BOOK REVIEW: 35 Crocheted Bags by Emma Friedlander-Collins

There is something so hands-up-in-the-air, so YAY about your instabuddies and crochet cohorts achieving great things, like getting a local shop to sell their wares or publishing an entire book. Emma Friedlander-Collins, who you might also know from Steel & Stitch or Crochet Girl Gang fame, has just gone and done the latter (for the third time, no less!): 35 Crocheted Bags is out. I love Emma's work so when the opportunity came up to review a copy, I jumped at it. 

35 Crocheted Bags is divided into 3 chapters:
chapter 1 - totes and holdalls
chapter 2 - bags and handbags
chapter 3 - in your bag (small items like purses, phone sleeves and so on)

Each design includes all the essentials you would expect: beautiful, clear photographs, pattern information, detailed written instructions, graphs where required. In addition, Emma has included a sweet little introduction to each item, explaining what inspired it and how she might use it herself. 

The book covers an impressive range of styles and colour palettes. Emma's signature look - bright colours and fun, retro designs (I think the girl has a thing for skulls!) - is unmistakably there, but you'll also find more muted colours and minimalist styles. 

The same goes for the range of "bag types". There are frivolous clutches, sensible shoppers, and ultra-practical little purses and wallets. Below are some of my favourite patterns from each chapter.

the spring shopper

the mini satchel

the foxy crochet carry case

...and my absolute favourite, the apple shoulder bag! 

The book also includes a "techniques" section. It covers everything from basic crochet stitches, tapestry crochet, and blocking your pieces, to sewing a fabric lining and attaching buttons. As a result, 35 Crocheted Bags really is suitable for any level of crochet (or sewing!) skill; Even a complete beginner should find a few patterns to get stuck into straight away.

All in all, it's a fabulous book full of patterns that look like they'd be great fun to make, but also to wear and use. Now I'm off to make that apple bag!

35 Crocheted Bags by Emma Friedlander-Collins is published by CICO Books, and is available now for £12.99.

---

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of 35 Crocheted Bags for the purpose of this review, but all words, photos and opinions are my own. 

Lately...

... it's been a little quiet around here, hasn't it. There's something fairly epic going on at the home front, which has been all-consuming. Soon, I hope, I will have proper news and also get back into a normal routine. For now, I just thought I'd pop in and announce my latest pattern release. If you've been following me for a while and you squint hard at the picture below, you may recognise it!

Edit: The Bretonbone Top is now also available for individual purchase from my Ravelry store.

Crochet Now issue 6. Image courtesy of Practical Publishing

Yep, that stripey yellow and white tee in the little inset is none other than my Bretonbone Top. It was picked up by Crochet Now earlier in the year, when I was about halfway through designing it, and I can't tell you how excited I am about finally seeing it "live" in a magazine. 

It's a DK-weight top that suits lots of different fibres - cotton for summer, cotton+merino for autumn, alpaca for winter. I've made versions in the latter two, and they are both so very very wearable. If you look closely, you'll see that the stitch used isn't quite your standard Half Treble. It's in fact the Herringbone Half Treble, which has this interesting slanty thing going on. 

In terms of construction, you make the front and back panels, seam them together, then work the cap sleeves into the selvedge edges. I am a bit pleased with the cap sleeves, not least because they took AYGES to get right. Don't they look cute?

There's also a wee crab stitch edge at the bottom, which is now my favourite edging method ever and I want to put it on everything. 

The Bretonbone Top is in issue 6 of Crochet Now, which is on sale at newsagents in the UK from today (September 8). If you're elsewhere, you can also pick up a digital copy - just click on any of the digital media platforms listed on Crochet Now's Where To Buy page.

Edit: The Bretonbone Top is now also available for individual purchase from my Ravelry store.

PATTERN: The Sea Breeze Hoodie

When it became apparent we'd be moving from Italy to Sweden, my immediate thought was: we'll freeze! Don't get me wrong, as a pale-skinned redhead I wasn't sorry to say goodbye to months of humidity and heat (we lived in a smoggy city, not by a beautiful lake or beach!). It was, nevertheless, clear that we would need a little wardrobe adjusting. Out with the flimsy dresses and tiny tanks, in with sensible windproofs. Because, oh my, is it windy here. Even on a lovely, sunny summer's day it can howl straight through you. Windproof jacket, warm and practical layer underneath. The Sea Breeze Hoodie, the perfect summer staple on Scandi shores.

