The crochet house-bag-thingummy is done! Want to see it? (Please say ‘yes’. Or at least, ‘Oh all right then, if I absolutely must.’)
I began construction of the crochet house around the same time that men in big boots and hard hats arrived round here to build far too many new houses on the periphery of our previously lovely village and buy up all the best sandwiches from the village shop for their lunch each day. And I can now report that building a house takes a couple of months, regardless of whether it’s constructed of yarn or bricks. There’s more swearing involved in the crochet version, though. Trust me on this. The builders would have blushed if they’d heard me.
The bag began life in my head as a pretty cottage, but I feared that something wide might sag in the middle, so it ended up rather more like a Victorian mid-terrace. And its proportions would no doubt offend any serious architects. Sorry about that.
Stitch-swatching aside, it worked up fairly speedily, other than the shoulder strap which I worked round and round and round with ever-decreasing enthusiasm. I wanted this bag to be strong and durable, so that meant doing some sewing. I bought some cotton and lined it with iron-on interfacing.
First the handle, and then the body of the bag…
Ably assisted by my sewing-expert parent, Mother Twisted, who increased two dimensions of fabric to three whilst I was busy being distracted outside by the Toddler Twinnage:-
And then I hand-sewed the lining inside:-
But you need to see the finished thing, I hope. Here it is!
And again!
And again!
And look, it holds all the things!
As I’ve said before, I’m planning to make a knitted version too, which was going to be very similar, but Mother Twisted has been dropping heavy hints about a thatched cottage bag.
There will be a pattern for y’all to try if you so wish, but I need a little bit of time to write it up. Watch this space!
Tajana says
Stunning!!! Simply stunning!! I love it!!! I want it!!!
Emily says
That is so cool! Looks like it was totally worth all the swearing π
Mandy says
Way too clever π
Barbara says
Lovely!
whip1up says
Beautiful!!
eclectichomelife.blogspot.com says
Inspirational and I think mother Twisted is right. Make a knitted one by all means but make it different. You can start a house bag trend. Oooh now there’s a thought for that competition. The next new trend…
designsbyheidi says
AMAZING!!! And with “twinage”, a husband, and a life.
gladeridercrafts says
Woot! Well done, it looks wonderful π Looking forward to the pattern
Kit Dunsmore says
Great job! It looks fantastic. Putting in a heavy-duty lining was a smart move. Planning on sharing this over on my blog. Hope that’s OK!
dragontearsoflove says
Love it, nice work! I had to read the paragraph with the strikethrough text to my boyfriend, so he could get what I was chuckling about. Thank you for the lovely road to a crochet house bag. I’m looking forward to the knit version;-)
oddlyended says
Looks beautiful! And your work is so neatly done. Great idea and a great project!
debgarretty says
Congratulations! It’s amazing. Really well made and totally unique.
Katie Writes Stuff says
That looks absolutely stunning!
The Knitting Scientist says
It looks amazing!!!
nicolaknits says
Crocheted house of awesomeness! I’ve been wondering about learning crocodile stitch – it’s perfect for your roof.
pomegranateandchintz says
It looks so sweet. Well done you – definitely worth the (blush) swearing!
Nada Roberts says
What a good “builder” you have proved yourself to be. A well constructed house which should give lots of pleasure for many years. xx
pippa says
Love it.
Sharon Mann says
Phil – you have made a beautiful and fun design, I think you’ll be stopped on street and people will be giving you orders for their own house purse. I’m in awe of your needle work talents.
Betsy Alspach says
So detailed and beautiful. Congratulations!
Lindsey says
Fantastic. I’m happy I know how to crochet!
unionhomestead says
cute π
marissahenry says
That is soooo cute!
neuroticbunnylady says
Wow, that is amazing. Looking forward to the knitted one.
corine24 says
It is absolutely stunning!
