Granny Square Messenger

 

The Granny Square is the first thing that I ever learned to make, as well as the first pattern I was taught to read. It is a classic design that makes you think of retro and most likely, real live Grannies sitting around crocheting pretty hideous blankets. I really like to use granny squares, even when just trying to see how different colors work together. Instead of a swatch, I may make a granny square, alternating colors here and there.

Here, I have made three granny square panels. Not squares, but a three sided granny pattern. Front  and back of the bag, and then the flap. I doubled up on yarn for the strap, but it will stretch on anyway, nothing I can do about that except, maybe, line it (and you know I hate sewing machines). Easy bag to make, but a treacherous pattern to write.

The bag above is made with Berroco Comfort Worsted. It is an acrylic yarn with a mercerized cotton feel to it. It's cool to the touch and very heavy. It does tend to split a little when working with it, but the finished product looks so smooth. I chose these colors because I wanted to keep that vintage feel with the granny design.

 

 

This bag is made with leftover acrylic yarn that I used to make a Dr. Who scarf. It's Vanna White Lion Brand. The bag came out a little bigger than the Berroco one, for whatever reason. I don't think this acrylic has too much give or weight to it. It's fluffier and lighter. It definitely does not have a smooth look to it, rather a granny blanket look. Nonetheless, I needed to give my pattern one more preliminary test before sending it to a real pattern tester.

 

This is the bag with the flap flipped over. Perfect size for binders, folders, and books....hint schoolbag!

This bag is for sale on etsy.

www.etsy.com/shop/shopnikkistitch

 

VCR Green Bag

Finally finished my VCR tape bag. It's awesome! It seems very sturdy, but I'm not too sure about that because I recall breaking the tape while crocheting, a few times. I used two strands of VCR tape and one strand of window ribbon (I really don't know what it is called, but it is ribbon with little squares cut out). It took about 5 or 6 spools of VCR tape ribbon. There were some that were an hour long and others were only 30-45 minutes. It's a pretty decent sized bag, as well: about 17" wide and 12" tall. I think I could hold a lot of groceries or whatever in it!

I've been working on the bag for about 2 years now off and on. It's such a loud project! Everytime I took it out I heard everyone sigh. It is hard to hear the tv.

Granny Bag

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I created this pattern all on my own! I like to create patterns that have very little fastening on and off. The strap, sides, and bottom are all one piece, but the two granny sides are seperately made. The yarn is a Red Heart multicolor that I absolutely fell in love with, but took forever to decide what to actually use it for. I used a little less than two skeins with an I hook. I have debated adding buttons or something for closure, but I like the way the sides drape around. I weaved ribbon in and out of the eyelets in the strap so that the straps don't stretch too much.

Knit Bag

I found the pattern for this bag on the Drops website. It was incredibly easy to make using 10.5 dpns and 2 balls of a variagated di.ve yarn. The pleats were pretty easy; all you do is knit a few stitches together off two needles. The strap is seed stitch and that really helped strengthen it. I think that the Drops knit patterns are a whole lot easier than their crochet patterns.

I never lined the bag and am really upset about it because I still used it and stretched it out quite a bit. I will eventually line it. It's a great bag and a decent size. I love the way the yarn worked up. The colors are very jewel toned.