Does practical exclude fun and frivolous? Certainly not: mismatched buttons and bright yellow sleeves. Soft, soft organic cotton. A quick and easy construction with minimal shaping, and there you go. The perfect summer to midseason layer for boys and girls aged 12 months to 10 years and ´lucky` enough to live in windier climes. 

You can purchase the PDF download in US and UK terms from my Ravelry store now.

The Sea Breeze Hoodie is worked in three panels from the bottom up: one for the back and two for the front, which are then seamed together. Both the hood and the ribbed sleeves are worked seamlessly into the selvedge edges. Finally, the piece can be finished with either buttons or a zip – this pattern includes instructions for both. 

Difficulty level
This pattern uses an easy stitch pattern (linen stitch) and simple shaping, making it perfect for confident beginners who want to venture into garment-making. The pattern comes with full written instructions as well as stitch diagrams and schematics. A step-by-step photo tutorial for the ribbing is available here.

Materials
4mm and 3.5mm crochet hook (US size G/6 and E/4), or as required to meet gauge
scissors
wool needle
buttons or zip
yarn: 3 (3, 4, 4, 5, 6) x 50 g skein of Pickles Thin Organic Cotton in Sea Water 06 (MC); 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 1) x 50 g skein of Pickles Thin Organic Cotton in Sun 21 (CC)

Yardage
MC 190 (250, 300, 350, 420, 580) m / MC 210 (275, 330, 385, 460, 635) yds
CC 90 (90, 90, 90, 90, 90) m / CC 100 (100, 100, 100, 100, 100) yds

Yarn alternatives
Choose a light to medium-weight yarn (DK to worsted, or 8 to 10-ply) with a soft handle and a recommended hook size of E/4 to 7 (4.0mm to 4.5mm). I recommend using 100% cotton or a cotton/merino blend, as these feel non-prickly against the skin. 

Sizing
12M (24M, 2-4Y, 4-6Y, 6-8Y, 8-10Y)

Tension
a 10x10 cm (4" x 4") swatch should consist of 15 rows of 16 stitches, using larger hook.

Stitches + Skills
Basic crochet stitches, basic shaping, short row shaping (explained with diagram), basic sewing skills

You can purchase the PDF download in US and UK terms from my Ravelry store now.

€4.50 (plus VAT if applicable)

I'm linking up this post with Moogly Blog and Petals to Picots

Crochet meets Patchwork Blanket: Green Squares Pt. I

The Crochet meets Patchwork Blanket is an ongoing project that I started on my old blog in July 2014. It is inspired by scrappy, patchwork quilts and provides a great opportunity to play with colours, try different motifs and learn new crochet stitches.

All the patterns for the squares used in this blanket are free - some are mine, some are by other designers (always credited; if you spot one I've credited to the wrong person please get in touch). You can find details of the project, including step-by-step tutorials to my own patterns, on the Project Page. A complete ebook guide will be available in due course. 

You can also find all the patterns and tutorials mentioned below on the Crochet meets Patchwork Pinterest Board, and follow along with my progress on the Emmy + LIEN instagram account.

---

Crochet meets Patchwork Blanket

- green square pattern round-up Pt. I - 

The green palette is the one I started off with, and I still adore it. It's so soothing to look at, don't you think? Wherever possible, I’ve linked to the original patterns and their designers. As you’ll see, however, there's one that I can’t track beyond Pinterest. If you know who owns the copyright, I’d be very grateful if you could get in touch. 

