Crocheted Felted Beach Pebble Bag Pattern

I joined the Ravelry spinners' Tour de Fleece with high hopes of mastering worsted and longdraw spinning.  For the first nine days, I bashed away at carding my Gotland fleece, spinning worsted as best I could.  Still love the silver and grey curls, but I never did do them justice.  If you would like to try spinning this lustrous fleece, I think Hilltopkatie may be selling some at Fibre East this weekend.

At bedtime, I would go on line to admire hundreds of yards of other people's smooth and colourful singles and skeins. Posting a soft focus photo of my own work, I hoped to conceal the horrid truth - hairy grey string. Definitely arriere du peleton.  

Not the Gotland's fault.  There were plenty of examples of others spinning beautifully with just the same wool.  It was me. Practice did not seem to be making perfect.  Or even perceptibly better. By the first rest day, I had seven 50g balls of 2 ply rolled up. Then I had to drop out of the Tour.  No broken bones, just work taking me away from home and spinning wheel. Crochet takes up less elbow room than knitting, when you wish to be discrete.  I had in mind a felted beach bag, shaped like a pebble with a fossil in it. Working out a three dimensional pattern was a complete bugger, the main piece had to be unravelled over and over again.  Still, the process kept me absorbed through transport delays and evenings alone.  Once I got home, I treated myself to the thrill of spinning Gotland carded together with white silk, for the 'ammonite fossil' decoration.  Look at the sunshine on the lustre of Gotland wool and silk. OK, the felt is fuzzy, but not in a bad way.

The final result is nicely rounded in the body, though the top opening could do with a bit of modifying.  I also wish I had made the handle a bit longer. That's the problem with felting, hard to be sure how much the original dimensions will shrink and no chance to unravel afterwards. 

Materials

350m Gotland about worsted weight 10ply = 9wpi

10m gotland/silk blend to decorate

6mm crochet hook

Tension gauge - rounds 1 - 5 measure 9.5cm before felting, bit hard to measure afterwards.  The whole width was 42 cm before felting and still 39cm afterwards, though the fabric was much denser.
Abbreviations:
ch = chain  htr = half treble crochet  (US half double)  ss= slip stitch  st = stitch  
dc = double crochet (US single crochet)
The number of stitches at the end of the round is shown in brackets.

Front and Back - make two

Note that each piece is supposed to have depth, forming the base and sides of the bag, as well as the face, so it won't lay flat.

1. Make a magic ring, ch 2, 8htr into loop, ss behind the first 2 ch and pull the loose end tight to close the ring (8)

2. Turn, ch 1, *1 htr into next st and 2 htr into following st* repeat to end, ss behind first ch (12)
3. As row 2 (18)

4. As row 3 (27)

5. Turn, ch 1, *1 htr into next 2 st and 2 htr into third st* repeat to end, ss (36)

6. Turn, ch 1, *1 htr into next 3 st and 2 htr into fourth st* repeat to end, ss (45)

7. As row 6 with one extra htr at the end (56)

8. Turn, ch 1, *1 htr into next 4 st and 2 htr into fifth st* repeat, 1 htr, ss (68)

9. Turn, ch 1, 1 htr every st, ss (68)

10. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 5 st and 2 htr into sixth st* repeat, 1 htr into last 2 st, ss (79)

11. Turn, ch 1, 1 htr into every st, ss (79)

12 Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 6 st and 2 htr into seventh st* repeat 10 times, dc last 3 st and ss into base of chain which began this round (90)

13. Turn, ss back along 3 dc st, then dc next 3 st, then htr every st to end of round (87)

14. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 7 st and 2 htr into eighth st* 9 times, htr next 4 st, dc next 3 st and ss to nearest dc of preceding round

15.  As row 13

16. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 8 st and 2 htr into ninth st* 8 times, htr next 5 st, dc next 3 st and ss to nearest dc of preceding round

17. As row 13

18. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 9 st and 2 htr into tenth st* 7 times, htr next 5 st, dc next 3 st and ss to nearest dc of preceding round

19. As row 13

20. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 10 st and 2 htr into eleventh st* 6 times, htr next 8 st, dc next 3 st and ss to nearest dc of preceding round

21. as row 13
22. Turn, ch 1 *1 htr into next 11 st and 2 htr into twelfth st* 6 times, dc next 3 st and ss to nearest dc of preceding round. Fasten off at the end of the first piece.

At the end of the second piece, lay both pieces together so they match.  At the fastening off point, where the yarn is still attached to the second piece, push the crochet hook through the front of the same ss on the other piece and draw up a loop of yarn. Continue along the base curve, pushing the hook through matching stitches on the two pieces and crocheting them together.

Inside Pocket

Rounds 1 - 10 same as main pattern. Fasten off, leaving a length of yarn for sewing it on inside one of the main pieces in the matching place on the pattern of rounds, leaving the top third of the circle open.

Strap

Rejoin yarn to the first stitch before the flared straight edge of the opening.  

1. Make 1 htr around the post of each stitch until you reach the corresponding point on the other side (22)

2. Turn, ch 1, htr every st

3. as row 2

4. Turn, ch 1, 1 htr, htr 2 tog, htr every stitch until 3 remain, htr 2 tog, 1 htr (20)

5. as row 2

6. as row 2

7. as row 2

8. Turn, ch 1, 1 htr, htr 2 tog, htr every stitch until 3 remain, htr 2 tog, 1 htr (18)

Repeat rows 5 - 8 until 8 st remain.

Continue rows of htr every st until the handle is as long as you want it.  I made it complete the circle of the bag, which is fine for a bag slung over your arm, but a bit short over the shoulder.

To reduce down to a point to sew in to the main body, htr 2tog in a centre stitch on every row until 1 st remains and fasten off. Crochet this point into the V shaped space just above the join of the two main pieces.  Finish off by working from the inside of the bag, making one dc into each stitch of the top edge and one dc into each post along the handle until you get right round.  Repeat on the other side. 

I used coloured pins to mark out an increasingly open spiral and chain stitched Gotland/Silk blend yarn.  Came out a tad wonky.  To felt it, I put it through a 95 degree Centigrade machine wash with some old towels. Gotland makes a very dense felt, so I stuffed it tightly with a dry towel to shape it while it dried.

Finally a test run to the beach. Size is good, enough room for a large towel, bathers and water bottle with keys and mobile secure in the inside pocket. The Gotland colours are very like the rocks and pebbles.  Sudden thought, what if the bag were so well camouflaged that I couldn't see where I had put it when the tide came in?  Reality check - not likely.