Engineering and Crochet....

Hi there!

I've finally finished that project for my daughter...and here it is..

When I asked her what type of crochet bag she would like me to make, of ALL.... the bag types, she had to ask for a backpack...(sigh...)
And so began the engineering or construction...of a bagpack from scratch...which involves:

• crochet the bag body, then the top flap, then the handles, then the front pocket, then the side pocket and finally the butterfly....
• sew all the crochet pieces together
• figure out the lining construction process and sew it all together
• hand-sew the lining to the crochet bag (unfortunately can't use machine...)
• not forgetting to put in the drawstring and magnetic closure etc at the appropriate juncture

Here are more pictures of the bagpack:

I put in a base so that it can 'stand' on its own...

the crocheted stretchy side pocket which
can hold a water bottle or a favourite friend...

The interior has a zip pocket, a slot pocket for cellphone and
the board-like base is encased in the same material as the slot pocket.
The drawstring and stopper are in a matching colour.
(oops..the drawstring is obscuring the magnetic closure)

close-up of the front pocket ;
made the base of a contrasting dark colour for stain-resistance

I am pleased with how it's turned out. Probably has taken me 2 weeks of labour spread across 6 months!
Would I attempt this crazy piece of 'engineering' again...? Probably not in a long long while....only for my girl...and she loves it!

Serena

Deck the Halls...

Yes...it's that time of the year again...school's out, familiar tunes in the air AND... sparkly trimmings & ornaments everywhere! So many pretty things, only ONE tree.
What's a girl to do?
Put them on cards of course :)

This 'Merry Christmas' Card was featured in Made With Love's Layout of the Week:  http://www.madewithlove.com.sg/blog/

No cloned packs of 10 for me when it comes to sending love to the special people in my life.
What about you :)?

Sheon

Work in Progress

Hi there,

I've been busy trying to finish up a project for my daughter -- one that was actually started in April! It is probably the most ambitious piece of crochet 'engineering' I've attempted... and one that got interrupted by lots of other stuff..

Now that there's a lull period amidst the hustle and bustle of work .....it's time to finish it up. Shan't tell you exactly what it is yet except that it's a bag-like thing....
but here's a picture with a crochet tip I've gathered from my crochet 'adventures':

I've found that when crocheting a bag in ONE piece, putting a row of slip stitches (on the exterior) between the last row of the base and the first row where the body begins helps to define the base. In the picture, the top section has the slip stitches whereas the bottom section has yet to have the slip stitches.
[Do pardon the 'pink thing' in the foreground...it's a paper clip which I've used as a stitch marker...useful thing I've learnt from Alice aka 'futuregirl'. She also has a great tutorial on a lovely bag : "The Starling Handbag" -- an excellent example of a bag where the base and body are made in ONE piece. Thanks Alice!]

Enjoy!

Serena