Notes

2.5 mm (C) and 3.5 mm (E/4) hooks
DMC Natura Just Cotton 4-ply
Colours: Jade (A), Ivory (B), Gris Argent (C), Aswan (D)
Individual square size: 10 cm x 10 cm (ca. 4" x 4")
Total square size: 40 cm x 40 cm (ca. 15" x 15")

Patterns

1. "Square Target" by Jan Eaton - I found this as part of a set of four diagrams on Pinterest
2. “Sunburst” Granny Square by Priscilla Hewitt. I used this photo tutorial by Jenny at Nittybits to learn how to make the square.
3. “Ribbed Cross” Granny Square by Eline Alcocer at Emmy + LIEN
4. “Triple Puff” Granny Square by Eline at Emmy + LIEN
5. Standard Granny Square - goodness knows who came up with this pattern first (!) but I used this step-by-step photo tutorial by Allison at Dream a Little Bigger to learn how to make granny squares.
6. “Paeonia” Granny Square by Djaya - this pattern is in Russian but there are very clear photographs for every step as well as a diagram at the bottom of the post.
7. Standard Granny Square - see no. 5
8. Unnamed - this is an extension of a pattern for a tiny granny square, which appears as part of a tutorial on how to read crochet charts by The Best Knitter’s Guide. Instead of doing the picots in round 3, I simply kept repeating rounds 1 and 2.
9. “Snowflake on the Square” by Laura at Baking Outside the Box.

Joining the squares

Before joining the squares together I made sure they were all the same size by adding an extra round of DCs (SCs in US terms) using the smaller hook here are there, and blocked them individually. I then used this joining tutorial by Carina at Carina's Craft Blog to crochet them together. 

Border

- Details coming soon -

On my to-do list || June

I'll be brief this month, partly because we're already halfway through June (wud?!) and partly because I'm in the throes of the pre-holiday rush - 2 weeks to go! So during what remains of June I will be:

• Making all the jam - fresh produce is finally available locally and I intend to use up every last scrap of it
• Eating all the jam - such as this tongue-tinglingly good elderflower and apple jelly that I made last night. The recipe is by my friend Juliane at Notes from Björkåsa and I could have it, spread on toast, for breakfast, elevensen, and afternoon tea. and dinner. Every day. 

• Writing all the patterns - the rationale being that if I do all the thinking now, I'll be able to do all the making when the small person is around 24/7. Because I definitely haven't got a deadline scheduled smack-bang in the middle of the holidays and two for straight after... (I do maybe have a bunch of new commission freshly placed, yay!)

• Keeping all my marbles - I'll admit, I'm struggling with the juggling this month. Yesterday morning I managed to lock myself out of the flat, sans phone and avec pyjamas. Says it all, really, doesn't it. Also, I've been shouty mummy far too often lately. No matter how busy I am, I will need to set aside some time to calm down as well. I tend to take a lot of flowery pictures when I'm stressed, and in the evenings you'll find me knitting away furiously at something just for me: a Maeve shrug by Carie Bostick Hoge in the most beautiful organic cotton + merino yarn. I loves it and I can't wait to wear it. 

• Looking forward to all the squeezes - two weeks to go, and then the 3yo monkey is all mine!

Have a good month (or what remains of it, at least)! Also, don't get locked out in your PJs! 

Sea Water, Sun and Yarn

Yesterday I handed in a stack of autumn/winter design proposals. Now I just have one or two more things to try out for the Emmy + LIEN label, and then I think I can draw a line under all things dark and wintry. Only until the sample making starts, of course, but the initial head-scratching part is done. The result: a stack of swatches. About a month's worth of work. Doesn't look like much does it?!

One late summer design has snuck in there, and I wanted to pull it out for a little sneaky peek. And a yarny drool. 

Meet my new crush: Pickles. They're based in Oslo and, oh my, don't they ever produce deliciousness. I ordered two types (for now!), Summer Wool and Thin Organic Cotton. 

Summer Wool consists of 70% organic cotton and 30% fair trade Peruvian merino. Plant-dyed, entirely scrumptious, and swiftly set aside for a knitted cardigan for Yours Truly (more on that another day). 

Thin Organic Cotton isn't actually that thin - it works up almost like a worsted weight rather than a DK - but it is very lovely. It feels much softer than 100% cottons usually do, and so it's perfect for a summer to mid-season vest design I've had in mind. Though I normally get lead times spectacularly wrong, this *should* be coming out fairly soon. Swatch done, colours picked, mood board fun had. First test subject: the Bean (though I think it'll be a child to adult pattern - I want me some of this too!).

