Recycled material bag - crochet pattern

I did say when I finished this bag that I would write up the pattern - so here it is.

No gauge or needle size instructions as this is for a recycled material bag, so these are dependent on what material you use. I used an old frogged jumper, two strands at a time because I wanted a thick pattern and a sturdy bag, and needle size 8mm.

Chain 22.

The bag is worked round and round to create a seamless pattern.

hdc = half double crochet

Stitches used: half double crochet, single chain, slip stitch

row 1: hdc in 2nd chain from hook, then in each chain stitch to end. 2 hdc in the corner end stitch, turn.

row 2; hdc in each stitch to last 2, work 2 hdc in the two end stitches, turn.

row 3: hdc in each stitch to last 2 stitches, work 2 hdc in each of the two end stitches, turn.

row 4: hdc in each stitch to last 3 stitches, work 2 hdc in each of the three end stitches, turn.

row 5: hdc in each stitch to last 3 stitches work 2 hdc in each of the three end stitches, turn.

This is the base of your bag. If you want it bigger because of your plans for the bag or because you have enough material, just continue rows 4 and 5 until you have the base size you want.

To start working the body of the bag, work the following row in the front loops only.

row 6: hdc in each stitch, work 2 hdc in the end stitch, then hdc back to the other end, work 2 hdc in the end stitch.

Work again in both loops.

row 7, 8, 9: hdc in each stitch down to end, work 2 hdc in the end stitch, work 1 hdc in each stitch back to the other end, work 2 hdc in end stitich.

Repeat the above until you get the height you want for your bag, I worked these rows three times to get a taller basket type bag.

Switch to your contrast fabric or ribbon at the side of the bag. (Unfortunately this did not work so well as I only had enough ribbon for one round, so I finished my embellishment round in the main bag fabric).

row 10: work hdc in each stitch around

row 11: work hdc in each stitch around

OR - ALTERNATIVE ROW 11 - using the main fabric of the body or your contrast fabric - ignoring the last coloured row, single chain in one loop of each stitch of the main body fabric as it joins to the embellishment fabric. (This creates the row that stands slightly proud of the main bag body as per my bag in the photo).

Switch back to your main bag fabric and work through both loops of each stitch again.

row 12, 13, 14, 15: hdc in each stitch around for these 4 rounds and end at the side of the bag.

Optional variation if you have enough contrast fabric. Switch to contrast fabric for this one row, starting on the same bag side as the previous contrast rounds.

row 16: hdc in each stitch of this round.

Switch back to main material.

row 17: hdc in each stitch of this round.

row 18: starting at the side of the bag, hdc in each of the next 7 stitches, chain 20 for the handles (you can chain slightly longer if your bag is small and light, but this is not designed to be an over the shoulder style of bag).
Join the handle chain back into the bag with a single chain, leaving approximately 14 stitches unworked in the centre of the bag - this is an approximate number, fold your bag opening in half at the sides and simply ensure that you have your handle centrally positioned.
Work hdc into the remaining 7 stitches of that side of the bag.

row 19: hdc around the other side of the bag for 7 stitches, chain 20 and join with a single stitch into bag, leaving approx 14 stitches unworked under the handle. hdc for the remaining 6 stitches. Fold your bag opening and check that handles are aligned with each other and centrally positioned for the bag.

row 20: hdc in each stitch of the bag around to the handle, then work 2 hdc in the stitch at the base of the handle, and hdc in each stitch around the handle until you reach the end stitch to work 2 hdc again, hdc in each stitch round to the second handle, work 2 hdc into the stitch at the base, hdc in each stitch of the handle, then work 2 hdc into the base stitch, work 1 hdc into each stitch back to the side of the bag.

For an alternative finish - using contrast fabric or leather strips.

row 21: single chain, slip stitch in each stitch of the round to create a smooth bound edge. I would really have liked to do this even with the main material of the bag body, but I just did not have enough frogged jumper left.

Fasten off and weave ends under on the inside of the bag.

This is another easy but rewarding project, quite quick to do and one that can be done on the sofa watching TV, as there is not much counting or pattern following required. Plus you can use pretty much any fabric or yarn you have so it would be a good catch all project for tidying up your left over scrap fabrics. I am saving my left over hat and shawl yarns ready to make the next bag - which is going to end up a mish mash of colours and textures.

