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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Humongous Mochila Bag Started

Have you ever heard of a Mochila Bag?
 If not, I am 100% positive that you have seen them. 

Here are some examples . . . 


When I was in college
(1969-1973)
I saw a bag to take to the beach 
that had a similar shape . . .
No neat design, just stripes done in different colors.

Now, I can't remember if I ever made it or not
but it made an impact on my memory bank.

When I saw the Wayuu Mochila Bag
I was In Love Again.

To make a long story short
I was directed to a new group
that was formed on Facebook
to guide those of us 
who wanted to learn to make them.

Below is my first attempt.
And, of course, 
I had to find a relatively easy pattern 
and make it harder.

Original Pattern

My Rainbow Adaptation.

Now, for my bag


People think
 these are made 
like a normal 
Tapestry Crochet bag . . . W*R*O*N*G ! ! !

One works their single crochets in the Back Loops Only.
In crochet speak: scblo.



You need to carry at least 3 strand of yarn under your stitches.
I'm using Sugar n' Cream Cotton 
and an E/4-3.50mm crochet hook.
Covering 3 strands of this yarn
is very difficult,
I'm lucky to carry 2 strands 
and get them covered neatly.

As I travel up the side of the bag 
I am covering my stitches better . . .
 but still have a long way to go with my "technique."

I didn't plan on this bag being as HUMONGOUS as it is.
The base is 12" in diameter.
Right now the height from the base is 5.25" (+/-).
Circumference . . . 
are you ready for this?
32" around.

I want to make another set of the pattern shown,
the hearts on the next set will appear 
above the arrows on the bottom round.
The arrows will appear above the hearts.

Will keep you updated.
My next one is going to be made from 
Aunt Lydia's Fashion #3 thread.

Aunt Lydia's #3 is a suggested size "yarn" for the bag.
So is Patons Grace.
I tried starting one in the Grace
and it just wasn't  getting big enough quickly enough.
Should have kept with it.
I needed to make 20 rounds for the base,
before I started my pattern.
Sure would have been a more manageable bag.

Oh well,
Practice . . .  practice . . . practice . . . 
Will post when I make another.

4 comments:

  1. You are oh so clever with your hook, love the colours, very 70's.

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  2. That is looking really cool! I haven't done chart crocheting in a long time. It's so weird though because just about an hour ago I was thinking about a Dora bag I crocheted for my niece.. (That was a chart.) I can't wait to see your bag when it's finished. You were starting college right when I was being born, just a side note.. Lol

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  3. Hello Paula,
    saw these before but knew I wouldn't be fit for it, so I never tried a Mochilla Bag. Yours looks great though. I like the pattern very much! Cannot wait to see what it looks like when finished!
    Have a lovely week,
    Marjan

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've never HEARD of these!! Can't wait to see how yours comes out!.. Enjoy your day! ~tina

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Reading your comments inspires me to blog more.