Friday, April 20, 2007

Black Fat Bottom Bag




Can I just tell you that this is my favorite one so far? I have to thank Elaine for the most wonderful tutorials for making the FBB. She takes you from start to finish with 7 videos on YouTube that are awesome. Only thing is that unless you speak Portuguese, you'll have to grasp the concept with the wonderful visuals. I love the way she uses plastic tubing for the purse handles. I went to Wal-Mart's pet section and bought an aquarium vacuum kit for about $5 and some additional tubing in a smaller size for about $3. I can get 2 sets of handles from this. It's not much cheaper than buying ready made handles but I like the crochet covered handles, and that they don't slide around and are much more comfortable to hold. I will have to try Home Depot to see if I can find this tubing cheaper. I did wind up having to use some tape to close the gap but it's not noticeable at all. I also prefer her method of lining the bag after the handles are done. The tutorial linked to on Crochetville was great for my first couple of bags but I wasn't really satisfied with the result because I couldn't get the lining as close to the edges as I would have liked. Sure, having to sew the lining in by hand is much more tedious but produces a much better product, in my opinion. As you can see from the picture, the inside of the bag is just as pretty as the outside. The lining fits perfectly. I wanted to use a magnetic snap closure but wouldn't you know it, I couldn't find it. I didn't want to wait until tomorrow so I went ahead and used the crochet flap and button on the back. It works and isn't ugly.

I used the free pattern on the LionBrand site for the crocheted roses. I know these don't match the lining but I wanted to try them out. I had a few minutes to wait in the doctor's office this afternoon and they're super fast to make. I do have some matching lime green, orange and purple yarn that I can make flowers with, but just haven't done it yet. I sewed safety pins to the backs of the roses so that they're removable.

Also, I just got the most wonderful package from my sister, Gina. She sent me these great vintage inspired Hawaiian print fabrics. I originally intended to use them for more knitting project bags but now I see FBB lining whenever I look at any fabric! It takes just a smidge less than a fat quarter to line one of these beauties. The most I've spent so far to make one is about $11.00. This black one cost me about $8.00. If I can get the tubing cheaper, it might just take the cost down to $5.00. We'll see. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver acrylic for the body of the bag and an I sized hook. I used almost the whole skein since I covered the handles with crochet. I bought a pack of fat quarters at Joann Crafts for about $1 each piece. The only other expense would be matching thread if it's a color I don't already have. That's why I like black! I wonder if I could machine sew the liner in if I used a zipper foot? Although, it really wasn't that bad to hand sew it in.

I'm now trying to decide which color to do next. I think I'll do a green to match the pineapple print fabric that Gina sent me. Susan, if you're reading this, I think the original pattern was written for cotton yarn and I think a deep green would be beautiful! Since I still have yet to see the actual pattern, I don't know much more about it.

On to check out my yarn stash!

5 comments:

FaeryCrafty said...

Very cool! Love the fabric that you got.

Camille said...

Oh I LOVE that one, Michelle!! Too bad I don't crochet. :-)

Susan J Barker said...

I checked out the spanish you tube link that you posted and i think I understand the concept much better... the only part that stumps me is the number of starting chain stitches! I have no spanish and as far as I get with numbers is cinqo, or cinq in french which i assume is the same.

I started and frogged my version a few times, now I am hoping to get restarted today!

MikKnits said...

Susan, the way I start is with 17 chains. Then in row 2 I do 5hdc, 2hdc in next ch, 5hdc, 2hdc in next ch, 5hdc. You will increase by one stitch on every row before the 2hdc and after the 2hdc. The 5hdc in the middle remain constant. Therefore, row 3 will be: 6hdc, 2hdc in next st, 5hdc, 2hdc in next st, 6hdc and so on. If you can read a crochet diagram, go to this blog: http://feiticeiradasagulhas.blogspot.com/
She has a diagram for making the body of this bag. I had to figure out how to do the handle part but it wasn't hard.

Angela :o) said...

*Laugh* I have a bag from my grandmother (I'm not sure if she crocheted it or if another family member did) and could never figure out how to make a "useable" (I can't use this one...it's an heirloom now) one.

You solved my problem for me. THIS is the bag. I'll have to email you pictures of mine. She crocheted the handles too. Didn't use tubing.

Love,
Angela