Summertime is one of my favorite seasons but you know what I hate about it? The pressure to not waste a single second of it. Tell me, is it just a cold climate thing or is the pressure the same where it's warm all the time?
For me, I feel guilty for not spending every minute, go, go, going but at the same time, I would just wear myself out if I did that. (Even if it's fun stuff!) Although winter get's looong and drawn out, I don't feel guilty for spending a weekend doing nothing, staying in, doing nothing.
I've been seeing all these posts about doing all kinds of things this summer and for me, I've decided to do what makes me happy in the moment. Of course I want to spend time enjoying the weather and my people- but I'm not going to make myself feel guilty for wanting the spend an evening inside, crocheting in the air conditioning. Well, I'm at least going to try. It's sometimes hard to change our way of thinking or stop those feelings of guilt. It's so dumb because no one puts this pressure on us but ourselves, we chose how we feel about it and we choose to compare our summer (or anything really) to that of someone elses. I am working on that- and it's starting with my summer. Whose with me?!
I'm filling my summer with some simpler designs (all but one anyways) that are quick to work up and give me a little boost to feeling accomplished. This sweet clutch exudes both a feminine and Boho vibe. The flap detail dresses up an otherwise simple pattern. Perfect for wedding season or a night out , it can be dressed up or down.
Happy Crocheting!
~Dana
Dehlia Clutch
Difficulty Level: Intermediate (or skilled beginner)
Materials:
4 mm hook (for purse)
2.25 or 2.75 mm hook (to crochet into chain-depends on chain size)
Weight 4 Yarn – 2 skeins (186 yds)of Lion Brand’s 24/7 yarn. (It uses just over 1
Skein) I highly recommend using this yarn or one similar as it’s a little “stiffer”.
Chain for the strap- 44” (The chain I used was 3/8” or 9.5mm)
Yarn Needle
*Optional- If you want to line your clutch.
Fabric (a half yard is plenty)
Iron (Removes wrinkles and flattens seams)
Thread (Ideally matches fabric shade)
Thread Needle *You will need a thread needle regardless. I used a sewing machine to sew the lining together and hand sewed it into the clutch but you can hand sew everything.
Abbreviations:
SC : Single Crochet
HDC: Half Double Crochet
DC: Double Crochet
CH: Chain
SL ST: Slip Stitch
SP: Space
REP: Repeat
Special Stitches:
Puff Stitch- YO, insert hook into indicated stitch, YO, pull up a loop. (YO, insert hook into same stitch, YO, pull up a loop) 2 times. YO, pull through 6 loops on hook. YO, pull through last 2 loops on hook.
Crab Stitch- You will work backwards when doing a crab stitch (ie. Do not turn) Insert the hook from front to back in the first stitch (working backwards- hook is upside down). YO, draw up a loop (you should have 2 loops on hook). YO and draw through both loops. (It should produce a twisted type of stitch).
*Check out my Crab Stitch Tutorial for more information.
Gauge:
14 stitches + 17 Rows = 4” x 4” in single crochet (not blocked)
Pattern
Flap:
Ch 5
Row 1: 1 dc in the 3rd chain from the hook, dc in same ch as first stitch, 3 dc in next, 2 dc in last, turn. (18 dc)
Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as hdc), hdc in same stitch, *2 hdc in next, hdc in next rep from * across, 2 hdc in chain from previous row (12 hdc), turn (12 hdc)
Row 3: Ch 2 *Puff st in first st, ch 2, puff st in the same st, skip 2, rep from * across, (puff stitch, ch 2, puff st) in last space (turning ch), turn (10 puff st, 5 ch 2)
Row 4: Ch 2, hdc in first puff st, *3 hdc in ch 2 sp, ch 2, sk 2 puff stitches, rep from * across to last 4 sp (should have 2 ch, 1 puff and a turning ch left), 3 hdc in ch 2 sp, sk puff, hdc in turning chain, turn[DH1] (19 hdc, 4 ch-2 sp)
Row 5: Ch 1, sc in each sp across (1 sc in each hdc and 2 sc in ch-2 sp), turn (25 sc)
Row 6: Rep Row 3 (18 puff, 9 ch sp)
Row 7: Rep Row 4 (31 hdc, 8 ch sp)
Row 8: Rep Row 5 (45 sc)
Row 9: Rep Row 3 (32 puff st, 16 ch sp)
Row 10: 1 sc in each puff stitch and 2 sc in each ch 2 across, turn. (64 sc)
Row 11: 1 crab stitch in each sp across (Do not turn) (64 crab st) ***You can do add chain to your flap by skipping the crap stitch and instead slip stitching chain around row 10. See below.
