I recently used this pattern to make this tote:

for my mother’s birthday.

I made my mother’s tote using an I-hook, and some of the vintage and scrap yarns I have amassed over the years. I then assembled the pieces and felted the tote in a hand cranked washer (top-loading and front-loading machines also work).

Although I loved the way the bag turned out (and so did my mom), I wanted to know how the tote would look if it were crocheted using a worsted weight yarn and a smaller hook for those crocheters who wanted to preserve the look of the crocheted stitches or for those crocheters who were (for whatever reason) uninterested in felting.

In an effort to investigate this possibility, I got out my 3.5mm hook, my collection of Red Heart Super Saver yarn, and set out to learn what would happen. I started the body of the bag using Red Heart Super Saver hot red:

As I neared (but didn’t quite reach) the 1/3 mark, I decided to set the body of the tote aside to work on some of the appliqué pieces.

I started with one of the small roses using the Red Heart Super Saver delft:

I then tried my hand with a leaf using the spring green:

and before the sun went down, I also made a curlique, again with the spring green:

I am anxious to see how this bag will look when made from acrylic. With any luck, once I have met tomorrow’s obligations, I will get to sit down with my hook and yarn and find out.