A cat's life for me

With the weather still grey and sleety, the cats are refusing point blank to go outside, although poor Mr Pink here is being gradually pushed off his perch by the two naughty kittens (they all seem rather keen on the new cushion covers I made the other day).

My bathroom looks like this

- as you can see plumbing still underway, the living room wall has had several large holes drilled through it for the heat exchange pipes -

but no end in sight yet.

I think of all the things in the world to dislike, the thing I dislike the most is plaster dust, so fine and white and dusty, it gets everywhere and is a complete horror to have to clean up, hopefully that bit is now over, just more patching up to do on the plaster instead.

So while Brendan nipped off to the docs and the supermarket after fetching Thea from school, I ran off to do something infinitely more interesting instead.

From plain picture frame:

- via glue gun, peacock feathers and tiny mother of pearl buttons -

to this:

Well it only took 3 months....

Way back in the mists of time I vowed that I was going to sort out my wardrobe (here)

And now over 3 months later I have finally got around to it.

And what promped it?

The three failed attempts to get dressed this morning...

- first top I pulled out I had obviously been mud wrestling in and it was totally stained,

- second top I pulled out I had obviously been installing new swivel bearings in the Land Rover with - needless to say it was also very stained,

- third top I pulled out looked as though I had been competing in an Incredible Hulk fancy dress comeption due to the number of rips and tears in it (and no I have no idea what I did to cause that!).

So I finally sorted out my wardrobe - everything out and only 75% back in - no more bag lady for me, I am only wearing unstained, untorn, unblemished clothes for the rest of the year.

And it only took 3 months to sort it out - WOW - that must be a procrastination record.

At least the dog is happy - he gets a lovely new bed for the winter stuffed with whatever cannot be recycled.

Itty bitty projects

With the sun out today and it getting really rather warm it was far too nice to stay cooped up indoors, so today lots of little things got done.

Flower pots were weeded, roses were transplanted, greenhouse was weeded, tomatoes were laid out in the sun to redden, some more beans were podded, my gardening shed got a tidy up and sorting out ready for spring, winter storage boxes were found, cleaned and laid in the sun to dry ready for carrots and beets to be stored in them, onions got a brushing and hung up in fishing nets to use over the winter and another sack of spuds was dug.

In addition, to go with my new crochet hook that I made the other day, I got started with creating the yarn I am going to use.

I am not fully decided yet whether I am making a bag or a rug, but I have a few more tshirts to go before I have enough cotton strips to get going.

All I did was cut off the bottom hem and start cutting in a spiral about an inch wide all the way up to the armpits to create a long strip of fabric ready to crochet with.

Quick reversible bag from recycled fabrics

With my departure date looming large on the horizon and storm clouds even larger with imminent rain, decided to have a couple of tranquil hours in the studio before having to close the door on it for 10 days.

Took this sari/skirt that had been recently donated and unpicked it while watching The Hotel Inspector, then combined with a donated dress I made up this reversible bag. It is just lacking a button for the fastening.

Unplugged my stereo, turned off my trusty sewing machine, and switched the lights off. Be back soon.

Productive Day in the studio - new bag design on vintage fabrics.

The lovely weather is continuing - not - lovely for ducks perhaps. With the grey skies looming overhead with the threat of yet more heavy rain I decided to shut myself away with my stereo and my sewing machine in my studio.

I designed another easy bag on my very useful plastic coated publicity material, lit the fire and started cutting away.

I finished sewing up the bag I started the other day, finished it with some wooden beads,

 then used the same vintage 70s cotton to make up another bag in my new design with some hand crocheted flowers to add a bit of detailing, then had a go at another nautical themed bag in the same design.

 Very pleased with the way these have turned out, and also how my new design works, only two pieces, a round bottom, then a single cut of material to form the tube body of the bag, then this pattern piece is folded in half and creates the template for the handle.

Very productive day.

New bags and embellishments

It has not just been busy here the last couple of days it has been absolutely manic.

I think every one of our neighbours has been round with something that needs fixing, we have some friends over from the UK on holiday too and are trying to spend some time with them, as well as trying to get as much done as we can in the garden and house in between showers.

