Nifty crochet spiral square

An idea popped into my head for crocheting a square-bottomed tote bag, but I wanted to make it in a continuous spiral (like I've done with some round bags I've made) to avoid having an ugly join at the end of each round. So that got me wondering if there was an easy way to crochet a square in a continuous spiral. If so, all I'd have to do is crochet the square bottom until it was as big as I wanted it to be (I'm thinking about a 12-inch-square base would make a good size for a tote), and then stop increasing but just continue working until the sides were as tall as I wanted.

I googled "crochet spiral square" and this video tutorial (below) popped up. It's exactly what I was hoping to find - a quick, easy way to crochet a square shape in a continuous spiral. So nifty! This could work for lots of different things ... coasters, tote bags, placemats, trivets, blankets, cushion covers ... the list goes on and on.

I'm working with stash yarn for this project. I started the spiral square in the Dark Sage yarn then switched to the green vintage Pingouin yarn when the Dark Sage ran out. When the spiral square was about 11 inches on each side I decided the base was plenty big to be a tote bag, which meant it was time to stop increasing and start working the sides of the tote.

I do admire the vintage look of crocheted totes worked in a ripple stitch, so instead of working straight sides I decided to make rippled sides instead. To do that I had to count the stitches on each side to identify the midpoint, which is where the ripple "pinches" or "valleys." The corners I already had from working the square base become the "peaks" in the ripple pattern.

Each side is 32 stitches, not counting the extra stitch at the top of each peak. I stopped working the five-stitch increasing corners used in the spiral square base and started working three-stitch corners for the entirety of the tote bag's sides. So the sides are worked, starting from the top of a peak/corner; DC 15 then work 2 DC2tog (double crochet decrease; you have one decrease on each side of the center of the tote bag's side (this creates the "valley"); DC 15 until the next corner; 3 DC in center-corner stitch from previous row. Continue this way until the sides are as tall as you want.

Six rows after starting the sides of the tote the Pingouin green ran out and I switched to an unlabeled royal blue yarn from my stash. After five blue rows the blue yarn ran out, so I switched to a purple yarn from my stash. I worked six rows in the purple.

To stabilize the top edge of the bag I continued in purple by working a row of SC. Then I turned the bag to work the next row of SC in the opposite direction (to prevent the edge from curling) and added a ch 1 at the top of each peak. I turned the bag again and worked one more round of SC, placing 3 stitches in the ch 1 space at the top of each peak. I finished off and weaved in the ends. So the finished bag is made with a total of about 25 rows.

I added a set of brown microfiber braid purse handles from Everything Mary, which have been sitting in my sewing room for nearly 10 years waiting for the right project to come along to attach them to. I most likely bought the handles at Joann or Michaels.

I ended up gifting this bag to my sister, Linda.

I decided that if I make another bag like this someday, I think next time I would keep the 5-stitch peaks and offset them with two DC3togs in the valleys to make the peak and valley shapes sharper. But overall I think this project turned out well as is.

 

And it wasn't long before I made another one using some leftover Zebra colorway yarn from Red Heart. At first I finished this bag using a set of faux bamboo handles, which looked kind of cute, but the rigidity of those handles made it uncomfortable to wear the bag over my shoulder. 

 

So instead I found these nifty black faux leather 16-inch purse handles on Amazon that have lobster clasps at the ends, making it possible to easily put the straps on/off and use them on another bag, if the need arises. It would have been even better if I could have found these in a 24-inch length (like the straps I used on Linda's bag), so I'll be watching to see if I can find some longer straps eventually. (Update: Found some 24-inch ones at Amazon here.)

Pandemic knitting?

My friend Christine shared this funny meme with me today. 😂

I told her I have already crocheted a mask for myself. LOL!! 😄

Going Gray Swingy Shawlivest

I wanted to try making another Swingy Shawlivest, but this time with pockets. 

 

The pockets are lined with fabric and are about 6 inches wide by 7 inches tall. I worked the pockets in an edc post stitch faux rib to sort of resemble the pattern of the vest fabric beneath but with a solid fabric to conceal the pocket lining.

It's nice to have pockets, but I decided if I make another Swingy Shawlivest with pockets, I'll make the pockets bigger next time. Maybe 8 inches by 9 inches or so. Here's a link to my Ravelry project page.

