Translation for the Fat Bag by Samanta Maragno

_____________________

If you make this bag from #4 yarn and an H hook, the bag comes out about 8 inches high & 12 inches across at the widest point.
That's a bit small for me, so the tan bag shown in the pattern I made by adding 6 rows to each end, and 6 rows across the middle. It's about 10 inches high and about 15 inches across at the widest point.
I also made another bag by using 2 strands of #4 yarn held together, and a K hook & by following the pattern, not adding any rows, it came out about the same larger size, 10 x 15 inches.
_____________________
Materials:
H hook & #4 yarn
or
K hook - if you use 2 strands of #4
(thicker yarn & bigger hook will make the bag come out bigger.)

For the smaller purse, I used less than 1 skein of solid color Red Heart Super Saver.
However, the speckled yarn comes in smaller skeins, so you may need just a little more than 1.
For the larger purses I used about 1 1/2 skeins.

For the pattern chart:
click here
(If you right click on the image & save it to your computer & then print it out, it should print out bigger.)
_____________________

Purse Body:
Start with chain 18 and follow according to the chart. It will look kind of curved, like this-
(click on photos to embiggen)


Finished body. It will have a sort of bowl shape-


The little "holes" or gaps along the length every other row, where you chained 2 and turned your row. These are what you're going to crochet into to create the gathering.


If you want to line your bag, you need to do it now. (While lining, I just put a stitch marker through the last stitch so it won't unravel and leave my skein of yarn attached. Why create a break where you have to weave in ends again?)

Fold your bag in half, and fold your fabric in half and cut a square just about even with the length and width of the bag, then hem all 4 edges of the fabric in a rolled hem. You want the entire lining to end up being about half an inch inside all of the edges.
Add a pocket if you want to one side (make sure your pocket opens towards the outer edge.)


Fold lining lengthwise and put into bag (wrong sides together) and whip stitch along the length on each side.


Close up of lining. You want it to be away from the very edge because you're going to need to crochet into those free loops to finish the bag.


Now pleat or gather the lining of the short sides. You want more pleats or gathers toward the center, as this will be the sides and deepest corners of the bag. Whip stitch in place.


OK, lining done. Now on to creating the gather of the bag body. Remember how I left my yarn attached? If you didn't you will have to do it just like you will do the second side of the bag, so I've written the instruction that way. Let's call this the gathering "band", because I can't think of what else to call it!

Band:
~Attach your yarn as close as possible to the end stitch of the long side, chain 1, and now, single chrochet into each "gap" left from the chain 2 turns. You'll be skipping over one row as you go, so kind of squoosh your work towards the next gap as you go. Well, you don't really have to squoosh, but just do not do this row loosely.


At the very last stitch, you may not really see a "gap" but just try to get your last single crochet as close to the very end as possible. It should be 26 single crochets across.


Chain 1, turn, single crochet in each stitch across.
Repeat for a total of 6 to 8 single crochet rows, depending on how wide you want it to look, it's up to you. With thicker yarn I do less rows.
Tie off.
Do the other side of the purse the same way.


Shoulder Straps:
For the shoulder straps, attach yarn where shown.



Single crochet along the short side of purse and up the side of band,
now chain 60 to 80 (depending on how long you want your shoulder strap)
And, being careful not to twist the chain, single crochet it into the other side corner of the same band and single crochet along the short side of purse.
Chain 60 to 80 again for other strap, single crochet it to the other side corner of the same band, single crochet along the side of the band and now you should be back to where you started.


Chain 1, turn, and single crochet all the way around the sides and straps.
Chain 1, turn, and repeat this way for about 4 to 6 rows, however you would like it to look.

There ya go! If you have any questions, leave me a comment & I'll try to help.