On the basis that we all have to draw a breath every now and again and take some zen time, I managed to find a couple of hours yesterday in my studio to draw up a new bag design and get the first prototype sewn up.  It took a bit longer than expected because of having to think everything through before committing my scissors to the cloth - what's that old adage, measure twice, cut once.

If I thought yesterday was busy today was relentless.  The current fix-it list for Brendan is: Polo, Clio, John Deere, seized tractor water pump, a dead VW 4x4, leaky tap, a broken rotavator,  and a non-running Renault tractor - this is all because he is off to the UK for a few days himself next week so of course everyone wants things done before he goes!  Oh well, looks like painting the bathroom will be a project for me then.

Earlier, while he sat cruising on the internet for a cheap car stereo for another one of our neighbours I ran away to my studio so I could get the trimmings onto the finished bags, one denim bag done, two cotton bags with embroidery and crochet flowers done, one cotton bag with felt flowers finished, now I just need Thea to model them so I can get them listed on Etsy.

Photos to follow when I can get the computer tower to work - I guess my Dutch is still not up to scratch on Microsoft gobbledegook!

Edited: Wednesday - as you can see I managed to get a couple of photos up.

Well this is a bit embarrassing....

.... I changed my status on Facebook today to say that I was celebrating 10 years of marriage......unfortunately our wedding anniversary is actually tomorrow. Not the first time I have got it wrong, but what is really embarrassing is that I went and checked the date on the certificate, and still got it wrong!


As a special treat my lovely husband took me to the scrapyard. Ostensibly to collect a table he had spotted there the other day that he wanted for his workshop, but in reality, once there he was trying to palm me off with all sorts of other rubbish, because once I spotted the table I knew I had to have it.

It has come out of a local school, Thea says they have similar ones in her science lab, it is waist high and has a laminated top, so I have commandeered it as my pattern cutting table for my studio. What did he expect with a trip to the scrappy as an anniversary gift. Still for 10 years it is supposed to be tin or coal.

While I was there I did find some other treasures, a metal bucket for my wood store in my studio, some saucepans to use in the cages for our ever expanding rabbit population, a waffle iron and a night potty bucket. All of which the scrap man gave me for free - as my anniversary present!

I am not quite sure what that says about my life here in rural France, that my local scrapman gives me an anniversary present? Nor am I sure what it says about our marriage, that my husband thinks a trip to the scrappy is appropriate? What does it say about me? Am I taking reduce, reuse, recycle a step too far?

On the other hand a bucket of bits and bobs or a bag of coal - good practical presents both of them, better than some overpriced flowers, although I wouldn't necessarily say no to chocolate.

While in the scrapyard we visited our lorry. We moved to France in winter 2006, with all of our wordly goods crammed in this 7.5 tonne lorry, bought for one trip only, then sold to the scrap man once we had cut the body off it in order to transport our 2 pig arcs, and run several trips to collect hay and straw in it while it was a flat-bed. Then eventually it died and it was time for it to move on. All that is left now is the flat bed base and the roof - still with the hole cut out from the caravan window that had been set into the roof while it was a horse box. I cut the window out to make a cold frame for the garden - waste not want not!

The big plus side of a visit to the scrap man and scrap yard are the photographic opportunities. Scrap metal and cars are one of my favourite things to capture - well they don't move around for a start.

Tomorrow's project is to collate and process the photos I took today, having installed my table under the window in the studio today, taken a couple of quick shots of the kittens - as you can see from the photo above, Fergie is happily installed on my shoulder as I type this, and a quick dinner of pork chops and dauphinoise potatoes.


Recipe - dauphinoise potatoes
Peel some potatoes - any old softening ones in the bottom of the veg basket or what's left of last year's harvest are perfect for this.
Slice about half a centimetre thick and layer in an oven proof dish - I like to add some thinly sliced onion in as well.
Sprinkle on some garlic powder and season as you build the layers.
Pour over a litre of stock and leave to cook in the oven at 180C for about 45 minutes.
By this time the stock should be pretty much gone, but the potatoes nice and soft, then pour over a carton of thick double cream (about 150 ml), sprinkle with some paprika and some parsley and leave to cook for another 20 minutes.
By cooking in two stages like this the cream won't split and you need less cream so it is slightly healthier.

Monday morning blues

I don't think I am really blue, but tired. 