I'm waiting for the rest of the yarn I need to make up the sample to arrive. I settled on this muted "sea water" blue, and added a yellow called "sun". Sounds like a perfect summer of making to me. 

---

Just so you know: I have not been compensated in any way for writing this post. 

TUTORIAL: Crochet Puff Stitch, two ways

Puff stitches are one of my very favourite things about crochet; the rhythm of working them, the texture they produce. In this step-by-step tutorial I will show you how to work a basic crochet puff stitch, and use it to create two different stitch patterns. 

If you've never tried one of this stitch before, here are a few tips for puffy success:

1. Crochet loosely, perhaps by going up half a hook size if you are naturally a tight crocheter.
2. Use a smooth, non-splitty yarn (details of recommended yarn below). You will be pulling your hook through many loops at a time, and a splitty yarn will drive you bonkers. 
3. Get a nice rhytm going to ensure your puffs are all even. 

Puff stitches work with most types and weights of yarn, but avoid very fluffy yarns such as mohair as the puffs will lack definition. For the samples below I've used a 100% cotton by Nurturing Fibres. As you can see, it has a rope-like twist so it doesn't split at all. I love it! 

Materials
3.5mm (4/E US size) crochet hook
DK yarn (for this sample, I’ve used Eco-Cotton DK in "sunkissed coral" by Nurturing Fibres)

Stitches + Abbreviations
Chain - ch
Double Crochet - DC
Half Treble Crochet - HTC
Puff Stitch - Puff st

Difficulty
Beginner

Note this tutorial uses UK crochet terms

---

Crochet Puff Stitch - Basic Technique

When you come to a point in the work at which you want a puff st, YO and pull up a total of three times in the same st.

Yo again and pull through ALL loops on the hook.

Ch 1 to complete the stitch.

And that is all there is to it! It might take a little practice to pull the loops up to even heights and to get the hook through so many loops at the same time - if this is hard for you, don't worry as this is normal - but with time this becomes a real go-to stitch. 

There are two ways in which you can use it as part of a crochet piece: stacked or offset. 

Stacked Puff Stitches

Make an even-numbered chain. Turn.

R1:
In the second chain for the hook, DC 1. *Skip 1 st, ch 1, DC 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

R2:
Ch 2, *skip 1, then work a puff st in the ch 1 space; Repeat from * until 1 st remains. Work a HTC in the last DC of the previous row. Turn.

R3:
Ch 1, work a DC in the first ch 1 space. *Skip 1 st, ch 1, DC 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the work has the desired length.

Offset puff stitches

Make an even-numbered chain. Turn.

R1:
In the fourth chain from the hook, work a puff st. *Skip 1, puff st 1; Repeat from * to end. Turn.

R2:
Ch 2, work a puff st in between the first and second sts of the previous row. Continue working puff sts in the gaps to end. Turn.

Repeat row 2 until the work has the desired length.

---

Disclosure: I was sent a ball of Nurturing Fibres Eco-Cotton by Scaapi.nl to test. The decision to use it in this tutorial, however, was completely my own, as are all opinions. 

On my to-do list || May

It suddenly dawned on me, at about the end of April, that there were two months left before the summer holidays. Two Months!!!?? In terms of scheduling and deadlines, I'm still kind of flapping about somewhere in mid-March. {Breathe...}

Balcony garden

Right, now I've got that off my chest, let's get on with the business of making in May. Spring took a little siesta last month, but it's back with a hop and skip. I've been putting my wee seedlings out every day, and bringing them back in with my very diligent little helper every evening. He is lethal - sorry, highly effective at drenching - when armed with the watering can. Which is, quite clearly, exclusively his. 

MeMadeMay 2016

May is also the month of all things handmade wardrobe, of course. I haven't taken the #MeMadeMay pledge of wearing a handmade item every day (because I don't have anywhere near enough of them to do so!) and I don't even aspire to an entirely handmade wardworbe. Supporting a sustainable model of consumerism, in which we - makers and buyers alike - value high quality, long-lasting and ethically-produced items is very important to me. Nevertheless, I do love the idea of a wardrobe made with love at least in part by me, as I've discussed before.

