ENTWINED
KITTY CAT CLUTCH
I
found this really beautiful (and seemingly simple?) cross stitch pattern, that
I plan on adapting into a motif for a clutch purse. This is the second one of this kind that I’m
doing (i.e adapting a cross stitch pattern into crochet)
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What
I love about working such a pattern is that it is like unfolding a lovely
puzzle, line by line and watching it grow right in front of your eyes.. oooh,
aren’t you all excited to work on this too?!
I
plan on using two colours – black & white – to showcase the beauty of the
entwined kittens. You need two colours
(minimum) to differentiate the cats from
the background, but you got that bit before I said it ;)
Materials used : One cone each of polyester purse
yarn in cones , with a 3.5 mm crochet hook ; fabric glue to seal ends ; embroidery needle ; zipper ; beads and more beads ; bag handle and more
General yarn info : This polyester yarn is available only in India.
The yarn used today is not specific to this pattern.
You can use any yarn with a suitable hook to make this project to any size.
International yarns : Among the international yarns I have used in this thickness, I’d suggest Aunt Lydia Cotton 10, Aunt Lydia Bamboo-Viscose 10, DMC Petra, Sullivans knitting cotton (Australia), Milford Soft, Hilaza Rustica Eclat , Alize cotton yarn and Alize bamboo yarn.
Skill level : Intermediate. You must know how to read a cross-stitch
chart for this project.
Stitches used :
Starting slip knot : Here’s how you start with a slip knot. https://youtu.be/lJcqsVcs8cw
Starting slip knot 1 or the Sloppy Slip knot : This is a neat new way to start your work without a slip knot. https://youtu.be/YfC7KmGpifs
Foundation Single Crochet : fsc : To refresh your skill on the fsc, please view this video https://youtu.be/mcT85fwh4mA
Half Double Crochet : Hdc : yo, insert hk into st ; yo (3 lps on hk) ;
yo, draw through all 3 lps. One hdc made.
Check out the video at https://youtu.be/sDiELJdB2Dg
Chainless start for Half Double Crochet : I dislike the ch-2 start, and this is what I do to start my row of hdc. Check out the video at https://youtu.be/lWXpl1KdbZ8
What is a slip stitch : Here is a neat video tutorial at https://youtu.be/weB3QNbA8Iw
Double Crochet : dc : yo, insert hk into st ; yo (3 lps on hk);
[yo, draw through 2 lps] twice. One dc made.
Check out the video at https://youtu.be/xdnjB27zpYo
Chainless start for Double Crochet : I dislike the ch-2 / ch – 3 start, and this is what I do to start my row of dc.
Check out the video at https://youtu.be/wskv3iTjRx0
Abbreviations used : (Using U.S terminology)
lp(s)
: Loop(s) sc : Single crochet
dc
: Double crochet sp :
Space
sl-st
: Slip stitch ch
: Chain
st(s)
: Stitch(es) hk
: Hook
yo
: Yarn Over
MC
: Main Colour
CC : Contrast Colour
Instructions using U.S terminology
Please note that I start all my rows with a ch 1, turning chain for ease.
Please check the top of this blog for easy video tutorials on all stitches used in today's pattern.
Please read through all my notes before you pick up your hook, so you know just where we're heading in our pattern.
As
usual, before we head off into our project, let’s take a quick look at what
we’re working on today.
Now in case you're making this into a clutch purse, like I have, then you need to line it, attach a zipper, add in a handle (or make one with the video tutorial given below - and you can add tassels to that too)
OR you could make this a wall hanging.
To do this, you could either attach a wooden stick / macrame stick or you could get it framed like a photograph.
Whatever you decide to do, this is going to be a fun project.
For
this lovely project, there is a bit of work that we all need to do.
I read through and watch the video by Mikey
at http://thecrochetcrowd.com/crochet-graph-afghan-series/ on how to
read a crochet graph and https://www.happilyhooked.com/reading-crochet-graphs/
Guess what ?? I think another way to do it is just work with sc from right to left all the time
So this means that you work one row from right to left, and when you finish, you leave a tail, fasten off yarn and reattach yarn once again on the right hand side.
That way you do not have to figure out the pattern from the back or reverse side.
No, this is not what I did - I just figured it after I worked my pattern out - but I'm gonna try this when I do a cross stitch crochet pattern next time. If you do this before I do, do let me know in comments below - or on one of my social media places. Cheers.
How to change colors seamlessly : Here’s an easy video tutorial to show you how to change from the Main color to the Contrast or second color of yarn seamlessly. View it at https://youtu.be/fRzSBja9jno
How to carry your yarn when using two colors : Here’s an easy video tutorial to show you how to carry your yarn along when working with two colours.
View it at https://youtu.be/NuascBU3pxQ
The
cross stitch pattern is going to be our chart.
Each
black cross stitch represents one sc in MC or Colour 1 ; each white unworked
cross stitch square also represents one sc in CC or Colour 2.
Right
then.. let’s now waste any more time.
If
you count the stitches from one end to the other (side to side) for the 2
kittens, we need 40 sts for the cat pattern in one colour.
There is then the border in the other colour.
So
decide how many stitches you want all around (as border) and start with 40 +
border sts.