I had a ridiculously early morning with  my new kitten needing the litter tray and even two cups of coffee are not getting me going today.

Yesterday I got on with more photo processing and got photos onto flickr.com, as well as some of my bags listed on Etsy, before we had to go out for aperos (French drinkies) and to fetch my mother's day pressie - my new kitten.

 With the computer freezing every couple of minutes from the photo overload, and kittens demanding my time, I never managed to finish all my bag listings yesterday so got on with that today, but still have not managed to get everything on Etsy, so looks as though my afternoon will be taken up with that too.

Next few projects - planning my photoshoot.....

The next few projects will be all about wardrobe refashions with a skirt due to become a top, a top to cut up for the collar and a sarong to go with it to become a dress and a length of material to form the skirt of another top.

As you can see I have once again drawn up detailed (ha) plans on scraps of paper and pinned them to the assorted items to remind me that they have been sidelined for projects.

 I started this afternoon with finishing off the bag handle from the bag yesterday, and running a line of trim all along the hemmed edges for a neater finish. 











 This is now the selection of bags to be photographed and uploaded on Saturday to Etsy.

Having got the last of the bags sorted out I turned my attention to the T-shirt a friend donated the other day (you know who you are).  I had told her that it would make a great waistcoat, and it was time to put my money where my mouth was or something like that. 

Anyway, while hunting around in the studio for bag materials I had found a woolen skirt that I had forgotten about, and thought that would make an ideal waistcoat back, so using the paper template I cut the other day from another waistcoat, I cut out the back, then slightly altered the sides and the length to reflect the look I wanted to acheive with the waistcoat style.

See more photos tomorrow -  now that I have managed to successfully bribe my model and convince another friend to lend me their house as a backdrop, my basket of goodies is packed and hopefully the sun will be on my side tomorrow and I can get a mini fashion photoshoot done.  Half of the items will be available for sale on Etsy, some are for me and some for Thea to keep.

Shoe fetish - moi?

I had no motivation today, not a drop, not a trickle, not a teeny tiny 'ickle bit.

I don't really know why, but I think we all have days like that, days when we wish we had stayed in bed with the covers drawn up.  I did manage to drag myself out of bed, had my coffee, tried to read a new book (which was so bad I had to abandon it at the first chapter - you know it is a bad sign when you find three spelling mistakes in the first two pages) then went and watered the greenhouse.

I decided that the best thing to do other than dragging myself listlessly around the house and garden, was to shut myself in my studio.

So with my MP3 player set to play my new Johnny Cash downloads I shut the door, turned the lights and the sewing machine on and got on with the bags I cut yesterday.

And instantly felt lots better.........

....  so with my newly motivated self, I pinned together the black bag lining and the outers ready to be sewn up, and cut another tweed bag and the lining.  One skirt recycled, one dress recycled.

Rather than make material straps for this bag, I took some old brown suede trousers, and cut a single shoulder strap from them, and also some strips to make a suede hem for the bag opening, as well as a button flap.

After work, I finished assembling the bag, got it sewn together, and found a lovely vintage button to use as the fastening.  No photos today as I forgot to charge the battery in my camera - will get some uploaded tomorrow. (edited on Friday to include photos)

Hurrah for the studio - saved by a recycled bread oven!


When we were out shopping yesterday, Brendan got some new shoes.

New shoes are my absolutist most favouritist new thing to have.  I love how they smell, how they look in the box, I  love trying them on, posing in the mirror with them and most of all I love wearing them.  I was very sad to get home without a new pair of shoes for me, but then new shoes are really far down my list of things I need to buy.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, when I wore a boring grey suit to work and added up columns of figures for fun, I used to buy a lot of shoes, I mean a LOT of shoes.  A LOT OF SHOES.

In fact when we moved, and downshifted and switched lives with some French peasants from a century ago a lot of people asked me what I was going to do with all my shoes, I replied quite naturally that I was going to bring them to rural France with me - obviously.  What else would you wear when planting spuds in the rain in a muddy field, but some cerise kitten heels from nine west?  As for letting the chickens out, well I have a pair of 5 inch stiletto heels in a very fetching patent black with some contrast piping in turquoise!

