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FUZZY GALORE |
Inspired by Janet Scanlon's great
fulled bags, I thought
I should try my hand at one. I wanted it fast, so I crocheted it instead
of knitting. I was still in a 100% eyelash phase :-), so it had to be F/fuzzy.
I wanted it a bit more complex looking, so I made it by holding 2 colors at once.
And I wanted it useful for carrying knitting or some such projects, so it
had to be large and kind of shallow.
I turns out the fulling really improves the texture, making the
bag firm enough to really carry heavy items, closing up gaps to keep small ones
from falling out, and at the same time making the
eyelash really pop out.
It'll be published in the summer 03 issue of
Crochet Fantasy,
but meanwhile here's a preview.
Beginners.
Unfulled size after crocheting: 11"x23" bottom, 12" high, bag handles 2 yds.
Finished size after fulling: 6"x14" bottom, 10" high, handles 60".
Working pattern dc with doubled wool and one strand eyelash, 9 st/4 inches(10cm).
US: Chain st(ch). Slip st (sl st). Single crochet (sc). Double crochet (dc).
Britain: Chain st(ch). Single crochet (sl st). Double crochet (sc). Treble (dc).
You will be working the entire body holding 3 yarns together, 2 strands of Tekapo and one strand of Fizz. The very top edge and handles will be worked with 2 strands of the same color of Tekapo, and the handles will be without any Fizz. We start with the bottom of the bag, and nothing about this needs to be very exact, since the degree of fulling will have a lot more to do with the final size than any gauge measurement.
ROW 1: Hold a strand of dark brown Tekapo, one of dark red, and one of brickyard Fizz together. Make a chain (nearly 1 foot/30cm long) with 17 stitches. ch-2, turn, dc in next 2nd stitch and every stitch thereafter, to the beginning of the chain.
ROW 2: When you get to the end of the original chain, dc 3 times into the last stitch (forming 2 corners), and then dc into the next original chain stitch, and dc into every original chain stitch thereafter. At the end of the row, dc 3 times into the first chain stitch, sl st into the top of initial chain of this row.
ROW 3: Break off red Tekapo, replace it with copper. ch-2, skip a st, dc into every dc in row below. When you get to a corner, dc into the corner stitch, ch1, dc again into the same stitch. Keep going, increasing like this at every corner. When you've come back to the initial chain, sl st into the top of it to close the row.
ROW 4: work as row 3.
ROW 5-16: ch2. dc in every dc below. sl st into top of initial ch.
ROW 6: Break off dark brown Tekapo, replace with dark red.
ROW 8: Break off copper Tekapo, replace with pumpkin.
ROW 10: Break off dark red Tekapo, replace with copper.
ROW 13: Break off pumpkin Tekapo, replace with dark brown.
ROW 14: Break off copper Tekapo, replace with red.
ROW 17: Break off Tekapo. Hold 2 strands of pumpkin Tekapo and one strand of brickyard Fizz. ch1, skip one st, sc into each dc below, sl st into first ch. Break off everything.
Holding 2 strands of pumpkin Tekapo together (no Fizz), ch till you have a 2 yd chain, leaving a long tail. Break off. Repeat with 2 strands of dark red. Repeat with one strand of dark red and one strand of dark brown.
Using your favorite fulling method, put bag and handles in suitable container and full till approximately finished size above, and texture is much firmer than the original. You will always need hot water, soap (NOT detergent), and prolonged agitation. The original bag was done indoors in a bucket, held in a bathtub, with a bar of soap, and a toilet plunger for manual agitation. A fulling board would probably be too small for an object this size. A top-loading washing machine would be suitable, but the process needs to be watched carefully, and stopped when fulling seems sufficient. Be careful also to arrange the bag so that the top edge doesn't become distorted.
Take a handle chain, and thread it through the top level of dc (ie, below the sc edge). The rectangular shape of the bag needs to be respected. The original bag has the following sequence: from inside corner st, (5 st, out, 17 st, in, 10 st, out, 2 st, in, 5 st). Repeat once to go all around bag, forming a tuck in the middle of the short ends and leaving longer edge free. Repeat for the other 2 handles, following the path of the first exactly. Gently twist the 3 handles together, not so they're tight but enough so they don't separate easily from each other. Using a yarn needle, finish each handle so it forms a closed loop.
sc 17 pumpkin x 2 dc / / (thread handles) dc / / dc 14 red / dc 13 / brown dc / / dc / / dc 10 copper / dc / / dc / / dc 8 / pumpkin dc / / dc 6 red / inc dc / / / dc / / / dc / / / dc 2 / copper / dc / / ch brown red
Photo by: Susan Druding
Thank you to Crystal Palace for permission to use their original materials.
First published: 1 apr 03
All rights reserved. © Fuzzy Galore 2002-2006.
