My first bags

About 2,5 years ago I got a sewing machine for my birthday. Not until a half year ago it was sitting in our "clutter room", gathering dust. But after seeing some very cool dresses in Barcelona (and my mum telling me that those are easily made yourself as well), I wanted to give sewing a try.

Before trying dresses, I thought I start easy by making some bags first.
And I guess I can sew too! :) My first attempt (fabric from Ikea) was already a great success and I even managed to get a zipper in the lining.

The first day I used my bag, I got 2 requests from friends to make a bag for them as well.
So, why not? It was great practice:

After these smaller handbags, I wanted a bigger one for myself, so I created a pattern for a big handbag (or small beachbag). And ofcourse, a pouch with zipper in the lining (to keep my purse safe!).

Next will be a bag with zipper closure, because I noticed that I do like a handbag which I can close completely (to keep my possessions even safer :))

Now I have enough experience to start trying out dress patterns!

 

Free Pattern: Minecraft Cake

Yum yum, cake!

Make now your own minecraft goodie.

No need to strengthen the sides to obtain& maintain cubic form as this pattern is using 2 rectangles to make the cube instead of working in the round.
In the rectangles 'hinges' are created by working one row in the front or back loops only. By working in the front row, the hinge will be towards you. The back row will be the opposite.

Cake  (14x14x8)

Made from 2 rectangles with hinges (see also my minecraft creeper pattern)

rectangle A
start with brown
0           chain 15
1-4       14sc, ch1, turn (4 times in total)
5           keep the yarn on facing side: when turning to brown leave long tail for sewing

             (turn to white, 2sc, turn to brown, 2sc) 3 times, turn to white, 2sc
6-8        14sc, ch1, turn (3 times in total)
9           14sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
10-22   14sc, ch1, turn (13 times in total)
23         14sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
24-25   14sc, ch1, turn (2 times in total)
26         (2sc, turn to brown, 2sc, turn to white) 3 times, 2sc white

27-30    turn to brown, 14sc, ch1, turn (4 times in total)

rectangle B
start with white
0         chain 15
1-3     14sc, ch1, turn (3 times in total)
4         (2sc, turn to brown, 2sc) 3 times, turn to white, 2sc, leave long white tail for sewing
5-8      turn to brown, leave long tail for sewing, 14sc, ch1, turn (4 times in total)
9         14sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
10-22 14sc, ch1, turn (13 times in total)
23       14sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
24-26 14sc, ch1, turn (3 times in total)
27       (turn to white, 2sc, turn to brown) 3 times, turn to white, 2sc

28-30 14sc, ch1, turn (3 times in total)

Cake embroidery

Embroider the cake like the picture below. You could also crochet the spots, but I chose embroidery.

Sew A&B together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused front/back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them). Also the embroided side is facing down.

Begin at the red star sewing with white and follow the sides, switching to brown and back to white again.  Attach a white strand where indicated to continue closing the cube. Stuff but don't overstuff.

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Note: You may NOT use this pattern, or the cakes produced following the pattern for commercial/retail purposes. You are free to use this pattern to make as many cakes as you like for personal use/gifts. Please do not post this pattern anywhere else. If you follow my pattern and blog about it I would appreciate a link back to my blog (so others can make it too!).
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Free Pattern: Minecraft Magma Cube & Slime

Make your own cute minecraft magma cube or slime critter!

Small: 8x8x8
Medium: 12x12x12
Any size: see schematic

No need to strengthen the sides to obtain& maintain cubic form as this pattern is using 2 rectangles to make the cube instead of working in the round.
In the rectangles 'hinges' are created by working one row in the front or back loops only. By working in the front row, the hinge will be towards you. The back row will be the opposite.


Cube Small (8x8x8)

0 chain 9
1-8 8sc, ch1, turn (8 times in total)
9 8sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
10-16 8sc, ch1, turn (7 times in total)
17 8c in front loops only, ch1, turn
18-24 8sc, ch1, turn (7 times in total)

make two, embroider the eyes, sew together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them).