I don't really need 200 pairs of shoes, these days I only ever wear my muck boots, and a pair of faux UGG boots as slippers.  I can't sell them though, one day I may need to wear a pair of cream sandals with crocheted flowers and a metallic sculpted heel - probably to plough the field with.

Wednesday morning in my studio for a quickie.....

Before shooting off to work this morning I had a couple of hours to myself so I got out the materials and the patterns for the bags that I want to make in the next couple of days and started to snip away.

 This bag will be made from a pair of old black trousers, a shirt in abstract greys and blacks, and the lining from a skirt.  Here are all the layers when I had finished cutting. 

 While I was in the studio I finished off the top that I made the other day with some little belt loops in cotton ready for the satin ribbon that will tie around the waist to finish it off - watch out for the appearing in my shop in the next couple of days - when I can get my model to stand still for long enough to put it on so I can photograph it.

The first photo you see today is a selection of the treasures in my bargain buy of the car boot at the weekend.  A bag of miscallaneous sewing items for one euro.  In there were some nylon threads, some cottons, some wools, some hook and eyes, some mohair sewing thread, some elastic, some ribbon, some bias trim and of course some buttons.

Not that I am button obsessed you know - after all - doesn't everyone have a kitchen drawer packed to the gills with buttons?

Riders on the storm and a frugal shopping list

With the temperatures of the last few days it is not surprising that we have a storm forecast now.

In a bid to get the garden ready for a good watering, I weeded out the herb garden completely. This will be its last weed of the year, I only have so much time and patience for weeding and I have exhausted it now. Everything is large enough to take care of itself against the influx of clover and grass now. I did sow a last couple of patches with some parsley seeds I found knocking about the bottom of my seed trug, no idea how old they are now but before they get any older I might as well throw them in and see what they do.


The flower bed needs a last weed too, and then the poppies and daisies have to fend for themselves too.

I plant everything very closely together and if something starts to dominate I just cut it back, like the mint or the horseradish. I would rather that the whole area looked green and full than regimented rows of things with bare dirt in between. I jumble stuff up as well and have often sown parsley and chives in with the flowers and asters and marigolds in the herb garden. I like the way it looks when the beds are full and overflowing with life, much more natural, full of vitality and the bees seem to like it too.

By the time I drove back from work I was chasing the tails of the storm, and had just enough time to get the last onions and carrots in the ground before the rain started.

Now the sun is back out but the garden smells fresh and clean and is beautifully and evenly watered throughout - perfect.

That just leaves me enough time now to go and sort out some materials ready for my next recycled bag.

Tomorrow my project is to pattern cut - I have several colour schemes in mind but have not had the time to do the unpicking and patching to make enough material in one run to cut the basic bag shapes, so I want to make a start tonight, because as well as some studio time tomorrow I also have to go shopping.

Supermarket hell.

Whilst visiting the local bio (organic) shop is great for the odd bits and pieces we are also living a very frugal life and that means supermarket budget buying, things like creme fraiche and natural yoghurt are a quarter of the price of the bio versions, and my family want sandwich fillers like ham and tuna.

I cook the majority of my meals from scratch and apart from the odd pizza I don't buy any ready meals but there are also occasions when my other half is the meal provider and then we need something simple for him to throw in the oven and forget about, then serve with some chips or salad, (Gordon Ramsey he is not).

And then there are sweeties. We all like a sweetie, especially car sweeties for me, I have to have them otherwise I get car sick - even when I am the one doing the driving!

I would love to be able to ignore the attractions of the supermarket, but even with having cut back on so many of the things that I used to buy in another life, some things just can't come from anywhere else, like coffee - I like a cup of instant mud in the morning, not a fancy pot of arabica.

At least I can grow and raise a large percentage of my family's food requirements, and know that these are organic, free range and pesticide free, but I can't be completely self-sufficient in food.

Frugal and organic are not two sides of the same coin, and when I only have one coin to spend, frugal wins every time.

Sorry mum - here's another one....

Sorry mum - here is another top that you sent me that has been subjected to my scissors.

I loved the black and white bold leaf patterns, but unforunately the top was not my size. I decided to take the original top apart, and detached the bra top from the empire line flared bottom the other night in front of the TV.

I have kept the top because with a bit more work I think I can make it fit and may have another go at a flared empire line top but in a contrasting material.  It has a new home temporarily in my box of 'to be looked again' clothes.

