Friday, August 10, 2007

Larger Than Life Bag

Pattern: Larger Than Life Bag Interweave Crochet Spring 2007 Pg. 76
Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Yarn 100% wool
Strap: 2" Nylon Cord; two yards cut in half
Lining: 2 yards of fabric from JoAnns (double sided lining)
Zipper: 18" heavy duty black zipper also from JoAnns
Additional: Plastic Canvas only as the bottom of bag to give it more structure.

This is Gerri, the owner of Knit Knack. I handed over my bag
to her to show as a display in the store.
Hopefully this will entice people to take the class I told you all about.

She said that she LOVED the bag. I hope so...
I do want to make her proud.

So, where to begin with this bag?






I did make a few alterations so maybe I should point those out
and tell you why I did it the way I did it :-)

I chose to double side the lining because I did not want the non public
side of the fabric visible on the inside of my bag.

This also helped when I decided that I wanted to put a plastic canvas the
width and length of the base in the bag. I just placed
the canvas in between the two linings.

I also added a pocket to the inside of the bag. I like to have a
place for my lipstick and my tic-tacs.


The zipper was not as hard as I thought it would be. I am glad that I decided to add it
just as the pattern calls for that way if any of my students
want to add the zipper I know what I am doing.


I love the fabric I chose especially since it is so visible on the top of the bag.
I think it is subdued with just enough 'PoP'

You can see here that I added 2" Nylon cord instead of the fabric strap.
This was just because of preference. I am not a big fan of fabric straps
so I thought I would give this a try. I attached them in the same manner
you would attach the fabric straps only I used a little more stitching to make sure
they were not going any where.



When I was sewing the crochet portion to the fabric I pined
the entire bag in place before I started to hand stitch it together.


For the sides and the base of the bag I didn't like the one row
single crochet on row double crochet the pattern called for so I changed it.
I really like the way single-double looks on finished items so I chose
that. If you want to know how to do it, just ask ;-)


I also don't like to sew my pieces together with a needle and yarn.
I feel like whenever possible, doing a slip stitch crochet to join pieces
together makes the work cleaner.

Here, this is a picture of my bag on the inside. Aren't my seems awesome?



This is just another picture of the lining before it is in the bag.


Again, the bag before the lining is in place.




So, tell me what you think!

I have to make another bag with the class and I am still toying around with colors.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think I should make the next one.

I am leaning towards shades of brown with a touch of light pink!!!

LEAVE ME A MESSAGE!!!

18 comments:

Gina House said...

OMG....I LOVE that bag!!! Those blues are fantastic! What a superb job you did on it. Wow!

And, frankly, I love the pics of your guy holding it...I laughed my ass off. He must have the same sense of humor as my husband. Tell him he's awesome!

And, yes, I think shades of brown with pink would be excellent...as I am a Pink Lover and all.

You always have such fun pictures....Hugs!

5elementknitr said...

Your husband is so cute! I love the "action" shot. How's his knitting coming along?

Weren't we talking about chocolate brown and pale pink (or pale blue or pale lavender) at String? Love those combos!

Unknown said...

That's a great bag. thanks for explaining everything so clearly. i just knit a bag and have been a bit vexed over how to begin the lining. thanks for the help!

Allegra said...

Your bag is FAB!!!! Love the colors!!! I think a pink and brown bag would be adorable.

Jenn said...

Too cute! Great color choices too :D Also - your husband is awesome - so sweet of him to help you out with the photo shoot! How is his knitting coming??? Good luck with the class - I know you will do well :) - Jenn

YarnThing said...

John is such a good sport! I asked him to take a fun picture and that is what he came up with. He doesn't have the most enthused look on his face but granted...he had just walked in the door from a 10 hour day at work, fighting traffic the entire 1 hour long trip home and I asked him to hold a piece of my crochet so I could take pictures so I could put them on the internet. All of this before I even gave him a kiss hello.

You know, come to think of it...he deserves a little loving tonight, huh?

the big Knitting Question: He has stopped the knitting because we put opening a store on hold. He told me that when we open a store he will take it up again and learn but not until then. Even all my prodding of "the longer you do it the better you will be" is not working so I am just letting it go...FOR NOW :-)

Knitted Gems said...

What a good sport John is! He makes the bag look great.
I love the bright turquoise against the more subtle colors. It's a great combo.
I just recently saw somebody lining their entire bag with plastic canvas; it is such a good idea.
Good luck with the class!

Anonymous said...

Wow, your bag should be called "More Beautiful than Life bag!" It is just gorgeous!! Great job and I think the pink and brown would be fantastic!! :)

Miss seeing you!!

Valerie said...

Yes, your seams are fantastic--The whole bag is wonderful! Pink and brown, oh yeah. You've inspired me--I want to make one too! Too bad I'm a pooper and missed the CAL-KAL signups. I think I'll make it anyway...

Jean said...

Gorgeous bag! I love the colors you chose for this one. I'm a huge sucker for chocolate brown with pink, so that would be an excellent follow up. John is so cute. What a great guy to agree to model a purse.

hook and needle said...

Hi! What a great bag! My husband wouldn't be caught dead pulling a Vanna White with any bag - regardless of how cool it looked. :) I agree, I think a coffee brown and a pale pink (or any pale summer flower color) would look great. Good luck!

Knitterella said...

Those bags are great! Nice and big too!

Beautiful work!
Jill

POSHyarngirl - Formerly POSH, a Yarn Boutique said...

it is absoloutely fab! brown & pink - my fave. go for it.:)

Kellycat said...

I love the podcast!!! Just thought I'd get that out of the way.

The bag is beautiful. The colors, and the lining with the zipper are fantastic.

I also love the brown, and pinks together. I can't wait to see if you make it.

More crochet talk!!! Please!!!

Liz G. said...

Absolutely my favorite version of this bag I've seen. I'm a knitter - but a bunch of my knitting group wants to learn to crochet because of this bag.

Kamika said...

Great bag! I really like the colors. The turq is so vivid in your pics and of course grey is back in. Excellent Top Model.

My Little Room In The Corner said...

You have such talent. I don't crochet any longer, but you are really tempting me to go back, if for nothing more than bags. Your finishing touches and attention to the tiniest of details are what make you so great! Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!

ChelleC said...

Your bag is to die for! I love it. The way you have done this is so helpful, since I can't take your class, I can certainly follow many of your valuable tips and hints in finishing my own. I'm just learning to crochet, and only have 1 square complete so far. Your bag is gorgeou, but the quality of your work - the colors, the construction, and the bag is just so usable with the way you have done it. Thanks for sharing the details. I would have never found you if not for Ravelry.