Free Pattern – Design Improv Workshop #1 – Drawstring Bag

When you were a kid, did you ever do one of those group creative writing exercises where each person takes turns writing one sentence? One person writes the first sentence, the next person writes the next one, and before you know it you have a funny story full of twists and turns and surprises.

The other day, a bunch of us decided to try the same thing, only with a crochet pattern. Our first attempt resulted in this cute, textured, drawstring bag. It turned out to be so much fun that we’re hoping to do it again soon!

I started off with row 1 and finished with row 14. The following designers wrote the rest of the rows:

• Amanda Nicole Evanson (MNE Crafts) – rows 2 & 4
• Kim Guzman (KimGuzman.com) – row 3
• Tera Kulling (Trifles N Treasures) – row 5
• Elena Ramshaw Hunt (Beatrice Ryan Designs) – row 6
• Celina Lane (Simply Collectible)- row 7
• Erangi Udeshi (Crochet For You) – row 8
• Becky Dirlam (Grammy’s Creations) – row 9
• Stacy Krumel-Rhoads (Too Yarn Cute) – row 10
• Cylinda Mathews (Crochet Memories) – row 11
• Amada Robertson (Raising Robertsons Crochet)- row 12
• Heather Grundy (Creative Crochet Products) – row 13

What a great group! And here is the pattern we came up with:

Design Improv Workshop #1 – Drawstring Bag

Abbreviations used:

• sc = single crochet
• hdc = half double crochet
• dc = double crochet
• ldc = linked double crochet
• fpdc = front post double crochet
• bpdc = back post double crochet
• fphdc = front post half double crochet
• st(S) = stitch(es)
• sk = skip

Back:

Row 1: Work 20 foundation sc. Mark Row 1 as right side.

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sc in front loop of next st, sc in back loop of next st across.

Row 3: Ch 2, turn, sk first sc, *sk next sc, dc in next sc, working in front of last dc, dc in skipped sc, repeat from * to last sc, hdc in last sc.

Row 4: Ch 2, turn, hdc in first st, fpdc in every st across to last st, hdc in last st.

Row 5: Ch 1, turn, *sc in next st, dc in next st, repeat from * across.

Row 6: Ch 1, turn, sc in first 2 sts, *hdc, dc in the next 2 sts, hdc, sc in the next 2 sts, repeat from * across.

Row 7: Ch1, turn, ldc in each stitch across.

Row 8: Ch 2, turn, hdc in first st, *sk next st, (fpdc, hdc) in next st, repeat from * across to last st, hdc in last st.

Row 9: Repeat row 3.

Row 10: Ch 1, turn hdc in 1st 2 sts, * sk next st, fpdc in next st, fpdc in skipped st (create an ‘x’), hdc in next st, Repeat from * to last st, work hdc in last st.

Row 11: Ch 2, turn, sk next st, (sc, ch 3, sc) in next st, [sk next 2 sts, (sc, ch 3, sc) in next st] 5 times, sk next st, hdc in last st.

Row 12: Ch2, turn, bpdc in each st across to last st, dc in last st. (14 sts)

Row 13: Ch 1, turn, fphdc in first st, hdc in next st, *fphdc in next st, hdc in next st, repeat from * across.

Row 14: Ch 3 (counts as dc), turn [sk next st, (dc, ch1, dc) in next st] 6 times, sk next st, dc in last st. Fasten off.

Front:

Repeat rows 1-14 of back, but do not fasten off at end of row 14.

Joining:

• Hold front and back together with wrong sides facing. Working through both thicknesses to join them together:
• Work 15 reverse sc evenly spaced along sides of rows, turn work 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
• Working in bottom of row 1, reverse sc in each st across, turn work 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
• Work 15 reverse sc evenly spaced along sides of rows, fasten off

Finishing:

Sew in all ends. Weave a ribbon or cord through the stitches of row 12 to act as a drawstring.

 I hope you enjoy the pattern. Be sure to follow this blog or check back for more free patterns!