 2, turn
Row 2-60: dc in each dc, ch 2, turn

Other Side also in white
Row 1: dc in the bottom of each fdc (15 dc)
Row 2-60: dc in each dc, ch 2, turn

Eyebrows -make 4
With brown yarn
ch 8, tie off leaving tail to sew on

Eyes -make 4
With black yarn
Round 1: 6sc in magic ring, join to first sc, ch 1 (6 sc)
With white yarn
Round 2: 2sc in each sc, join to first sc, ch 1(12 sc)
in black sew onto scarf

Nose -make 2
Round 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6 sc)
Round 2-4: sc in each sc, join to first sc, ch 1 (6 sc)
Round 5: *2sc in first sc, sc in next 2 sc* repeat twice, join to first sc, ch 1(8 sc)
Round 6-9: sc in each sc, join to first sc, ch 1 (8 sc)
Tie off leaving long tail to sew on

Mouth -make 2
Row 1: 6 dc into magic ring, do not join to first dc, ch 1, turn (6 dc)
Row 2: 2 dc in each dc, ch 1, turn(12 dc)
Row 3: *2dc in first dc, dc in next* repeat, ch 1 (18 dc)
Hdc along bottom, tie off leaving long tail to sew on

Teeth make 2
With white yarn
Row 1: 4fdc, ch 1, turn (4 dc)
Row 2-3: dc in each dc, ch 1, turn (4 dc)
tie off leaving tail to sew on

Buttons - make 6
With black yarn
Round 1: 6 sc in magic ring, ch 1, turn (6 sc)
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc, tie off leaving tail to sew on (12 sc)

Hair

side hairs- make 4
With brown yarn
ch 8, tie off leaving tail to sew on
middle hair- make 2
With brown yarn
ch 10, tie off leaving tail to sew on

Arms - make 4
12 fdc, 

Hand at end of arm ch4, tie off leaving extra yarn to sew back in

attach yarn, ch 4 (3 times)- total of 4 fingers

Lay out the pieces and sew them on either side.