1. It uses up all those random bits and balls of scrap yarn you have hanging about in a productive way.
2. It lets you practice a skill that you want to perfect for a more meaningful project without worrying over screwing it up too badly.
3. It helps you organize all of those other random balls of yarn you have hanging out under the bed, or in that purse by the stairs, or stuffed in the desk drawer.
Confession time: I compulsively buy yarn. If I am at the craft store and see some on clearance, I cannot help but buy it, especially if it is some funky specialty kind. I figure I will find a project to do with it.
However, this habit has led to a craft cabinet full to bursting with mismatched, half-wrapped balls of yarn. Recently, though, I was completing a project that required seven different colors of yarn (See The Doctor's Scarf). Since I do most of my knitting at work, it was a pain to shove that much yarn in my purse, or to try to remember which colors I would need for the day. In order to rectify that problem, I decided to take some yarn left from a few abandoned projects, and make a great big bag to carry my many colors of yarn in.
The bag itself was made using a size N crochet hook, and a strand each of black and green Red Heart Super Saver yarn. It's a sturdy, if not super soft yarn, which is fine for a bag to lug other stuff around in. The main issue that I have with it is that it is coarse and dry, and as such, sucks the oils from my hands while I work. I have to apply lotion fairly often, though that can make my hook slip!
In any case, I made the center section first, using a basic circular expansion, with the bottom done in single crochet and the sides done in double. It's about ten inches in diameter and a foot and a half long.
Done with that section, I still had yarn left over, so I switched to a smaller hook, size H, I believe, and made the side pockets the same way, just smaller in proportion. The pockets were done with a single strand of color. They are about 5 inches in diameter and maybe 8 long. I sewed them to the sides of the center section, a few inches from the bottom, using a simple yarn needle. I did not sew the pockets all the way to their tops. I left about an inch detached from the body of the bag, to give it a little more style, and so I could add a drawstring more easily.
The hardest part of this was the strap. I made a basic shoulder strap, about two feet long and two inches wide, with the N Hook, in double crochet. However, the bag being as long as it is, and the strap stretching easily with the large weave it was done in presented some problems when actually using the bag. I am not a tall person, and it dragged almost to the floor. I have had to tuck and tie the strap in creative ways in order to make it work.
The nice part about this project is that it can easily be altered to fit one's needs, tastes, and amount of yarn. Pockets can be added or removed. The length or width of the center section can be adjusted with ease. It can also be done in different stitches. Try all single crochet to make it hold shape better, or switch between double and half double to give it some texture and pattern.
One finishing detail that I slipped in was a simple drawstring about an inch from the top of the center section as well as the side pockets. Now I can shove all of my spare balls of yarn and crochet string in the bag, slip it closed, and toss it on a shelf without having to worry about the balls going bouncing all over and being set upon by the cats! Not bad for a project that took a single evening from conception to completion!
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