Pillowcase Kismet

Since we’ve now given my mother-in-law her birthday gift, I can share the handmade portion:

The two green yarns were reclaimed from sweaters, and the third is a variegated cotton.

I used the pattern for the Easy Peasy Crochet Bag.  Well, the pattern itself isn’t all that different from tons of other bags I’ve made: crochet a rectangle for the bottom, then crochet in rounds up the sides.  However, she always uses three yarns held together, which makes every bag quite unique, and she includes the picot edging and twisted cord handles, neither of which I’ve ever done on a bag before.

The lining is the piece de resistance, in my opinion, mostly due to its reclaimed nature and the fact that it was fate that kept it hidden in the back of the linen closet and therefore out of the donation bin several years ago when I took its entire sheet set to Goodwill.  It is the exact colors of the yarns.  Pillowcase Kismet.

To sew the lining in, I followed Future Girl’s tutorial.  I’ve hand-sewn linings into bags before, but this explanation is so clear and simple, and it created a much nicer finish than I’ve had in the past.

(And I must say, while I was upset at first about the need to give up plarn crochet because of my hand/wrist pain, I am enjoying the process of working with actual, fibrous yarn soooooo much more!)