Lisa says
Wow your bag looks fantastic! Hugz Lisa and Bear
creativityandfamily says
That is so, so clever. It has the thumbs up from my teenage daughter so it must be good, I’m getting the ‘Muuuum’!!! Sharon x
tilleyb says
I’ve really enjoyed following your progress on this one, such a lovely idea and I looooove it!
feltelf says
I admire your creativity and perserverance and your skills of putting it all together to such a lovely finished product.
Gallivanta says
I can see you may be persuaded to make an entire village of bags.
Kris says
Wow! This has been fun to watch. What a great looking bag.
Timeless1 says
That’s adorable! I don’t sew so I couldn’t make the bag, but it’s VERY cute!
In a Spin says
Have loved watching this come together. You must have the patience of a Saint not only to create is stunning bag but to complete it with twinnage and a life! Xx
alookatthelittlethings says
I love the way this turned out. It is beautiful!
slippedstitches says
The bag is wonderful! I’m going to bump the Jean Paul Gaultier dress in my Sunday Knitting Images Post and insert your bag instead. Love it!
annabellefranklinauthor says
That’s so clever! And much more picturesque than a load of new builds. Those men in hard hats could take lessons from you!
pollymacleod says
oh wow that is gorgeous, you are so clever π
prolificprojectstarter says
amazing, stunning, wonderful. Almost makes me want to learn to crochet, but I think it would be quicker and less sweary to wait for you to tell me how to knit one (crochet and me don’t get on)
lovelucie1 says
Its brilliant. The completed bag is far greater than the some of its parts! Looks fabulous!
pamsyarns says
Looks fab! Worth all the effort!
Yvonne Dalzell says
I think the builder’s in the village should take some design tips from you and build all the new houses like your cottage. The only thing missing is a cute rabbit peaking round a corner and his bobbed tail round the other. Amazing creativity out of oddments of yarn.
narf77 says
I can’t wait for the pattern Ms Twisted. I am currently infected with the hooky bug and have been hooking up a random storm. I made my sister a glorious profusion of spider webs in a wonderful pattern that I found on ravelry and that taught me that I could, actually, follow a crochet chart (and I could improvise when I couldn’t π ) and that those long lacy bits that I was dreading are just chains…CHAINS! (sigh). I am thinking that we should all have a go at hooking our very own homes and sharing the results in a sort of “Ta-da” round the world event. Could be a blast :). The only thing is, I can’t sew, so I am thinking that your mum might have to come out here and make the lining for me. Tell her to bring winter woolies as it is getting cold π
arlingwoman says
Oh my, I love this bag from its slates to its roses! And its lining is masterful and it appears to be quite roomy! Wow. Now, thatch, How will you do thatch?
magicandcrochethook says
I didn’t know what are you doing. I thought it will be home decoration π It looks amazing!
cuteasabutton82 says
Wow, what a fabulous bag! All the hard work and swearing paid off – hurrah!
The Twisted Yarn says
Sorry about the heavy hint but a thatched cottage would be most welcome. With golden thatch and timber-framed black-and-white walls, small windows and, of course, roses round the door, it would remind me of the cottage in a Warwickshire village that my grandparents moved to when I was five. You needn’t add the oil lamps (there was no electricity for the first few months) nor the hand pump which was the only way to get water from the well (my grandfather soon improved that) nor the tin bath in front of the fire (there was no bathroom) nor the chemical loo at the bottom of the garden! I loved it and had many happy times there but now understand why my grandmother wanted some changes. Though there were actually no roses round the door, there was always a magnificent display of dahlias in the front garden each summer and lots of fresh vegetables from the back garden. This would be a wonderful knitted creation!
The Twisted Yarn says
HELLO MUM!!! I think I must have left your computer logged in to my WordPress account.
Mother Twisted says
Sorry, the comment above should be from Mother Twisted, not The Twisted Yarn herself.
sewchet says
Brilliant, both the design and construction! Very good idea to reinforce it for longevity:)
woolpickle says
So charming!