Crocheted Drawstring Bag

I made this for myself last week. It took about...24 hours altogether to make. It keeps my computer dry in a light rain and its a really easy to do (requires very little skill! I hate doing things that require massive amounts of effort). For now, we're going to assume you know how to do the basic stitches, especially since I don't have any pictures up. Let me give you a general idea of how this works: - You are going to make two rectangles that you will stitch together, leaving a two inch gap at the top. - You will pause with the rectangles and make the strap. This is a thin, long crocheted piece. - You will then wrap the strap two and half times around the top of the bag, folding the top of the bag down over the strap, keeping them in place with temporary ties. - You will secure the straps to the rectangles - You will then sew the flap at the top of the bag shut over the strap. Optional: - You can crochet a longggg rectangle, sew it into a pocket shape (which I will teach you), and sew it into the bag. And here are the instructions, as plain as I can write them. Rectangle (make 2): 1. Chain 52. 2. Skip two chains, single crochet in the third chain from your needle. 3. Single Crochet across. 4. Chain 1 when you get to the last stitch of the row. and turn the piece 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, 54 more times (don't forget to count your stitches. You should have 50 and 55 total rows when you are done). 6. End the piece (so, at the end, you will be left with a loop. Cut the yarn about a foot from the loop and pull the yarn through the loop to create a knot). Strap (make 1): 1. Chain 5 2. Skip two chains, single crochet in the third chain from your needle. 3. Single Crochet across. 4. Chain 1 when you get to the last stitch of the row and turn the piece. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 [250] times. (this sounds daunting but really. its just 3 across) Note about the strap: Most of the patterns I've read for the strap say to chain 250 and then single crochet across and make three rows of that. I've found a couple disadvantages with this idea. First, its pretty thick. Way too thick for this bag (I tried it, trust me. It doesn't work). Second, its super stretchy that way, with it only drawing a little tight on the outsides. The way I made the strap, its less stretchy (so you don't sling the bag over your shoulder and have it sag down to your knees or even have the strap break) and it has consistent tension throughout the strap. Much better, in my opinion, if a little less clean looking. Optional: Pocket for inside the bag: 1. Chain 30. 2. Skip two chains, single crochet in the third chain from your needle. 3. Single Crochet across. 4. Chain 1 when you get to the last stitch of the row and turn the piece. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 about 45 times, or until you can fold the bottom up 5 inches and leave 4 inches of rows above that. Once you get to this point, sew it together like that and flip it inside out. Putting it together: 1. Sew the two rectangles together, leaving one and a half inches at the top unsewn (so start one an half inches from the top and end one and a half inches from the top on the other side) - If you made the pocket, sew it three inches from the bottom of the one and half inch gap at the top of the bag, in the middle. Sew it into the bag using yarn the same color as the bag so its invisible from the outside. When you sew it, sew the sides and bottom of the pouch and then sew where the fold will be (so don't sew that flap at the top, but sew at the place where it folds over, which is even with the top of the pouch) 2. Turn the bag inside out 3. As you wrap the strap one and half times around the top, fold the top of the bag down over it and tie it loosely with a spare piece of yarn ever 6 inches (especially on the sides!) 4. After you've wrapped the strap around the top and have even amounts coming out from, sew the strap to the bag. One and a half inches of strap should be sewn to the bag (the bottom of the strap should be sewn into the fourth row from the bottom of the bag).* 5. Sew the top down all around, carefully following your markers (which you can take out as you go) 6. The bag is complete. Enjoy! *Note on step 4: Sewn the strap down in this fashion - Start sewing at the top of the 1 and a half inches. Sew to the bottom, sew across to the other side, back up that side, and across. Then sew into the opposite corner. Pull your needle up into the adjacent bottom corner and sew to the opposite corner. Then make a stitch across the middle of the strap that is attached to the bag. Then sew back and forth across the top four or five times and knot it off. I'll make a video for this later, no worries. Questions? Leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.