Big Mug Hug - free pattern

I've been wanting to make a mug cozy that was big enough to fit our oversized, square-bottomed mugs. The cozy needed to be made with cotton yarn so it would be microwave-safe. After all, it's so much easier to put the cozy on the mug when it's empty, and THEN filling the mug with water, and THEN zapping it in the microwave for tea. 

 

Who wants to pick up a mug filled with scalding-hot water and then try to slip on a cozy without sloshing the water and burning yourself? Not me.

This cozy is quick to make and extra-thick thanks to the post stitches used on the cozy sides, and because the cozy covers the base of the mug it also protects your tabletop. It's easy to put on and remove thanks to the handy button loop.

Big Mug Hug

U.S. crochet terms

Materials: Worsted weight 100% cotton yarn, 5.5mm crochet hook, yarn needle, scissors. (My sample uses Peaches n Creme Ombre in the Blue Moon Ombre colorway.)

Start off working in the round:

Setup/row 1: In a magic circle, ch 2, DC 10. Join with sl at top of first DC. (10) [ch 2 doesn't count as a stitch in this pattern]

Row 2: Ch 2, 2 DC in each st around. Join with sl at top of first DC. (20)

Row 3: Ch 2, [2 DC in first st, 1 DC in next st.] Repeat around. Join with sl at top of first DC. (30)

Row 4: Ch 2, 2 DC in first st, 1 DC in each of next 15 sts. 2 DC in next st, 1 DC in each st to end. Join with sl at top of first DC. (32)

Now continue working back and forth in rows (do not join at end of rows for the rest of the pattern):

Row 5: Ch 2, FPDC in each st across. Turn. (32)

Row 6: Ch 2, BPDC in each st across. Turn. (32)

Repeat rows 5 and 6 until the cozy sides are a total of 10 rows tall. 

Row 15: Ch 1. Turn. HDC in each st across. (32 HDC)

Finishing: Sew a button in a top corner of the cozy as shown in photos. Slip cozy over your mug, hold the sides snugly around your mug the way you want it to fit, and then measure how long of a chain you need to reach from the other top corner of the cozy (the corner without the button) to the button and back to the other corner. Add a crochet chain of that length to the top corner without the button. Tie ends of chain to cozy to secure. Weave in ends, slip the cozy onto your mug, and enjoy.

Swingy Shawlivest with pineapple hem for LadyU

For her birthday, my daughter LadyU was hoping for a loose-fitting crocheted sleeveless poncho type of garment of about hip length, preferably from a pattern that incorporated pineapples and an asymmetrical hem. She said her favorite colors are pale teal, purples, and blues, or greens on the blue side of their color scale. She texted me a couple of photos showing some similar pieces that she liked, but I was having trouble finding a pattern designed to be anything close to what she was describing.

So I texted her a photo of my Swingy Shawlivest and asked if it would be something she might wear. I mean, I totally live in mine all winter long -- it's like my own personal blankie to keep me toasty all day and night. She said she liked the look of the vest and if I could add a row of pineapples along the hem that would make it perfect for her. That is how this project came about.

Based on her color preferences I knew the Caron Simply Soft Paints yarn in the Oceana colorway, which I've worked with many times before, would be ideal.

I worked her Swingy Shawlivest following the pattern through row 40 then started working the pineapple border starting at row 19 of the chart from the Cute Halter Top pattern.

I had looked around for some time trying to find a pineapple border that looked the way I wanted it to -- with a bottom edge that let the pineapples hang with individual "teeth" along the bottom edge (as in LadyU's second concept photo) rather than a totally straight bottom edge. The bottom edge of the halter top pattern fit the bill.

I worked on most of this project while I was on vacation, so when I ran out of yarn on the very last pineapple (UGH! yarn chicken fail) I had to set it aside for a few days until I got home and could order another skein (of which I only used a few inches).

And so, naturally, since I had to buy another skein of the Oceana yarn but only used a tiny bit of it to finish the Shawlivest, it just seemed logical to use part of the rest of that extra skein to machine knit a coordinating turban twist headband for LadyU. (80 rows on the Sentro 40, gauge of about 4 sts/4 rows to the inch on medium tension.) This gives her two pieces that she can wear either together or separately. 😊