Hence, I've started a Pinterest board of what I think will be truly wearable wardrobe staples for me, inspired by Libby and Ioana's efforts to create a gallery of Great Wardrobe Basics on Instagram.There's WAY more on the board than I can make this May, or even in the next many Mays, but I've started. The first project I'm tackling is the Ruby Top, which I'm planning on doing two versions of: one with two contrasting Art Gallery fabrics, and one with a crochet lace yoke. I've never done crochet lace, so that'll be interesting...

I've also got a Milo vest for the Bean on my knitting needles after seeing lots of cute versions of it on Carie's blog, Space for the Butterflies. Finally, I'm making an effort to mend and maintain some of the items I've made in the past after reading about Jen's inspiring #MendItMay pledge on My Make, Do and Mend Life. If you've got a few lackluster woollies knocking about too, I wrote some tips on how to give them a little TLC. 

Emmy + LIEN designs

In terms of my own designs, there have been a couple of interesting developments. The first set of instructions for the Dally Dahlia Blanket is now live. I kind of surprised myself by managing to get that up within the time frame I'd set! 

The first test sample of the Bretonbone Top is finished and there's another in the making, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer for the pattern than I anticipated. This is due to a very exciting opportunity appearing for me, so I hope you won't mind too much. I'll reveal more as soon as I'm able to (think late summer)..

Everything else is still languishing at the planning stage, so for now I'm just squeezing lots of pretty yarn. My current favourite is the mint green, an organic cotton by MoYa. I'm hoping to publish a review of it soon, so watch out for that. And, eventually, find time to actually use it.

Are you taking part in MeMadeMay or MendItMay in any way? I'd love to hear what you're working on this month!

CROCHET RECIPE: The Dally Dahlia Blanket - Part One

{A Crochet Recipe: a rough guide on how to produce a crochet item, as opposed to a proper pattern which involves more maths than the designer had brain cells for at the time of casting on}

---

We all need a mindless, "see how it turns out" project from time to time, don't we? I started this blanket last autumn, after impulse-buying a basket full of discounted cotton. It was the lovely bright colours that did it, you see. IrREsistible. 

At the time the darkness of the Swedish winter was already setting in fast and disrupting my normal sleep-wake pattern. I needed the happy colours. I also wanted something easy yet interesting - I do not deal well with repetition. 

I opened my stitch dictionary and tried the Uneven Berry. Added a few granny stripes. Then one of my favourite stitches, the Herringbone Half Treble. Finally, some easy Dally Dahlia granny squares, for which a full pattern and photo tutorial is available here. 

And there you have it, the beginning of a crochet blanket recipe. The stitches are all based on different multiples and I haven't bothered to try to make them fit. So it's a pretty wonky blanket. But: blocking. It'll be fine. 

If you'd like to make your own, slightly wonky but decidedly happy blanket, read on...

---

Dally Dahlia Blanket - Part One

Materials

• 3.5mm crochet hook
• wool needle 
• 4 balls each of Sandes Garn Mandarin Naturell in Gul (A), Sjogronn (B), Petrol (C), Cerise (D) and Natur (E)
• yarn alternative: any DK cotton yarn will work for this blanket 

Special Stitches

• Herringbone Half Treble Crochet (HHTC):
• Uneven Berry (UB) - free photo tutorial here

Recipe Notes

• The Dally Dahlia Blanket is worked in sections of stripes, and strips of Dally Dahlia Granny Squares. The sections and strips are then sewn together using the whip stitch. 
• The recipe is written in UK terms. 
• Always change colour on the final step of the last stitch of the previous row. 