(i.e
: Say you want 5 sts on each side, you will start with 40 + 10 = 50 sts). Got
it?
The
length (top to bottom) of the kitten cross stitch pattern is 20 sts plus
border.
Once
again, decide on how wide a border you want.
I
am going to work my project in sc all through.
I
am going to work this lovely cross stitch pattern only on the
front side of my
project , hence I will be working only in sc for the back half.
You
can opt to work in sc , hdc or dc – depending on how fast you want to complete
it and / or how fussy you are about the ‘holes’ between stitches. Sc will show less holes as against dc,
obviously.
We
start with a foundation (fsc) chain and work in sc all the way till you reach
the front.
So
how do you calculate how much you work for the back?
Simple
– look at the calculations given above for the number of stitches for width
(side to side) and length (top to bottom).
Work
out a swatch for 40 x 20 sc, and see how many inches you get, and then decide
how much of a border you want.
Basically
one side of your clutch purse only need be this width and length, so once you
have got this size, you can start on the pattern for the front. However, if you are using a really thin
thread and you need more length/width, all you need to do is ensure that you
have the number of stitches required for the entwined cats and the border, and
then you work an equal number of extra stitches for both sides.
So
say you want to work a total of 9” and you need 55 stitches to get the 9” ; you
will work 56 stitches, with the 40 sts in the centre for the cat
pattern, and the balance 8 sts on either side that will make the ‘border’
for you. Easy enough, right?
Why
are we working the pattern so much later?
Well,
if you start with the pattern, it will be upside down when you are done.
If
you want the pattern on both sides, you will need to work an inverted image
(i.e upside down) of this pattern along the back.
Right
then, let’s start.
Start
Row 1 : (Using Colour 1 ) :
with fsc (40
+ the number of stitches you want for border).
Turn.
Row 2 :
sc in the 1st fsc and in each fsc till end. Turn
Row 3 :
sc in the 1st sc and in each sc till end. Turn
Rep
Row 3 till you have the length needed for the back.
We
will now start with the cross stitch pattern for the front.
I
hope you have gone through all the links above on “how to read charts” to work
this pattern.
We will read the pattern chart / embroidery from right to left
We will read the pattern chart / embroidery from right to left
As
we may have different borders, I will ONLY be writing the chart for the actual
embroidery. (i.e for the 40 fsc we started with). If you have started with say 50 sts, that
means 40 for this pattern + 5 each for the two sides of border. So when I say sc in the 1st st,
you will work 5 sc for the border in CC and then start the pattern on the 6th
sc in MC. Got it?
I
am sure you will get the hang of how we are reading this chart really
quick, so I am just going to take you past the first few rows.
We
start reading the pattern from the right hand side of the chart / embroidery
Cat pattern Row 1 : (Using Colour 1) : sc in the
border sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 17 sc ;
(Change
to Colour 1) : sc in the next 6 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 17 sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the border sc. Turn.
We
are now on the left hand side of the chart / embroidery
Row 2 :
(Using Colour 1) : sc in the border sc ; sc in the next sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 14 sc ;
(Change
to Colour 1) : sc in the next 2 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next 4 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next 2 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 14 sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next sc ; sc in the border sc. Turn.
You
see how we did this? So let’s work the
next row together and then you can carry on.
We
are back at the right hand side of the chart / embroidery
Row 3 :
(Using Colour 1) : sc in the border sc ; sc in the next 2 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 12 sc ;
(Change
to Colour 1) : sc in the next 3 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next 4 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next 3 sc ;
(Using
Colour 2) : sc in the next 12 sc ;
(Using
Colour 1) : sc in the next 2 sc ; sc in the border sc. Turn.
And
we are now on the left hand side of the chart / embroidery. Got it?
Carry
on with the pattern, interchanging colours till you are done with the pattern
The
easiest way to work this, as you may have seen on the video is to mark the rows
off as you go along.
Finishing
To
join the front and back, use one of the joining techniques given at the top of
this blog.
You could add a bead or beads for the eyes and bling it all up a bit too
Whipstitch to join : Here’s a quick tutorial on how to join using the whipstitch at https://youtu.be/wZ-9LNzftMA
Invisible join : Here’s a quick tutorial on how to join using the embroidery needle and whipstitch to get an invisible join at https://youtu.be/a6XZQ6VzJFM
Single crochet to join : Here’s a quick tutorial on how to join using the single crochet at https://youtu.be/6FXoW_47_dI
In case you want to add tassels, just decide on the length you want for the tassel, and then cut a length of the coloured yarn double that length. So say you want the dangling tassel to be 4” total, you will cut a yarn of 8” length. Holding all your tassels together, fold in half and run a bit of yarn through the centre of them all. Once they are held together in a bundle, you can neatly attach them along the side of the bag
a) How to line the bag : View the link below to see how to easily line your handbag. http://pattern-paradise.com/2014/06/12/tutorial-how-to-line-a-crocheted-bag/
b) Easiest I-cord : Check out this video for a really easy I-cord at https://youtu.be/e_AQ9m0QeZI
c) How to attach a zipper : Check this link at http://frogknitting.blogspot.se/2013/08/att-sy-i-dragkedjor-installing-zippers.html?m=1
d) How to add tassels : https://youtu.be/Ct84H8iBa9s
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