Cube Medium (12x12x12)

0 chain 13
1-12 12sc, ch1, turn (12 times in total)
13 12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
14-24 12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)
25 12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
26-36 12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)

make two, embroider the eyes, sew together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them)

Cube Any size (XxXxX)
0 chain (X +1)
X sc, ch1, turn (X times in total)
X sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
X sc, ch1, turn ( (X -1) times in total)
X sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
X sc, ch1, turn ( (X -1) times in total)
make two, embroider the eyes, sew together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them)

Eyes

Embroider the eyes like these patterns.

What I normally do is first make all vertical stripes and then finish it off with 2 horizontal bars on top and bottom.








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Note: You may NOT use this pattern, or the magma cubes/slimes produced following the pattern for commercial/retail purposes. You are free to use this pattern to make as many Magma Cubes and Slimes as you like for personal use/gifts. Please do not post this pattern anywhere else. If you follow my pattern and blog about it I would appreciate a link back to my blog (so others can make it too!).
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Free Pattern: Minecraft dirt block cube

Create your own Minecraft dirt blocks!

Looks nice on your desk, with your own creeper or even dangling from your rear-view mirror in your car.

Or be creative and with minor modifications, you can create a coal/copper/gold/red stone/diamond block! These will be added soon to this pattern as well.

No need to strengthen the sides to obtain& maintain cubic form as this pattern is using 2 rectangles to make the cube instead of working in the round.
In the rectangles 'hinges' are created by working one row in the front or back loops only. By working in the front row, the hinge will be towards you. The back row will be the opposite.

Dirt Block  (12x12x12) (approx 6cm)Made from 2 rectangles with hinges (see also my creeper pattern)

rectangle A
start with brown
0           chain 13
1-9       12sc, ch1, turn (9 times in total)
10        (2sc, turn to green, 1sc, turn to brown) 2 times, 3sc, turn to green, 2sc, to brown, 1sc
11-12   turn to green, 12, ch1, turn (2 times in total)
13        12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
14-24  12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)
25        12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
26        12sc, ch1, turn
27        turn to brown, keep yarn on this facing side
27        (2sc, turn to green, 1sc, turn to brown) 2 times, 3sc, turn to green, 2sc, to brown, 1sc
28-36   12sc, ch1, turn (9 times in total)

rectangle B
start with green
0            chain 13
1-2        12sc, ch1, turn (2 times in total)
3           turn to brown
3           (2sc, turn to green, 1sc, turn to brown) 2 times, 3sc, turn to green, 2sc, to brown, 1sc
4-12      12, ch1, turn (9 times in total)
13          12sc in BACK loops only, ch1, turn
14-24    12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)
25          12sc in BACK loops only, ch1, turn
26          12sc, ch1, turn
27           keep yarn on this facing side
27           (2sc, turn to green, 1sc, turn to brown) 2 times, 3sc, turn to green, 2sc, to brown, 1sc
28-36     turn to green, 12sc, ch1, turn (9 times in total)

sew A&B together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused front/back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them)

Begin at the red star sewing with green and follow the sides, switching to brown and back to green again (at blue circle and purple circle).  Sew the little green part together (black circle & arrow). Then attach a brown strand to the black star to continue closing the cube. Stuff but don't overstuff.

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Note: You may NOT use this pattern, or the blocks produced following the pattern for commercial/retail purposes. You are free to use this pattern to make as many blocks as you like for personal use/gifts. Please do not post this pattern anywhere else. If you follow my pattern and blog about it I would appreciate a link back to my blog (so others can make it too!).
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Free pattern: Minecraft creeper all sizes

No need to strengthen the sides to obtain& maintain cubic form as this pattern is using 2 rectangles to make cubes/cuboids instead of working in the round.

In the rectangles 'hinges' are created  by working one row in the front loops only. By working in the front row, the hinge will be towards you.

Using the sizing schematic, you can create any size creeper!