I then put on my halter neck top and chalk marked the empire line on the stretch cotton, and pinned with lots and lots of pins the flared bottom half to the black top.

Working with one non stretch fabric and one stretch fabric is always difficult.   I have found that when pinning the best thing to do is to have the non stretchy fabric underneath, and pull the stretchy fabric over it, keeping the two fabrics together over your finger to pin.  When sewing, especially machine sewing, sew with the stretchy fabric underneath, that way you can pull it into shape against the rigid fabric more easily as you go along.

But the first photo shows you the finished article, which now fits nicely, flares as it should, and means I have another new summery top for when the sun finally makes an appearance.

Welded to the office chair and crochet flower patterns

With April finishing on a very wet note, all things green and planty are shooting up in the garden and I just know that very shortly I will be attached to my hoe and wading up and down the lines of seeds trying valiantly to do battle with the weeds.

Until then I am welded to my office chair and finally getting around to re-opening my etsy shop and doing a bit of updating and tidying up of my listings.

I have realised that I need a model to get the latest refashions and bags photographed and for that will have to wait until my daughter is free and not buried under a mound of homework.

In the meantime along with uploading photos and editing descriptions etc etc, I have been messing about with a ball of cotton and a crochet hook.

I love to crochet and learnt as a child, but in the intervening adult years I found various other pursuits more to my taste, namely bikes, cars and boys - but this is not a story of my misspent youth - in recent times I have picked up my crochet hook more and more frequently, and whilst my amibitions are still very modest I have found that I don't need to go back right to the beginning and relearn single and double stitches every time I want to make something.

Over the last 24 hours I have crocheted a veritable garden of flowers ready to be sewn to an upcycled garment or to be part of another bag design - only problem is now that I have started I can't seem to stop.........



I am starting the flowers with a chain (ch) of 4 then joining together with a slipped stitch (slst).

Into the loop double chain (dc) 20 times, then single chain (sc) into every stitch.

From there it all goes a bit mad and a bit random, some flowers I have continued as follows:

Round 3 - ch 1, sc into next stitch, ch1, sc, contune all the way around
Round 4 - ch3, sc into next stitch, ch 3, sc, continue all the way around
Round 5 - chain 3, dc 3 times into the chained loop of the previous round, sc, ch3, 3dc into loop, sc, and continue into every loop all the way around to create a ruffled flower.

Another varaion: 

Round 1 - chain 4, join together, crochet 20 dc into the loop 

Round 2 - chain 1, sc around, join to first sc

Round 3 - chain 1, sc in same stitch, *skip 1 stitch, 7 dc in the next stitch, skip 1 stitch, sc in next stitch* repeat 4 more times to create five petals

Yet another variation:
Round 1 -  ch 3 ( counts as 1 dc), work into the ring 1 dc, *6 ch, 3 dc*, repeat from * to * 5 times, 6 ch, 1 dc, join with a slip stitch in the 3 rd ch of the ch-3 worked in the beginning of the round

Round 2: * chain 1, work (1 sc, 7 dc, 1 sc ) all into the chain arch, chain 1, skip 1 dc, slip stitch in next dc*, repeat from * to * throughout the round

I am using the same 50g ball of 100% pure cotton in a variagated dye so the flowers change colour by themselves as you go along.

Quick re-fashion of a t-shirt top

Take one boring long sleeved top as purchased by your mum on her latest charity shop rummage.

(I really should not take the mickey so much or keeping cutting up the clothes she sends because she may decide at some point to just stop sending them - which would be a great shame as I am reliant on her rummages for my wardrobe)

 Cut off the neck and arms, leaving the side button details in place.

Using some woven ribbon in a matching brown cotton, pin tuck to the neckline creating little pleats just over a centimetre in size, then machine sew down the centre to secure in place.

To finish around the button edging, I cut off the inner button, looped the ribbon over the edge of the split to the back of the button hole and then just sewed the button back in place over the top of the ribbon.

To finish on a bit more detailing, sit down in front of the TV, take some matching sequins in bronze and metallic blue tones, and settle back for some detail stitching by hand along the brown woven ribbon of the neckline.

And there you go - one boring long sleeved top - to a summery v-neck vest ready for those summer days.