Backside: You will now rotate your piece and start working along the flat side of the half circle.
R1: (You need to get to 40 hdc across) Ch 1, stitch the indicated number of stitches in each row across, turn
Crab Stitch = 1 hdc
SC = 1 hdc
HDC = 1 hdc
DC = 2 hdc
Puff Stitch = 3 hdc
R2: Ch 2, hdc in each stitch across. (40 hdc)
Finish Off. Sew in ends.
Adding Chain to the flap instead of the crab stitch (row 11)
Instead of doing the crab stitch in row 11- you can slip stitch chain around each of the sc's in row 10. (My video tutorial below will be super helpful here!) Once you have the row of chain slip stitched, proceed with R1 on the backside part of the pattern- above.
Purse body:
Ch 80 and sl st to join to create circle
R1: Ch 1, sc in each stitch around. (You will be working in the round moving forward- do not turn and do not chain. I suggest using a stitch marker to know where your first stitch is. If you chain, you will get a visible line in your work)
R2- R25: 1 Sc in each stitch around.
*Do not finish off yet. Turn your work and fold in half to line up. Slip stitch together along the long side by slip stitching 2 stitches together from both sides.
Finish Off. Sew in Ends.
Assembly:
(I HIGHLY recommend blocking the flap before assembling- it gives it better shape and stretches it to fit the length of the clutch)
For this part, ensure the seamed edge is on the inside of your bag- the way you would have it as a finished piece. Line up the 40 stitches from the flap to the full side of the purse body (verify that your flap is on the outside) and slip sitch or sew flap to body. (Finish Off and Sew in ends)
Chain:
Measure out desired amount - I used 44” of chain.
Slip stitch in each chain- Think of the chain as your “chain” row. (The chain will act as another loop you will slip stitch through.)
Insert Hook into Chain
Yarn Over and Pull loop through chain and loop on hook
Yarn is now attached to chain
Continue to slip stitch through each chain as through it was the chain row.
When attaching the chain at either side of the clutch- I pull open the end chain to clasp around the side of the clutch, attach and push closed. I then sew in the tail from my chain slip stitches into the side of the clutch.
Lining: (Optional)
*The lining provides extra structure to the bag and defines the front flap. The clutch is completely functional without this piece if you would like to omit the lining.
Take your fabric and fold it in half. When outlining your pieces, you will want it two pieces thick. You will sew those two pieces together for the bag lining and flap lining.
Body Lining:
1. Measure a rectangle that is 11” x 12.5” (You can also trace the body of you bag and then adjust as needed)
2. You will sew around all four edges, leaving a small gap undone so you can flip your work inside out. This will give you a clean hem.)
*I leave about ¼” on the outside as I sew around the 4 sides
3. Iron fabric to flatten inside hem.
4. Place the fabric rectangle into the body of the clutch. Sew the fabric in around the top of the clutch (I left the sides unsewn but you can sew down the sides as well)
*I seamed it around the top of the bag body only- you can see in the images that the sides were left open.
*The inside of the bag (at the base of the bag body) has no seam in the fabric as the rectangle is cut in one piece. You only need to seam along the top on the front and back of the bag body.
Flap Lining:
1. For this one, lay your flap out onto your fabric. Trace on fabric around the flap- mark the flat side along the hem of your flap (where it attaches to your clutch body. (You will want it slightly larger than the flap- be careful not to mark your crochet work).
*Since we are sewing two pieces together and flipping around, it’s okay if your edges are not cut perfectly, you can hide that with the sewing and flipping inside out.
2. Cut out flap shape.
3. Sew around exterior of flap shape- about ¼ inch from edge and leaving small opening to flip it inside out.
4. Iron Flap Lining to flatten inside hem.
5. Sew around exterior of flap (working stitches into the crab switch space) I place my lining slightly inside of the crab stitch so it doesn’t show when the flap is down.