Recipe instructions

 

 

Section one (bottom)

Make a starting chain of 106 (= a multiple of 3, plus 1) in colour A

Rows 1-19: Uneven Berry stitch

Rows 20-24: Granny Trebles in colour B

Rows 25-29: Herringbone Half Treble Crochet in colour C

Rows 30-31: HHTC in colour E

Attach 6 joined Dally Dahlia Granny Squares, worked in colour D

 

Section two (middle 1)

Make a starting chain of 106 (= a multiple of 3, plus 1) in colour E

Rows 1-2: HHTC

Rows 3-7: HHTC in colour B

Rows 8-12: Granny Trebles in colour C

Rows 13-26: UB in colour D

Rows 27-31: Granny Trebles in colour B

Rows 32-36: HHTC in colour C

Rows 37-38: HHTC in colour E

Attach 6 joined Dally Dahlia Granny Squares, worked in colour A

 

 

Section three (middle 2)

Make a starting chain of 106 (= a multiple of 3, plus 1) in colour E

Rows 1-2: HHTC

Rows 3-7: HHTC in colour D

Rows 8-12: Granny Trebles in colour C

Rows 13-26: UB in colour A

Rows 27-31: Granny Trebles in colour C

Rows 32-36: HHTC in colour D

Rows 37-38: HHTC in colour E

(Attach 6 joined Dally Dahlia Granny Squares, worked in colour B)

---

This is where I am up to. I've got a few granny squares on the go, and I've started the last section.  

In Part Two, I'll share that last section with you as well as details on the border. Not that I've thought that far yet, but I have been toying with the idea of incorporating some leftover jersey. Don't the colours just work perfectly?

Written pattern copyright Eline Alcocer 2016.
You are welcome to make and use this pattern as you wish, but please do not sell the pattern nor claim the pattern as your own.
You are welcome to sell any item made using this pattern, but please credit the designer, Eline Alcocer.
Please link back to this page if you write about the pattern in any way. 
You may not reproduce the photos, pattern or instructions, either partially or in full, contained in this post without obtaining written permission from me first. 
Thank you!

Maker's Maintenance

Finally, finally Spring has remembered its lines and the thickest of woollies can be put away for a few months. But first: a little maintenance. 

These days the three of us wear mostly handmade winter woollies. A lot. Especially the 3-year-old; This being Scandinavia, severe weather is not an excuse for staying indoors and so after a whole, long winter his woollies were looking pretty, well, worn. 

After a whole, long (did I mention it was long?) winter of being stuffed under bike helmets, dragged through rain and snow, and dipped (rubbed, probably) in wet sand, the pompoms weren't very pommy anymore. The brims had been stretched down their hu-LA-rious owner's chin a few too many times. Some straggly ends were poking out, what with weaving them in properly not being my strong point... 

So this morning, with the sunlight finally streaming in, I sat down to do some Maker's Maintenance. I picked the dry leaves out and snipped off the sad little poms. I made new, properly smooshy pompoms. I re-wove the ends. 

I added a couple of rows to the brims to bring them back in from their flappy state. This is so easy to do - just take a smaller hook than the pattern originally called for and work the same stitch (front and back post TC, in this case) into the foundation row or starting chain.

You're basically working upside down and changing the stitch direction, but I don't think it matters. Because, fast-moving 3-year-old.

Finally, I soaked them in some lukewarm soapy water to get rid of the worst of the grime, left them out to dry on the balcony, and attached the new pompoms. Smoosh.

They don't look fresh of the hook. It wouldn't have been a big deal to make a couple more hats, even - the pattern (details below) is really easy and fun. Also, maintenance is a bit boring compared to the excitement  of making something new. But that is not point, I think.

High quality, responsibly-produced yarn is expensive. As a natural resource, it is also finite. By giving these little hats an hour or so of TLC, they'll last another winter. I won't be sending anything to landfill. And I'll have a bit more money left over for good materials for another make (it turns out I've made hats for everyone but myself, so far!).

These little hats are ready to be stored away now, and over the next few weeks I'll be washing, darning, re-weaving and otherwise squeezing the rest of our handmade  woollies. 

What do you do to ensure your makes last longer? Any tips?

---

The nitty-gritty
Pattern: Lake's Edge Hat by Kat Goldin
Yarn (bright stripes): Be Sweet Bamboo + DROPS Alpaca for the added brim
Yarn (neutral stripes): Lanar Big Merino & Maxi Soft