Got bags, namely plastic bags? Well how about recycling them into a reusable bag. With all the different bans on bags and having to use a recycled bag, why not make your own reusable bag? You could crochet something really colorful like this motif granny tote bag.
The free crochet pattern for this unique tote bag is found here.
Maybe you need something a bit bigger with a shoulder strap. Here is a dual-handled large plarn tote bag.
How about a cool recycled messenger bag with a strong shoulder strap? The messenger bag pattern uses recycled plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips to create plarn (plastic bag yarn.)
Maybe you want a smaller bag. How about this cute Japanese knot tote bag?
I tried a new hat pattern that features crocheted cables. It’s a cute looking hat and I wanted to try it out. I also learned a new stitch called Extended Front Post Double Crochet or Ex-fpdc. It’s an easy stitch and makes for a longer front post crochet stitch in a project.
The free version of On the Go Beanie is found here at Cre8tion Crochet. There is also an ad-free pattern available for sale at Ravelry.
The only issues I had with the pattern were on round 4 directions and maybe I just didn’t understand the written instructions. But I believe you just want to do Clusters in between each ch-1 spaces and Ex-fpdc around the prior Ex-fpdc in rounds to get counts right.
Round 4 = 5” disk and round 5 = 6” disk with stitch counts right on with written pattern.
On Round 7, not sure why pattern says that the X Ex-fpdc stitches are separated by ch-1 as there aren’t any listed in directions.
I did one extra round of trim in the waistcoat stitch for length as my hat was short. Finished size of adult hat is 19″ cir by 7.75″ long.
I also wanted to crochet the pattern for a baby hat. Here is the same pattern but crocheted using 3-ply baby yarn and an G (4 mm) crochet hook. Below is a photo of my cabled baby hat.
I tried a new bear pattern that was suggested at our Bears for Kids group at Ravelry. This little pocket bear calls for a small crochet hook but I find using a small hook to be very hard on my hands. So I used a little bigger E (3.5mm) crochet hook.
I also tried a new way of making eyes when I crocheted this bear. For the eyes, I chained 3 and joined with black yarn to form a ring. Then I did several slip stitches into the ring, leaving long tails to secure to the inside of the head before stuffing. I like this method. It makes for small raised ball eyes. I then placed the eyes on the bear face and used the tails to secure the eyes in place from the inside of the head. I tied several knots and wove in the ends on the inside of the bear’s head. I really like how the eyes came out and want to try this method again in the future on other bears.
Here is a closer picture of the eyes on the bear.
I crocheted these baby bib and washcloth sets for this years’ Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes. I made several baby bibs, washcloths, teddy bears, and hats to fill our shoeboxes. It was really fun to crochet these items for the children’s shoeboxes for Christmas.
Here is another set in lilac colored cotton yarn. The diagonal baby bib crochet pattern is found here. The bibs are 6.5″ long by 9 inches wide. I crocheted long ties of 10″ long by chaining 47 on these bibs.
Below are more baby bear washcloths I crocheted for OCC. The free crochet pattern link is
I crocheted these two teddy bears for cancer awareness in our Ravelry bear group. First is a pink teddy bear for breast cancer awareness. I was running short of the rose pink yarn so had to add some sparkly pink leftover yarn I had for the shirt of the bear.
Both of these bears are crocheted using the In The Round Teddy Bear pattern from my site. The pattern is free and crochets up quite quickly.
Next up is a light blue teddy bear honoring those who have faced prostate cancer.
With Halloween just around the corner, here are some Halloween craft ideas.
Here is a crocheted towel topper that uses a Dollar store towel. Just add the waffle towel topper to crochet this cute holiday themed kitchen towel.
Here are some quick and easy orange potholders. Full pattern details and free instructions found here.
Here is a recycled Halloween project that uses
The beads and diamonds pattern has been on my radar for several years now. I thought it would make a wonderful recycled plastic bag project. I wanted to recycle the black plastic bags that I have for the project. I have been saving black bags up in hopes of having enough to crochet the complete pattern, but sadly I didn’t have enough.
So I added some of the pink salmon plastic bags that newspapers come in. It added a nice contrast allowing me to finish the bag. I did have to shorten the top due to the lack of black plastic bags.
Many people ask me about the yardage when using recycled bags as plarn. These black retail-sized bags results were: 4 bags cut 3/4″ wide = 50 yards of plarn.
The free crochet pattern is found here. The original pattern is written for regular acrylic yarn or cotton so if crocheting with plastic bags isn’t your thing, use something else.
Here is one more photo of the bag hanging up.
I crocheted these round ripple dishcloths using up some scraps of cotton I had. The flowered center uses 7.5 yards of cotton so it is a great way to use up those bits of cotton yarn. The two dishcloths were crocheted using one 2 ounce ball of Sugar n’ Cream ombres yarn in pink lilacs colorway.
The crochet pattern used is Julle’s blue ribbon round ripple dishcloth. I crocheted the dishcloths using the smaller option cloth from the pattern. Using the smaller option, my dishcloths are 9.5 inches wide using a G (4.25 mm) crochet hook.
Total yardage for the dishcloth including trim is
This is a new teddy bear pattern that I have been working on. I wanted to create a pattern that was crocheted all in the round that was simple and quick with less seams and fewer joins. After several test bears and tweaks to the crochet pattern, I present In the Round Teddy Bear!
Please enjoy the free crochet pattern and a big thanks to TeaLover (Jan) from Ravelry who was so kind and patient with me as I developed this pattern. She was extremely helpful with her knowledge and crochet skills helping me perfect this pattern. It is our hope that this pattern will comfort and bless each child who receives a bear made from the pattern.
In the Round Teddy Bear pattern
8.5 inch tall bear with Red Heart Super Saver (RHSS) yarn
G (4 mm) hook
Pattern uses less than 2 ounces of total yarn (RHSS = 1.7 ozs) and is written in US crochet terms.
Legs:
Rnd 1: Chain 8, turn and SC down chain, work 2 SC in end, SC around the corner working on the other side of the chain, work 2 SC in the last stitch. (16 SC sts)
Do not join. This pattern is worked in the round without chaining, joining or turning unless otherwise directed. Place a stitch marker to mark beginning of round if desired.
Rnd 2-10: SC in each stitch. (16 SC) Leave a tail to join legs at crotch. Make 2 legs, on the 2nd leg don’t FO yarn.
Position the two legs next to each other, so that the yarn tail of the first leg is between the two legs and the working yarn of the 2nd leg is to the side.
Use the tail of the first leg to join the 2 legs together at front center at crotch. Use a yarn needle to stitch 2-3 joining stitches of the two legs together at center. Don’t stitch too tightly, as you need to work into these on the next round. (see photo below)
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