Category: Bag/Purse/Tote

Cardboard Weave II

Cardboard Weave II

Links of entry

While surfing I found mini or hand-held looms (see links below), which I find very interesting, because 1st I don’t have much place at home and 2nd I know that I don’t weave, I just try it once in a while ;-))
On the photo you see the front and back side of my little woven patch.

 

Cardboard Weave II I would never actually buy a loom, therefore I made me one from – guess… – yes: cardboard! ;-)
On the photo you see me threading the loom in one direction.

 

Cardboard Weave II
Then I thread my cardboard loom in the other direction.

 

Cardboard Weave II That’s the way my cardboard loom looks at the back side.

 

Cardboard Weave II Now I’m weaving in one direction.

 

Cardboard Weave II And here I’m weaving in the other direction.

 

Cardboard Weave II After having finished with weaving I crochet an edging to neaten the edge.

The first photo shows back and front side of the finished little piece.

 


Links:
At Weavettes:
How to weave on a mini loom (English) (via knitting-and.com)
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive:
At Weavettes:
How to weave on a mini loom (English) (via knitting-and.com)

At eLoomaNation: Big Ideas from Little Looms:
Get ideas what to do with your patches

Get basic woman measurement charts for clothing patterns at the website of Jessica Tromp just as for the Clothes From Crocheted Medaillons

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width

Links of entry

Sometimes you need folded paper strips of the same width, when weaving paper baskets e.g., making a magazine purse or perhaps when making accordion folds.
Making those strips can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience – but it can be very fast and easy as well: Once I read somewhere (unfortunately I don’t remember where exactly) that you only have to roll your paper sheet over a dowel and then flat the paper roll.
Easy peasy, isn’t it? ;-)

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width You need your sheet of paper and a dowel.
I used here one of my giant knitting needles.

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width Roll your sheet of paper on the dowel.

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width Pull the dowel out of the roll and flatten the paper roll.

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width This way you get paper strips which are of the same width over the whole length.
Once I made a bowl like these magazine bowls. I preferred the ends of my paper strips to be thinner then the center, so that everything is about the same width everywhere.

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width Roll your sheet of paper diagonally on the dowel.

 

Folded Paper Strips of Equal Width The paper roll gets longer, but the ends are thinner than the center.
You can now overlap the strips and create a strong bowl.


Links:
Paper woven basket

At craftster.org:
Magazine purse
Magazine bowls

Google image search result for ‘magazine bowl’

Tetrapak Coin Purse

Tetrapak Coin Purse

Links of entry

We’re drinking much apple juice and milk – and they come in tetrapaks. We must have ‘produced’ tons of it!
Therefore I love the idea of recycling at least on of them into an coin purse.

 

Tetrapak Coin Purse On the photo you see my first attempt (still without button): it’s such a nice idea :)


Links:
Tetrapak Coin Purse

 

Butterfly Loom

Butterfly Loom

Links of entry

At the website of Knitting-and.com where I found the Crazy Daisies I also found the Butterfly Loom.
As always I didn’t want to buy something without knowing if I will use it ever again and cut my butterfly loom in different sizes from cardboard as you can see on the photo.
It worked out very well, but although I’m always coming back to different kinds of weave I think I’d never be patient enough to actually create something with this technique. It’s a pity.
;-)


Links:
Knitting-and.com: Butterfly Loom

via Knitting-and.com at The Butterfly Loom:
Patterns for the Butterfly Loom
Joining Butterfly Loom Motifs

You can also find a description, faq’s and a gallery of items made with their Butterfly Loom

Here at unikatissima:
Crazy Daisies

Bicycle Bottle Holder

Bicycle Bottle Holder

Links of entry

One day my friend asked me, if I have an idea how best to attach his water bottle to his bicycle. I promised him to make him a bottle holder and that’s it: It consists of a cardboard cylinder with bottom and a wrap crocheted from simple package string. I made two cords from the same package string to tie it somewhere to the bicycle.