Please find the schematic all the way below.

12 stitches creeper (appr 20 cm tall)

HEAD (12x12x12)
0                             chain 13
1-12                       12sc, ch1, turn (12 times in total)
13                           12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
14-24                     12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)
25                           12sc in front loops only, ch1, turn
26-36                    12sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)

make two, sew together to form a cube, stuff. See schematic for help.

Make sure the 'hinges' as explained above are in the correct way.
This means that if you lay down the 2 rectangles, the unused back loops should be in the back (you are not facing them)

EYES & MOUTH

See face & mouth schematic for help.

For 12 stitches creepers and up, you can crochet the face. For smaller ones, I would recommend to embroider it.

Each black block represents stitch & row  (AxA)

For the 12 stitch creeper, A=1, so the eyes will be 2sc-2 rows (2Ax2A), and the mouth is 2sc- 3 rows with 1sc-2rows down on each side. See pattern below.

For other size creepers, I would suggest to use 4A= 1/3X (so for 12 stitches, 4A=4 so A=1 :))

EYES (make 2)

0                             chain 3
1                             2sc, ch1, turn
2                             2sc

MOUTH (see also mouth schematic on right side for help)

0                             chain 4
1                             3sc, ch1, turn
2                             3sc, ch2, turn
3                             2sc (one in chain, one in block)

 go to other side of the mouth and also create the drooping side:

0                             insert hook on the edge, ch2, turn        
1                             2sc (one in chain, one in block)

BODY (24x12x6)

For length, I used twice the size in stitches (24).This is actually a little bit long, but I did it to have more surface to stitch the feet so it would be more stable to stand. However, I noticed that the little creeper is quite sturdy, so if you want, you can make the body less long (about 1 ½ times the stitches, in this case 18) and sew the feet on the bottom, to make it more game-realistic.

I added the new stitchcount & rows underlined.

Use the size schematic below to calculate the correct counts for other sizes.

Rectangle A

0                             chain 13              
1-6                         12sc, ch1, turn (6 times in total)
7                             12sc in front loops only
8-30                       12sc, ch1, turn (23 times in total)             (for 1 ½ stitches: 17 times in total)
31                           12sc in front loops only
32-36                    12sc, ch1, turn (5 times in total)

Rectangle B

0                             chain 25                                                              (for 1 ½ stitches: chain 19)         
1-6                         24sc, ch1, turn (6 times in total)               (18sc, ch1, turn (6 times in total))
7                             24sc in front loops only                                (18sc in front loops only)
8-18                       24sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total)             (18sc, ch1, turn (11 times in total))
19                           24sc in front loops only                                (18sc in front loops only)
20-24                    24sc, ch1, turn (5 times in total)               (18sc, ch1, turn (5 times in total))

sew together (just like head) to create a cuboid, stuff.

FEET (make 4) (9x6x6)

Rectangle A
in grey
0                             begin with long tail for sewing , chain 7
1-2                         6sc, ch1, turn (2 times in total)
                turn to green
3-9                         6sc, ch1, turn (7 times in total)
10                           6sc in front loops only
11-15                    6sc, ch1, turn (5 times in total)
16                           6sc in front loops only
17-22                    6sc, ch1, turn (6 times in total)
                turn to grey (keep beginning long for sewing)
23-24                    6sc, ch1, turn (2 times in total)

Rectangle B

in green
0                             begin with long tail for sewing, chain 7  
1-7                         6sc, ch1, turn (7 times in total), leave long tail for sewing
                turn to grey (keep beginning a little longer for sewing)
8-9                         6sc, ch1, turn (2 times in total)
10                           6sc in front loops only
11-15                    6sc, ch1, turn (5 times in total)
16                           6sc in front loops only
17                           6sc, ch1, turn
                turn to green (keep beginning long for sewing)
28-24                    6sc, ch1, turn (7 times in total)

sew together to form a cuboid, stuff. See schematic for help.