P.S. Here is a link to a very similar flower - clicky

Labels: Bend Beanies, crochet, Free Pattern, hand made, Patterns

I am working on a Free pattern for you and I'm also trying to translate the directions (from Portuguese!) for this cute bag originally shown here - Click here

Forget trying to translate! Arggh! So I'm sort of winging it, but the Graph for the pattern is here: Graph

I have the bag and the ruffling done, but now I'm going to try to make the shoulder straps. Hopefully this weekend I can get it all written down for you!

UPDATE:
I've done the bag!





(in a hideous shade of Red, because really, I was just practicing!)
I am working on another bag in a color that's easy on the eyes and taking photos for you. I will post it soon.

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, hand made, Patterns

My latest obsession is making silly, little novelty purses. So cute!
Am I too old to carry one? And why?

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, hand made

left: the Boho Beanie - center: Thick yarn Cloche - right: Bella's Twilight Hat

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, hand made, hats

Bend Beanies are hand made, crocheted items (mostly hats!) made in beautiful Bend, Oregon.
We'll be keeping you up to date on our hats, crocheting and other crafty projects here!

~Most of our Bend Beanies are made from "Eco-friendly Simply Soft yarn" which contains 20% post consumer recycled fiber from plastic bottles! It's one of the softest and silkiest acrylic yarns we've found.
~We also have some hats made from 100% Organic cotton, cotton that is grown, spun & dyed to the Global Organic Textile standard.
~Another lovely and silky soft yarn that we like to use is 85% Bamboo.
~We do have some hats made of acrylic and wool blends, but we always strive to find yarn that is soft to the touch, never itchy or scratchy!

Visit our Etsy Store, click here!
_______________________________________________

Some samples of Bend Beanies hand-crocheted hats - these are our children's hats:

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, eco friendly, hand made, hats

Ahead of the Times
Hats have again become fashion-forward, even some of those that have been put away, waiting for another chance in the sun
*article by Paris Achen
from the Mail Tribune Newspaper, Medford Oregon
February 15, 2009


Mannequins model vintage hats in Ashland's Jeanne Louise vintage clothing store
window as a man wearing the ubiquitous baseball hat walks by.
Bob Pennell, Mail Tribune photo

Going to high school wearing the hand-knitted, cranberry-color beret my grandmother gave me for my 16th birthday would have been an embarrassment.

Purchased at a Methodist church bazaar and tenderly wrapped by grandmother, the beret was bright and eye-catching.

But as a shy teenager who wanted to disappear in the throng of raging hormones flowing through my high school's hallways, the hat's flamboyant quality made it a no-no in the Pacific Northwest's muted Grunge Fashion.

In December, as I was sifting through keepsakes, I found the beret buried in a box. It looked almost new, having languished for almost 15 years, mostly in the dark, with only a handful of outings that always ended in feelings of inhibition and self-consciousness.

Images from some of the fashion magazines I recently had flipped through at the gym began flashing in my head: photographs of Rhianna, Beyonce and Cameron Diaz topped off with loose-fitting, knitted berets.

In fact, berets and a host of other hats, from the fedora to the fur trapper, are the winter's hottest fashion accessories for both women and men.

Walk into boutiques in Ashland and you'll find a rampage of hats, as well as a shop devoted entirely to hats called Hatsetera on East Main Street. With winter winding down, many of them are on sale.

It seemed the time finally had arrived for my grandmother's gift.

Not only was my beret knitted and loose-fitting, it possesses the bright and bold hues that have set the trend this season.

The following day, I debuted my suddenly stylish, 15-year-old beret at the office. The warm welcome made me regret not wearing it sooner.

"Cool hat," commented the easygoing copy editor from Texas.

"Is that a new hat?" another colleague inquired.

"Nope," I said proudly. "It was a 16th birthday gift."

I was so delighted with the resurrection of my beret I packed it for a vacation earlier this month to Canada's fashion capital, Montreal.

Coming from Southern Oregon, where comfort generally outweighs style, I fretted that I might look like a country bumpkin in fashion-conscious Montreal, so I took care with my ensemble.

