Crochet Tote Bag

This is just a quick post about a nice little pattern I found. During the summer, my much loved and well used leather handbag broke. I'd had it for years, and it was well used and abused, so it owed me nothing, but I was gutted nonetheless! To make matters worse, this happened about a week before payday and I was way too smashed to go out and buy another one. Considering that I had no money, but plenty of yarn at home, the solution was obvious; make another one!!

So I browsed around the internet and eventually found one I thought looked good. My criteria for a day-to-day handbag is that it has to have plenty of room in it (not massive, but not a clutch purse either) and also it needs to have a reasonably long shoulder strap. The pattern I used was from Naztazia.com and it was simply titled "DIY Easy Beginner Crochet Tote". Although I'm not a beginner, I wanted a nice bag that I could knock out in a couple of hours, and I really liked the look of this one. She also has a YouTube channel, and most of her patterns have a crochet-along tutorial. I've watched a few of her tutorials before and they're very clear and easy to follow.

For the main part of the bag, I used 2 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver which I had originally bought to make a wrap/stole, but found the colours didn't really work. The lighter contrast colour was also Red Heart Super Saver, and it was just the end of a skein I had left over from another project. 

It took me about 2.5 or 3 hours to complete the bag, and I'm delighted with the finished product. Using two strands at once makes it very sturdy, and it doesn't stretch or lose its shape, which is a problem I've had with other knitted or crocheted bags I've made in the past. To give you an example, I've had my large wallet, phone, glasses, baby wipes, tissues, and a full 750ml bottle of Pepsi Max in this thing, and there was no change whatsoever in the shape, and the strap is thick enough that it doesn't dig in to my shoulder.

The only downside to it is that it's not waterproof, so I've had to put it away in the last few weeks and buy (faux) leather handbag with a zip. Unfortunately a crochet handbag just isn't practical during Autumn and Winter in Ireland. Actually, lets face it, it probably wouldn't be practical in Spring either! But I fully intend on putting it to good use again next summer!!

Pattern: Naztazia.com DIY Easy Beginner Crochet Tote or Handbag

Hook: 5mm hook from my own collection

Fastener: Wooden duffle that I robbed from my Mum's button box :D

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Economy

           Main colour: Fall (2 x skeins)

           Stripe colour: Buff (about two thirds of a skein)