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

Embroidered Handkerchiefs

For my best friend's birthday, I wanted to make and personalize something special. Here's how I made embroidered handkerchiefs:

After choosing out some simply patterned cotton fabric, I cut out squares and hemmed the edges using a zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine.  I decided to use patterned fabric instead of plain white to help them appear clean after being used over time, and in shades with yellows since yellow is my friend's favorite color. To prevent lumpy embroidery after washing, I pre-shrunk in the laundry.

cut fabric squares

sewing machine settings

hemmed edges

bottom view

top view

completed square

After completing the squares, I chose yellow, lavender, and purple floss to decorate the corners. On the printed beige fabric, I monogrammed her initials with some floral detail in one corner, and continued the design onto the two side corners.

I embroidered her name and outlined a flower on the yellow/blue floral fabric, and kept the design simple since the fabric print was already busy.

I hope they last a long time! They can also be used to wrap small items or for other alternative purposes.

be green and use less tissue
<3 Mandy

Homemade Lavender Bath Salts

As holiday gifts for some women at work, I made some lavender bath salts and put them in little clear jars with locking lids. It was pretty easy to assemble, and makes a quick but lovely gift. The salts work great for a soothing bath or foot soak.

To make the salts, I mixed together:
- 1 cup coarse-grain sea salt
- 3/4 cup Epsom salt
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 10 drops of 100% pure lavender essential oil
- dried lavender (collected during the summer and dried since then)

In a large bowl, I mixed together the salts first, and added baking soda to the mixture. I distributed the oils throughout the mixture while mixing with a spoon. After taking the dried lavender flowers off of their stems, I added them to the salts. There was enough to make 4 jars of bath salts.

<3 Mandy

DIY Felt Christmas Ornaments

I thought it would be cute to make personalized felt Christmas ornaments this year. All the ornaments I made are round holey baked goods (bagels or donuts).

My dad is from Montreal, and we frequently go there to visit family. Every trip, we always get Montreal bagels (Fairmount > St. Viateur), so I made my dad a Fairmount sesame seed bagel. The "ingredients" for the bagel are simple: two circles of tan-colored felt, white embroidery floss, and some stuffing. Before sewing the felt pieces together, I embroidered little white sesame seeds all over one piece of felt, and also added "DAD" to the top. I made a little braided loop to be able to hang the ornament. I first sewed the inner circle of both felt pieces, and then sewed around the outside edge to seal the bagel. Before finishing, I filled the bagel with stuffing.

back view of embroidery

I made my mom a chocolate-glazed donut to kind of match my dad's bagel. I first made the donut base (same way as I made the bagel, but without embroidering anything on). I cut out some dark brown felt in the shape of "glaze", and used different colored embroidery floss to make rainbow sprinkles. I also wrote "MOM" to look like it was made out of sprinkles.

Happy Holidays!
<3 Mandy