Following the fashion magazines' advice, I positioned my beret toward the back of my crown, allowing some of my long locks to hang in front, and paired it with a long necklace, a fitted black cashmere sweater dress with voluminous sleeves, stockings, black boots and a long charcoal-color metal necklace studded with tiny, clear crystals.


I glided through Montreal feeling stylish in my beret.

"This hat might be homespun," I thought, "but it's not humble."

The bright color of my beret drew the eyes of the Quebecois passing me on the streets. It also won a compliment from my Quebecois boyfriend whom I was visiting.

Montreal's downtown was a kaleidoscope of hats: Russian fur hats, fur-trapper hats, cloches, newsboy caps, pork pie hats, knitted beanie hats with cat ears and, gratifyingly, berets.

My boyfriend escorted me through the frigid, snowy city wearing an en vogue black suede hybrid of a baseball cap and a fur-trapper hat.

The fur-trapper has fur or faux fur-lined flaps over the ears that can be fastened up on top of the hat for a different look.

It's one of this season's examples of hat styles that are popular among both men and women.

In Southern Oregon, you'll find a similar array of hats, with only slightly lower wear per capita.

"We sold so many hats this year," said Natalia Bishop, manager of Earthly Goods in Ashland. "It was crazy. We had to keep reordering."

The fur-trapper and crocheted beret have been among the most popular, Bishop said.

Alyssa Rosenthal, a sales associate at Renaissance Rose, said fedoras have been the hottest-selling accessory at the boutique on Ashland's downtown plaza.

A man in a fedora is nothing new in Oregon, but this year the fedora has also become an elegant and warm addition to the female ensemble, Rosenthal said.

"We sell at least one fedora a day," said Rosenthal, who was wearing a black wool newsboy cap with a buttoned bill.

"I have a pin-stripe fedora, which is a little more feminine," Rosenthal said. "I wear mine all the time, usually when I dress up."

The fedora also comes in a straw version this season.

So why are hats so in favor?


The hat obsession could reflect a collective nostalgia, said Ashland resident Kate McCabe, who collects unusual hats.

"My idea is that people are very nostalgic about a simpler time," McCabe mused.

Yet, there are also pragmatic reasons to favor the hat this year. Some Southern Oregonians said they wear hats for warmth or to guard against sun exposure.

"I bought some hats after I had a bad haircut," said Tanya Casey, a student at Southern Oregon University who wore a black cotton newsboy with a black, brown and white plaid ribbon band and bow.

The hat also has the ability of changing the look of an outfit, allowing fashionistas to do more with less in an economy that deteriorates by the day.

The hat itself can be altered into an entirely different look, said McCabe, who wore a camel-color wool beret with a purple-petaled flower brooch made of wool pinned on the side as she browsed through the Jeannelouise Vintage shop in Ashland.

"Pins are a good way to decorate and change a hat," she said. "You can also do tucks in the hat to make different shapes.

"Some of my friends thought I had bought a new hat when I added the pin to this one."

Those who grew up in the tradition of the daily hat are noticing its rebound.

"When I was growing up, we went nowhere without a hat," said 76-year-old Mary Sajben, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was touring Ashland last week with a friend.

"I've noticed a lot more hats lately," said Sajben's friend, Joan Stouffer, of Chico, Calif., who wore a black fleece coche. "I wear this one because I can just throw it in the washer. It's so cute, and it's warm."

Back at the newspaper, I noticed one of my colleagues who has worn a felt fedora to deflect the elements for as long as I've known him.

"You're in fashion these days," I called out approvingly.

"No," he gaffed. "Fashion has caught up to me."

I smiled, grateful that fashion had also caught up with my cranberry-color beret.

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, eco friendly, hand made, hats

A View of the Sisters. We are surrounded by Mountains, most notably, the Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor.

Labels: Bend Beanies, boutique, crochet, eco friendly, hand made, hats