Summer Bags and their Pom-pom charms

tunisian-bag-emma-varnam

hexagon-bag-emma-varnampom-pom-bag-charm-emma-varnamtunisian-bag-emma-varnamI have no need for another bag. Really I don’t. I don’t need anymore project bags…and yet. If I let myself and if they were not quite so frightfully expensive I could have a serious handbag habit. I have a very serviceable bag which I use for work. It is large, black and cavernous. But it keeps A4 documents nice and flat and has many different pockets which are useful for some kind of organisation. I like to pretend I have a system. Mostly I do. But on occasion I look very much like Mary Poppins as I pull rather random and fluffy items from the depths of this bag. It is looking slightly shabby now from everyday use, but I have yet to find its equal and so cannot part with it.

Secondly I have a very posh bag. It is an heirloom thing. My darling husband bought if for me, and I am forever grateful. It is a classic bag. I use it as a social shield and when I want to appear all grown up. I take it with me as a sign. A sign that I buy into a lie that a posh handbag gives you authority. It doesn’t.

Then I have a small across the body bag, which I bought in haste before a city break. It was a fortuitous purchase. I make lots of last minute purchases that are disastrous but this was one of the rare occasions when I made a good rash decision. This little bag is my ‘going-out-out’ bag and is perfect for about 3 small things; keys, lipstick, bank card. Hop, skip and totter out into the evening.

Finally worth noting is my rather fabulous red leather baby bag. Now you will calculate that this bag is over a decade old and although it does not have any of the accouterments needed to look after a baby, it is still a brilliant bag. It has lots and lots of pockets and most importantly a very excellent pocket for a mobile phone. I love this bag because of its association, because of its very scarlet colour and its genius compartments.

But my friends, how I love to ring the changes. My eyes occasionally wander wistfully over to yellow bags, bags of different shapes and sizes; bucket bags, saddle bags, patchwork bags. The summer is the very worst time for this. I want to have fun and be surrounded by colour. Well I have found a way. I will make a bag to suit my mood.

This summer I have made two crochet bags. Both have glorious bamboo handles and both have been used interchangeably. The first was made from Sirdar Cotton DK and it is made up from a series of hexagons. It is a large and deep bag and I would suggest to anyone making a crochet bag, it is worth making a cotton liner so that your bag doesn’t stretch too much with the weight of the contents. All the bags I make like this have a sew pocket inside the liner to fit my phone. I also always put a lanyard on the inside to either tether my keys or sewing scissors. It is a small addition but very practical.

The second bag has really evolved from my adventures in Tunisian Crochet. Back in February, at the last Stylecraft Blogstars meeting we did a mini-tutorial on how to Tunisian Crochet. In simplistic terms this technique is a cross between knitting and crochet. You use a hook, but then work rows backwards a forwards, reminiscent to knitting. I had not spent time really trying to get to grips with the technique, but a few weeks ago I thought I may play with the idea and started creating long sections of patchwork squares. The material could have evolved into a blanket. But it seemed more fitting to create a new bag. I have yet to work out how to write this pattern up. But in the meantime, this will be my go-to bag for the weekend. A cheap and cheerful alternative in my bag collection.

You will notice that both bags have a pom-pom bag charm. I have made several of these this summer. If you would like to make your own, there is a tutorial here

Save

Save

Save

1 thought on “Summer Bags and their Pom-pom charms”

Comments are closed.