And that’s how to do it:

  1. Cut a rectangle from cardboard.
    One side must be long enough to go around the bottle plus allowance, the other must be high enough, so that it holds the bottle safely.
  2. If you want the cardboard container to be (quite) waterproof, tape the inside with tape.
    Note: I used clear package tape.
  3. Wrap the cardboard around the bottle and wrap with long strips of tape.
    Hint: If it has to be waterproof, tape the whole cylinder.
    Hint: To make sure, that the cardboard container is not to tight around the bottle, I wrapped the bottle in several layers of old newspapers and wrapped the cardboard around the ‘thickened’ bottle.
  4. Cut a circle from cardboard, optionally tape the to-be inside with tape, too.
  5. Attach the circle with amply applied package tape to the bottom of your cardboard cylinder.
  6. Then you can create the outer container.
    Note: I crocheted it from package string by first crocheting a circle and then simply working straight up. ‘On the way’ I worked some thread eyes for the cords. The cords themselves were made from the same material.
    Hint: It should be easy enough to sew the outer container from a fabric matching your bicycle colours.

    7. The inner cardboard container and the outer crocheted container.
    Bicycle Bottle Holder Bicycle Bottle Holder

     


    Links:
    If a bicycle bottle holder isn’t enough for you, try the Bicycle Handlebar Bag.

    Making Any Sized Crochet Circles (English)
    Häkeln lernen: Runden und Spiralen (German)

    How to make Twisted Cord (English)
    Kordel drehen (German)

Bra Purse

Bra Purse

Links of entry

Once I found the Lah-Di-Dah Bra purse at craftster.org – what a funky idea!

Since then I always wanted to make a bra purse, but I don’t use no purses, because I always need backpacks. Imagine the bra! ;-))

But I collected links (see below) on how to make a bra purse anyhow – perhaps I’ll make a bra purse eventually ;-)


Links:
At craftster.org: Lah-Di-Dah Bra purse
For more entries search for “bra purse” at craftster.org

wrights.com: Bra Purse
Craftbits: Bra Purse
Bra Purse with zipper

Image results of Google search for ‘bra purse’

Crazy Daisies

Crazy Daisies - Wickelblumen

Links of entry

While searching for something else I found a lot of instructions and tips about Crazy Daisies and had to try them immediately ;-)

As you can see on the photo, my attempt on winding daisies on my own daisy loom worked out very well.
I cut the loom (the purple item on the photo) from thick cardboard. I think that the ice cream lid loom is better, because plastic won’t loose its shape so easily, but for just a couple flowers cardboard is fine.
At my first flowers I just made a very simple backstich center, but even so I find those little flowers stunning ;-)
The dark red flower is a daisy with an open center, but I made it in a different way: I didn’t wind the thread to the other side of my selfmade cardboard loom but to another notch (always the fourth notch in place of the sixth, I think. I didn’t write it down, because I don’t like it so much).
I’m planning to make something like the shrug with a lot of flowers and a simple crochet edging.
Eventually. ;-)


Links:
(all in English, but with explaining pictures and photos)
Instructions and tips about Crazy Daisies

For example:
Round ice cream lid daisy loom
Instructions on how to wind daisies
How to make a backstich center daisy
How to make a open center daisy
Simple crochet edging

Stole, Shrug, Handbag and Three Different Shapes on the Crazy Daisy Winder (from 1945)

Bead Knitting

Bead Knitting

Links of entry

Bead knitting is such an interesting technique I wanted to present here (for links see below). Mostly it seems to be used for elegant little bags. I tried it on a cover for a jar to create a special jar for special sweets ;-)


Links:
Free Introductory Patterns for Bead Knitted Bags

Tips for First Time Bead Knitters
How to Transfer Beads to Knitting Thread (with explaining photos)

If you didn’t buy a hank of beads see also my entry ‘Making a Bead Spinner’

Bead Knitted Amulet Bag

Knitting in Beads and Buttons (simple technique for pony beads and buttons)

Rose Bag

Rose Bag

Links of entry

One day I found this tutorial on how to make a Rose bag – stunning!
I’d love to crochet it one day, but up until now I didn’t get further than the Irish rose on the photo ;-)
(I know that the Rose bag isn’t done as Irish Rose, but it looks like ;-))

 


Links:
Tutorial on how to make a Rose bag

Irish Rose:
Two-Layer Irish Crochet Rose Free Pattern

Translations of Crochet Terms