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)

One Skein Weekend (First Edition)

I've had quite a bit of free time on my hands as of late. It's bittersweet, because while I enjoy hanging out, crocheting, writing, and eating Klondike bars, I also like doing things like making rent, paying my bills, and having enough money to buy more Klondike Bars when I run out. Since my hours have been cut so significantly at work, and I'm juggling my free time with being really poor, I thought I'd try something out for my fellow poor people.

In an attempt to help us out, I'm going to try a new thing I call One Skein Weekend. It's basically a few small projects that can be made with nothing more than a single skein of yarn. So if you have a full skein of yarn stashed away, or only want to spend less than $5 to keep yourself occupied over the period of a day or two, then maybe I can help you out. I am also, of course, only using patterns that are available for free, and will do my best to make things that make sense (So you don't have 4 hats in the same color, a bracelet made of wool, or a mug cozy made of thread, etc.).

This week I made three projects that all go together nicely in kind of a Spanish Pirate theme; A Lace Shawl, Mesh Wristers, and a Flower Headband. So, let's get started.

Here's the stats of what exactly I used:


Yarn: Bernat Satin
Color: Fern
Yardage: 200 Yards
Weight: Worsted
Price: (Not sure, it was a gift)
Extra stuff: One button (50 cents from Wal Mart)

First up is the "Lace So Simple" Shawl (The pattern can be found here)

This is 7 rounds, and uses an N hook. Big hook, a few rows? Takes a few hours, and probably about half of our allotted yarn (including the long tassels). I also used a button on this so it stays on my shoulders easier, and also easily turns into kind of a cool, Bohemian style scarf, the button clasp adding a little extra personality.

The actual pattern calls for teardrop crystals to hang off of the picots, but just looping the tassles through the right places looks fine, and costs less.

I had a lot of fun with this one, and I think it looks really nice. the sheen of the green yarn I used adds an extra magical element, and it's really good for covering shoulders (something I spend my days and nights looking for!). I think as a scarf it's good for fall, and as a wrap it's good for spring, and I've been using it indoors when I'm at home, not quite cold enough for a blanket or sweater, but just want something over my shoulders. These are also elegant and bohemian enough to whip up for some last minute Christmas gifts.

Next up are our Ivy Wristers (Pattern can be found here, as a free Ravelry download)

These use an I hook, and are the fastest wrist warmers I have ever made. I adapted the pattern a bit, with a starting chain of 35 instead of 29, and I did 12 rows instead of 10. They fit nicely, and are perfect for when my hands get chilly during NaNoWriMo (or blogging...yes, I am wearing them right now :)). Normally I'm a bit wary of the wrist warmer method of making a rectangle and folding it over, but this pattern is small enough that it works really well without being clunky, and actually fits the hand shape nicely.

The pattern itself took only a little while, and is just a quick motif repeated over and over and over again, making for an interesting pattern.

....Now~ ...

...Before you run off and make these, I have a bit of a disclaimer. Since I adapted the pattern to be bigger, I came VERY close to running out of yarn before finishing the final project. This is how much yarn I had left:

So, if you don't want to cut it that close, I recommend doing less than twelve rows. But, if you like to live on the edge, then go for it! Just be conservative with your yarn from here on out. Let me know how it goes for you!

And finally, our flower headband (Pattern can be found here)

This was a super cute project, and was rather interesting to put together (sewing the large flower to the 3 chain headband). I used an H hook for the flower, and an F Hook for the chains (the F hook being very important to not running out of yarn :P). Despite how big the flower is, I was actually surprised at how cute it turned out. I don't feel like it's gaudy at all, I just don't know when I'm going to wear it! Hopefully I'll manage to get some use out of it.

All together now!

So this is what it all comes together to be! Mine is a nice...radioactive hobo Spanish pirate theme :)

Isn't stash busting fun? I've been making a lot of little projects lately, and since I don't have any extra money to buy more yarn, my stash is certainly dwindling beautifully :P

Want more stash busters? Wanna see the other cool projects I've been working on? You know I'll be back with some kind of goodies soon enough.