African flower hexi bag + more finished objects

In between summer trips, I’ve been crafting and put the finishing touches on a funky little bag that’s made with African flower hexagons, a cotton lining, and a reversible strap. The bag is a departure from anything I would normally carry, as I tend toward more minimalist stuff. I’ve grown fond of this prototype, though, and hope I can find someone to adopt and love it.

The versatile African flower granny pattern is popular in the crochet world. Clever makers have used the basic pattern, crocheted with anywhere from three to eight petals, and combined shapes to make an endless variety of objects, including blankets, toys, homewares, and bags.

As in so many of my fiber art wanderings, this project started with spying some lovely yarn – in this case, acrylic yarn in a pretty shade of mint flecked with violet. I then looked through my copious yarn stash, settled on some coordinating colors, and began cranking out hexagons. I decided to construct a bag after having made several motifs, and added details as I went along.

I added a cotton lining to the bag. I am a real amateur with a sewing machine, so this part was good practice for me. I edged the lining with white braided trim to make it look a bit more finished. There’s a snap closure in front. The Tunisian-crocheted strap is double thick, and attached with a combo D-ring/trigger clip that allows it to be reversible. One side is two-color, and on the other side I added some weaving and simple embroidery. I chose the Tunisian (TSS) technique because it’s durable and low-stretch.

Most of the fabric, hardware, and trim were procured at Seomun Market, a really fun (albeit chaotic) place to buy craft supplies. I’ve taken you along with me there before.

The bag is crocheted with worsted-weight cotton/acrylic blend yarns from Paintbox, Daiso, and a Korean brand called I ❤ Doll, with a 3.75mm hook for the bag, and a 5.5mm hook for the strap (the Tunisian technique requires a big increase in hook size). The strap length allows the bag to sit at about hip level.

This bag is doesn’t have a pattern (yet), as I riffed the entire project as I went along. It didn’t spring full-grown from the head of Zeus, though. Before settling on the bag’s ultimate shape, I was inspired by the endless creativity (and learned from some of the mistakes) of other makers who have already wrangled with the geometry of these grannies. My result is a little amateurish, eccentric, but a pretty ice-cream hued number that brought me a lot of joy in the process.

I’m not sure if any of my maker friends would love a pattern and schematic for this bag, but I may make one as a fun exercise.

During the summer months, I like to make small, quick items, as they aren’t so bulky in hot, humid conditions, and they are easy to carry on planes, trains, and so on. I’d been meaning to bring “plarn” (plastic/recycled yarn) into my repertoire, and what better way than to make some practical little dish scrubbies.

Flower and fruit-shaped scrubbies are all the rage in Korea, and hand made examples can be found in just about every traditional market. I free-handed my animal and avocado toast designs with Daiso plarn, a 5.5mm hook, made them double-thick, and added a few touches. I’ve tested them, and they hold up really well in a sink of hot suds.

A beautiful gradient sun ornament pattern by Natalia Erkhova had been on the back-burner for a few months until I picked it up last week to add some charm to my patio decor. I love Natalia’s patterns so much! They are mostly botanicals or flowers, with some holiday-themed figures also in her collection.

I love the dynamic shape of the sun’s rays. Natalia’s pattern was a super-quick make, using a 3.00mm hook and my favorite cotton amigurumi yarn, Phildar Coton 3, in four tonal shades. It is lightly stuffed with polyfil. I added a clear plastic thread for hanging. If you follow my Instagram account, you can see a video of this hanging on my patio. Someone dear to me has expressed loving this little cutie, so I will put it aside for her.

As my summer comes to a close in the next three weeks, I’ll be traveling a little more and bringing along some portable crafts for the downtime. Looking forward to having you along for the ride! Stay well.