Begin at red circle with grey, then change to green at light blue and stitch all the way over until you need to swith to grey again (black circle and arrow).
Stuff and close by using and starting at the yellow circle following the yellow arrow.
Use the grey tail below the yellow circle to close the little grey gap.

sew on creeper. For 2X body, sew feet so they are ½ overlapping, see my pictures.
For 1 ½X body, sew feet on bottom.

SIZING SCHEMATIC

X is the number of stitches.
This pattern is for X=12 stitches and with my yarn and hooknr 3,5 it became approx 20 cm tall.

NB Use an even X and ½X, as in this way the hinges pattern (all front loops) is correct.

X stitches creeper NB Use an even X and ½X, as in this way the hinges pattern (all front loops) is correct. (If you want to use uneven, then pay close attention to the hinges. Make sure that they are all facing the same way (so you may need to stitch in back loops instead of front)).
HEAD (X * X * X)
chain (X +1) X sc, ch1, turn (X times in total) X sc in front loops only, ch1, turn X sc, ch1, turn ( (X -1) times in total) X sc in front loops only, ch1, turn X sc, ch1, turn ( (X -1) times in total)
FACE
12 X creeper and up: you can crochet the face (see 12X pattern) 4A= 1/3X For smaller creepers, embroider face. (see face schematic for help)
Body (2 X * X *½ X) (2X stitches, sew feet so they are ½ overlapping)                                                for shorter body & feet at bottom, use the 1 ½X schematic below)
chain (X +1)        X sc, ch1, turn (X times in total) X sc in front loops only X sc, ch1, turn ( (2 X -1) times in total) X sc in front loops only X sc, ch1, turn ( (½ X -1) times in total)	chain 2 X              2 X sc, ch1, turn (½ X times in total) 2 X sc in front loops only 2 X sc, ch1, turn (X -1 times in total) 2 X sc in front loops only 2 X sc, ch1, turn (½ X -1 times in total)
Body (1 ½ X * X *½ X)  for shorter body & feet at bottom
chain (X +1)        X sc, ch1, turn (X times in total) X sc in front loops only X sc, ch1, turn ( (1 ½ X -1) times in total) X sc in front loops only X sc, ch1, turn ( (½ X -1) times in total)	Chain 1 ½ X         1 ½ X sc, ch1, turn (½ X times in total) 1 ½  X sc in front loops only 1 ½  X sc, ch1, turn (X -1 times in total) 1 ½  X sc in front loops only 1 ½  X sc, ch1, turn (½  X -1 times in total
FEET (½ X *3/4 X *½ X) For the grey lower part, I would suggest that the grey rows do not exceed 1/4 X. For calculation, number of rows grey = Y
in grey begin with long tail for sewing , chain (½ X +1) ½ X sc, ch1, turn (Y) times in total)                 turn to green ½ X sc, ch1, turn (3/4X - Y) times in total) ½ X sc in front loops only ½ X sc, ch1, turn ( (½ X -1) times in total) ½ X sc in front loops only ½ X sc, ch1, turn ((3/4X - Y) -1)times in total)                 turn to grey (keep beginning long for sewing) ½ X sc, ch1, turn (Y times in total)	in green begin with long tail for sewing, chain (½ X +1)   ½ X sc, ch1, turn (3/4X - Y)  times in total), leave long tail for sewing                 turn to grey (keep beginning a little longer for sewing) ½ X sc, ch1, turn (Y times in total) ½ X sc in front loops only ½ X sc, ch1, turn (½ X -1) times in total) ½ X sc in front loops only ½ X sc, ch1, turn ( Y - 1 times in total)                 turn to green (keep beginning long for sewing) ½ X sc, ch1, turn ((3/4X - Y)  times in total)

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Note: You may NOT use this pattern, or the Creepers produced following the pattern for commercial/retail purposes. You are free to use this pattern to make as many Creepers as you like for personal use/gifts. Please do not post this pattern anywhere else. If you follow my pattern and blog about it I would appreciate a link back to my blog (so others can make it too!).
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