One Skein Weekend: Drawstrings and Dragons Edition

This "edition" of One Skein Weekend is one I'm pretty excited about. I made a purse using crocodile stitch, and a small drawstring bag intended for Tarot cards (although it can be used for just about anything).

Anyone who knows me, or has been to my house, knows how I feel about dragons. The crocodile stitch is irresistible to me because it reminds me so much of dragon scales, and using crocheting to be able to flaunt and express my love for them makes me smile every time.

I have also been a Tarot card enthusiast for a long time, having acquired my first deck of Tarot cards when I was about 12. I really enjoy having such a beautiful bag that I made myself, and can store my favorite deck of Tarot cards in (which, you guessed it, is the Celtic Dragon Deck).

These two projects, while both being bags, serve different purposes, and are both so magical, that they somehow feel as though they go together.

Let's get started.

First, let's talk about the yarn:

Yarn: Bernat Satin
Color: Teal
Yardage: 200 Yards
Weight: Worsted
Price: (Not sure, it was a gift)
Extra stuff: A couple feet of ribbon, A few yards of scrap yarn in a contrasting color (I used Caron Simply Soft in Gray.)

First up is the Crocodile Stitch Clutch (The pattern can be found here.)
 

I made a few changes to Sara's pattern. First up, I added 4 more rows, to equal two more rows of crocodile stitch. I also made the handle out of 9 fsc instead of 9 ch (to add some extra width without doing a fifth row of CC). And for the back, I did a total of 29 ch to start, instead of 33.

I love the combination of sapphire and silver, so when this purse was finished I couldn't help but to think about how much it reminded me of treasure lost in the ocean. I have always had an affinity for the ocean, and the "scales" simultaneously reminded me of waves, and dragon scales.

I also love her version of the crocodile stitch, where she uses hdcs instead of dcs, so the stitches are tighter to prevent any smaller items from falling out. This pattern is beautiful, elegant, and the shimmery teal color makes it perfect for the midwesterner who still misses the ocean.

And, although this looks like it took a long time, it went really quick. Only doing 6 or 7 scales per row makes it go very quick, and the hdcs of the back work up quickly. Had it finished in a few hours.

Next up is the StarGazer Tarot Bag (which can be found here.)

I made this bag for the first time back in January of 2012, and at that time I used a very expensive yarn I bought with a gift card (because I'm too cheap to spend my own money on nice things). After I made the Crocodile Stitch Clutch, this project felt like it was the right amount of yarn to use up the rest of my skein. So, without thinking, I found the pattern again, and started to stitch it up, when I was hit with a very odd sense of deja vu. Looking towards my Tarot cards, I realized that this is the same color I used for the other one! While my expensive yarn drapes a little differently, using Bernat Satin has the same shimmer, and works up even quicker.

I only did 22 rows before the beaded row, and 5 instead of 7 rows AFTER the beaded row. If my gauge was smaller, I probably could have gotten away with doing all the rows, and still coming to the end of my skein, but using an H hook and omitting 5 rows, It worked out nicely that I had only a yard or two of yarn left. In fact, because of my large gauge, I probably could have made the foundation chain even shorter, since I can fit a deck of tarot cards in there with a lot of walking room left. If you ARE using one skein of yarn for both of these projects, and want to make this one true to pattern, you can always make the Crocodile Stitch Clutch true to pattern instead of adding two rows, and you will definitely have enough leeway.

As I said, though, this can make a nice drawstring bag in general, and can work as a dice bag, or a small drawstring bag for whatever trinkets needs you may have, so gauge isn't the most important.

I worked this up in a little over an hour, so it makes a great last minute gift, or a good way to get out of a crochet rut. The pattern is just single and double crochets, so it's really easy, too.

If you're looking for other things to do with a skein of yarn, here's my other One Skein Weekend Post:

-First Edition (AKA Radioactive Hobo Pirate Edition)

Pokeball Deck Bag

My relationship with Pokemon is kind of a strange one. I only have two very strong memories related to it, and as I was making the pattern and crocheting up this bag for Pokemon cards, they were the only things I could think about.

I was about 10 when I got into anime, and Sailor Moon was my drug of choice. Something about Pokemon didn't really appeal to me, and while my friends sat on the curb outside their apartment buildings trading cards, I didn't want to be left out, so I feigned interest.

I liked talking to my friends about the different kinds of Pokemon, and I remember sitting outside, in the middle of the hot Virginia summer, with my binder of all kinds of cards, trading cards with everyone else who had their binders of cards. This is the first memory I really treasure about Pokemon.

I never became obsessed, really. But I certainly had a place for Charmander in my heart.

As a stocking stuffer one Christmas, my Dad, not knowing the difference between Pokemon and all those other animes I was into, got me a sparkly little bouncy ball with Charmander in the center. As I crocheted this Pokeball, I could clearly remember standing in front of my Christmas tree that night, the lights wrapped around the tree sparkling, my face and hands warm from the heaters, and my Charmander bouncy ball firmly in my hand, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to take care of him. So twenty seconds of a fragment of a memory of pretty lights and the smell of Christmas still hanging in the air is my 2nd nice memory of Pokemon.

This was all happening around the same time I spoke of in my last post, when I spent my days drawing Sailor Scouts, watching animes, writing fanfiction and just making my own universe. I've never felt more magical, and so even though Pokemon was never a vice of mine, it still holds a special place in my heart.

So, without further delay, here is that pattern for my Pokeball Pokemon card deck bag!

Pokeball Deck Bag

Pokemon and Pokeball (TM) Satoshi Tajiri

Original Pattern created by Pam Gabriel

Please do not sell products made from this pattern without permission.

PamGabriel@Gmail.com

This is a crocheted bag designed to hold decks for the Pokemon card game.

What you'll need:

• H Hook
• Less than a skein of worsted weight yarns in:
  • White
  • Red
  • Black

Abbreviations:

Chain (ch)

Single Crochet (sc)

Skip (sk)

How to do it:

With White, ch 31:

Row 1: sc in 2^nd ch from hook, and in each sc across, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 2 - 10: sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 11: sk next sc, sc to end of row. (30 sc) (Do NOT ch 1 at end of this row.)

Finish off white.

Attach Black.

Row 12: Ch 1, sk next sc, sc to end of row. (30 sc)

Finish off black.

Attach Red.

Row 13: Ch 1, sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 14 - 22: sk next sc, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn. (30 sc)

Row 23 (Beaded Row): sk next sc, sc in next 2 spaces *ch 1, sk next sc, sc* Repeat * to end of row, ch 1, turn (16 sc, 14 ch1 spaces)

Row 24: sc in each ch1 space and in each sc. (30 sc)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Weave in ends.

Use a whip stitch to sew the side and bottom together. Switch to white yarn when you get to the white part of the bag.

Drawstring:

Using red, make a chain of desired length, and weave through the holes made by the chain spaces in the beaded row.

Button:

With white:

Round 1: Ch 2, 6 sc in 2^nd ch from hook. Finish off white.

Attach black.

Round 2: 2sc in each sc around (12 sc). Finish off, leaving a long tail.

Sew button to center of front side of bag.

So, how did it go? Was it big? Small? Do you even use Pokemon cards anymore? Are you using it as a bag for something else? Let me know!

Next time! More deck bags are in the works, along with a Sailor Moon challenge (on a few different levels), and who knows...maybe even a NaNoWriMo update.