Crochet hello kitty pocket book for toddler

Crochet Hello Kitty pocket book for toddler.

This is not a pattern but an idea and tutorial to how I did it.

My Annabelle loves Hello Kitty ever since her daddy bought her a pillow for valentines day. She sees a Hello Kitty anything and gets excited.  

You will need:

Pink yarn 4ply

Black yarn 4ply 

White yarn 4ply

Sz. F crochet hook

and thing I always called a sewing needle but I know that's not right but it is a needle tip with an opening on back to loop yarn thru to help weave ends in. There is a picture of it later on. 

I will start by saying my grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was younger, I only wish I had taken more of an interest in it and pursued it the way I should have. Recently, I have taken back up with it and with the knowledge I still have from her wonderful teaching. Also, patterns are great but I tend to enjoy just trying to figure it out on my own and this is one thing that worked great.

First, I made the kitty, a white oval. Doing an oval is simple, you start with a chain, doing this and how long it needs to be depends on how big you want it. For this I did (leave a long tail) chain 5 turned and in the 2nd chain from your hook do a single crochet, continue that across, in the last chain, single crochet 3 and turn then single crochet in other side across, to the end, do 3 in end again, continue this around until you have completed enough rows to be the correct size. You can make ovals as big or little as you want but the chain in the beginning will depict how big it can get without starting to ruffle after so many rows. Once finished cut off leaving a long tail and pull thru last stitch. Then the ears, chain 5, turn and in 2nd from the hook do single crochet then in next chain, do a double crochet, then in the next chain I did what I'd like to call a triple crochet but I honestly don't know if it has a name (you yarn over twice before working into chain, then pull thru 2 at a time until all loops are gone). Make 2 of these and work into the top of the oval evenly from edges. The bow, with pink yarn chain 7, turn and in 2nd from hook single crochet across, turn & chain up 2, single crochet across again, finish off but don't tie in ends. Wrap black yarn around middle pulling it into a bow or do a short stretch of single crochet to tie it around. Work in black ends. Work pink ends into the bow while sewing into the ear on right side of the kitty. The nose/whiskers/eyes were weaved in with black yarn, No rhyme or reason just trying to evenly space and make the nose big enough. It will take some trial and error to get this how you want it probably(or maybe that was just me lol).

 

For the bag part I (leave a long tail) chained 85, turned and starting in 2nd chain from end did *single crochet in each chain across, turn (chain up 3) and do double crochet in each single crochet across*, turn (chain up 2) and do single crochet in each double crochet across. Repeat from *to* until bag reached height you prefer.Once you have reached the height you want finish off by cutting and pulling off a long tail thru the last stitch. Fold the completed work (with tails still loose) in half and using the long tails sew together the sides and bottom of bag. Weave in ends and finish off. 

 

You will notice the sides look rough, but, this will be the inside of the bag so it wont be seen.

Next, the straps, now I want to start by saying I wish I would have done these a little wider but never making a pocket book before I learned. It will work for now and if I need to I can strengthen them by working in more later. Anyhow, this is what I did, I chained 80, turned and in 3rd chain from hook double crochet in each chain across. Finish off. Make 2 of these. NOW, what I would suggest because if the one receiving this gift is anything like my Annabelle, they will want to put EVERYTHING in it, including the heaviest toy they can find. So, I suggest doing another row of double crochet and then a third row of only single crochet.

This is the needle I was referring to above.

Next, using the 2 tails you should have from the end of the strap sew in to the body of the bag about an inch from the end (the bag still needs to be inside out so you aren't making any work seen on the outside of the bag). Making sure the strap is straight line up the other end about an inch from the other end of bag (same side of the bag) and use a strand of yarn about 6 inches long to sew this end of the strap in. Repeat on the other side of the bag.

Then the fun part, the KITTY! Now, depending on what is easiest for you to work you may want to turn the bag right side out for this part so you can see where it is laying on the bag easier. That is what I did, I found it easier. Using the long tails you left loose on the kitty sew in to the bag centered the best you can. When I got to the bow part I just made sure to go in to the back of the stitches to work into the bag so that the white yarn wouldn't be seen in front.

 

Now, this is my first tutorial so I could have very easily left something out. Please comment and let me know what you think or if you have any questions. This was so fun to make and even more fun to finish to see her face and excitement when she got it (she just woke up from her nap so got to love the bed hair:). She takes it everywhere now.