Crocheted Raffia Bag

I thought it would be fun to make a summery pouch, and have been loving the straw bag trend.

I bought a few spools of raffia ribbon - a fun material that feels like thin paper, and is made from palm trees from Madagascar. I was inspired by some bags I saw from Anthropologie and Free People, but came up with my own pattern to crochet.

To make a raffia circle, I developed the following pattern:

row 1 - single crochet 5 into loop, slip stitch at end

row 2 - half double crochet 6

row 3 - half double crochet 12 (2 in each space)

row 4 - double crochet into each space, single crochet after every 2 for spacing

row 5 - make flower petal design - single crochet 3, slip into space (14 total)

row 6 - 3 single crochets to connect the tops of each petal (slip into middle loop)

row 7 - half double crochet 28 (2 in each space), single crochet every 2 for spacing

row 8 - half double crochet 84 (2 in each large gap , 1 in each space)

row 9 - double crochet into every loop, single crochet every 3 for spacing

row 10 - double crochet into every loop, single crochet every 2 for spacing

I started crocheting a long strip of double crochets to use to hold the circles of raffia together, but decided instead to just crochet the sides together instead of also connecting a strip. I only crocheted halfway up the purse to leave an opening to reach the pouch.

To make a purse liner, I cut out 2 circles of unbleached muslin and used the sewing machine to sew a 9” cream zipper onto each of the pieces. I made sure to line the pieces up properly, which proved difficult, but worked out.I sewed the zipper on with the fabric inside out, but turned the fabric back out properly to seal the pouch. I wanted to be able to open the purse and not see the seams, so I sewed the pouch closed from the outside so the seams would be hidden inside the raffia bag but not visible from inside. I sewed the liner onto the raffia circles to hold it in place.

Since the top half of the raffia bag was not sealed, I added a loop to the center of the opening and added a toggle to the other side (made of knotted raffia).

I single-crocheted 3 long strands, and braided them together and attached the ends to the purse to make a strap.

I love how summery this purse makes me feel. It's the perfect size to throw in my phone, wallet, lip balm, and a couple other small items.

<3 Mandy

Knitted Fox Scarf

My aunt knitted adorable matching fox scarves for her grandchildren, and I helped her sew little black button eyes and a nose onto one of them. I liked the scarf so much, I decided to make one for myself (even though it's meant for young kids)!

Following a pattern by Gina Michelle, I knitted a triangle in cream-colored yarn, starting at the point and increasing stitches each row. Switching to a rusty orangey brown color, I knitted another few inches before switching to a ribbed stitch for a few inches. I switched back again to a regular garter stitch for the length of the scarf, and then switched back to the cream-colored yarn to form the fox's face. After casting off, I sewed the end to the edge where the colors changed to form a loop. I knitted little triangle ears and sewed them onto the edge where the colors changed, but on the opposite (prettier) side of the work. I sewed on a pink heart button nose, and black rectangular beads as eyes.

The head of the fox slips in through the loop until the ribbed neck portion, and slides perfectly over someone's head.

This project was fairly quick, and only took a couple of days to make. Now I can match my niece and nephew, or can give the scarf to a baby or young child to wear and enjoy.
<3 Mandy

Floral Granny Squares Cardigan

Similar to my crochet granny squares blanket, I crocheted a cardigan out of flower-shaped granny rounds.

The cardigan is inspired by one I saw at Anthropologie, though mine is much thicker and is suitable for winter. The Anthropologie one is probably inspired by the Summer of Love since there were many hippie retrospective exhibits and events going on in San Francisco during the summer since it has been 50 years since 1967.

I designed the cardigan as I went, piecing together 3 different flower designs. I used 13 balls of 100% wool yarn in four colors - 3 balls each of golden yellow, mixed green, and mixed purple, and 4 balls of grey.

I used a long cardigan I already had as a guideline for the shape of my crochet project, though the edges of my crochet cardigan is more irregular due to the shape of the rounds. To help hold the cardigan closed, instead of adding buttons or toggles, I crocheted a long string using the same colors of yarn in the project to weave through any of the holes in the jacket. It works well as a robe-style wrap.

I love how colorful and fun and unique my new cardigan is. It pairs nicely with a plain long-sleeved top and an overall dress. I found it most difficult to shape the sleeves, but I don't mind that they are a little bit lumpy.
<3 Mandy