Fashion First Aid Bag

So, as you may be aware, I'm a knitter who recently began learning to crochet. (You can read more about this here). The first project that I picked out from the Crochet Bible that I received for Christmas was this bag!

The pattern calls for something a little bit different: a red bag with a white cross (hence the name "Fashion First Aid") and a much shorter strap. Maybe it's because I've spent too many years at summer camp where the first aid staff actually carries a red bag with a white cross, but I just couldn't imagine it that way. I thought that this was a nice twist on the look. I wanted to find the perfect shade of green, which I did with Vanna's Choice Kelly Green. The yarn I selected was a little thicker than the yarn suggested in the pattern, so I had to do some measuring and calculating to determine the correct gauge.

These are the pieces of the bag before I sewed them together: 

According to the pattern, you make one piece that is the front, the bottom and the back. The little rows that have the edge, which define the bottom, are made by crocheting into the back loop only. It looks fancy, but it's quite simple! The strap is a separate piece that is both the sides of the bag and the strap. I knew I wanted a longer strap than the one suggested in the pattern, which was about tote bag length. However, when I did the math and started working on a strap I thought would be the correct length, I realized just how much the strap was going to stretch! I had to rip it out and start over again. Once the strap was complete, I sewed it to the body using yarn and a yarn needle.

This is a close up of the purse part. I wanted to share this with you so you could see just how nice a job this pattern does of creating some real body for the purse. It has a flat bottom and there should be plenty of room for a wallet, sunglasses, keys, phone, and whatever else you need. 

And finally, here's the whole finished product in all it's glory! It was really pretty simple and I couldn't be happier!