crochet horse bag

here we are again, another birthday party for my tomboy princess to go to.   have i mentioned that i really am at a loss for getting other kids presents?   this time i had a little help though.   friend books are pretty popular here so i had the girl's page with colors and hobbies etc to go from.  

first, my tomboy princess decided to crochet a bracelet for her friend.   she did pretty well.   she even crocheted beads into it!   so proud of my crocheting protege.

back to the birthday girl.   as with most little girls, she likes horses.   that's handy, i can draw a horse.   she also likes to read, you would think i would have made a bookmark then wouldn't you.   no way!   that's too easy!

instead, i made a book bag.   could have been super simple. . . until i got ahold of it.  

pant leg, stitch the end closed and add a handle. . . . . but then i had this big idea . .  .

use the crochet technique i've been patching pants with to put a horse head on it with long flowing mane and fancy stitching on the bottom.   

then once i got going on it, i decided to cover the stitching with more crochet and figured it needed a lining to 

protect the back of the stitching.

a couple of tips i picked up on the way through this project.   

draw a pattern on with a colored pencil.   i used a yellow and it worked fine.   the nice thing was that i could rub it off really easily so could change my mind as i went.  and i didn't have to keep checking where i was or try to figure out where to go next.   i just followed the lines.  

    

do your crocheting first.   make sure to tie everything off .    at the end of my lines i pulled the loop down through the fabric to the back, pulled the end through, and tied it off. 

for the lining, make your tube, put seam side to the inside and right side to the inside of the pant leg.    then, when you are done sewing and turn it, it puts the good side showing on the inside of the bag.   i sewed the end closed after that so i could reach through if i needed.  

when you stitch your handle on, make sure it's straight and not twisted. . . .i did and it still ended up twisted.       i have decided that it gives it character.   handmade things have flaws that make them individual and unique!   that's my spin on it.

snip the edges to fray them, doesn't take too long

i loved how it turned out!   it did take a fair few hours to do. . . like 20.   but if i make another, it probably won't take as long.   at least i'm hoping, because my princess would really like to have one as well.   so get yourself some good movies or audio books or something for this project.   it may have taken less time had i been able to just sit down and do it.   of course, i have kids, and house, and meals, and various catastrophes to attend in the midst of my crafting so that adds time to any project.   wouldn't life be boring without the distractions?  i'm enjoying the catastrophes while i have them, because someday, the house will be way too quiet without them.

even though i loved it, and the tomboy princess loved it, we were missing one approval - 

that's right -

this bag has been cat approved

now, it's official.