Really Useful Bag

I've been playing around with various scarf designs over the past week, working with different yarns, hook sizes and tension.  This was my first attempt, and whilst the design itself works fine, the yarn is very scratchy.  Not very comfy to wear!

So I decided to re-cycle it, and came up with this bag design instead.

© Hooker Chick

If you're a novice hooker, this is a good project for learning basic decreasing and increasing ~ essential for making jumpers, cardigans, and other shaped garments.  You will need around 700 yds of aran weight yarn (I used Plymouth Yarn Boko, which is a 95% wool 5% silk mix, but I think the bag would work well in a wool/cotton mix too), a 4.5mm hook, a darning needle, and some contrasting yarn to mark stitches.

Abbreviations as follows:

st - stitch
sts - stitches
ch - chain
dc - double crochet (UK)
tr - treble (UK)

To begin, make a slip-knot and ch 49, keeping your tension very loose ... 

© Hooker Chick

Next, (in normal tension) ch 3, tr into top of st 49 ...

© Hooker Chick

Continue to tr into top of each st to end of foundation chain (50 sts in all including the beginning 3 ch).

Second row, ch 3, tr into first space and continue to end of row (you should still have 50 sts including the beginning 3 ch).  Repeat for further 76 rows.

© Hooker Chick

Using darning needle, neatly seam short sides together.

Next, join bottom edge like this (please excuse my rubbish videoing technique, I'll get better at it, promise) ~

Count 16 sts either side of seam at top edge and mark (32 stitches in all).  Count 8 sts from markers and mark.  This should give you 32 sts, 7 sts, 32 sts, 7 sts ...

© Hooker Chick

Making the handle

Join yarn at one end of a 32, ch 2, tr 30, dc 1 (32 sts in all).  Next row, ch 2, tr into 2nd space, tr 28, dc 1 (31 sts in all).
 
Using this stitch pattern  - ch 2, tr into 2nd space, tr until last space, dc into last space - continue decreasing 1 st per row until 8 sts remain. 

Cont. straight for further 29 rows, stitch pattern per row of ch 2, tr into first space, tr 5, dc 1.

Next row, ch 2, tr into first space, tr 6, then dc into last space (so 1 x tr and 1 x dc in same space).  You should now have 9 sts.  Cont. this stitch pattern, increasing 1 st per row, until 31 sts.
 
Final row as above (making 32 sts in all),  but keep a loose tension, or your work won't stretch wide enough to join to side of bag.

It's the ch 2/dc 1 at the start/end of each row gives the handle its curved shape.

© Hooker Chick

With darning needle, join edge of handle to side of bag matching up the 32 sts with corresponding spaces ...

© Hooker Chick

© Hooker Chick

For the finishing touch, hook a row of trebles in sets of 3 into the spaces along the top line of the bag and handle seams.  Voila!

© Hooker Chick

© Hooker Chick

© Hooker Chick

So there you go ~ a really useful bag that you could put all sorts of stuff in.  Of course now that mine is full of yarn, it's unlikely to be used for anything else!