Carrie On Tote CAL: Week 2

It’s week 2 of our CARRIE ON TOTE crochet along! Now that you’ve got the base nailed, it’s time to move onto the next step…

If you’ve been crocheting along with the Gang, then the base of your bag should now be finished – check that you’ve worked 12 rows in single crochet. To count your rows, look for the little horizontal bar on each stitch.

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Since you’ve been flipping your piece around between rows, half of the little bars are on the front of your crocheted piece, and the rest are on the back. Instead of flipping your piece over when counting your rows, simply count each horizontal bar as two rows: the base of your bag should have six horizontal bars on the right side (and six on the wrong side). The working yarn should be attached to the opposite side edge to the yarn tail from the foundation chain. If this is what your piece looks like, you’re ready to move on to the next stage!

You will now work in single crochet around all four edges of your piece. Start by working along the first long edge, until you get to the last stitch of the row – this is the corner stitch. To create a neat corner, you will work three stitches into the corner stitch. Don’t worry – this isn’t as scary as it sounds! Simply start by working the stitch in the regular way. Then insert the hook into the same stitch once more, and work another single crochet stitch. Finally, work a third stitch in the same way. You have now made your increase, and turned around the first corner.

bll

Next, work along the first of the short edges. To do this, insert the hook into the holes along the edge (= the side of the stitches) and create your single crochet stitches in the regular way.

side edge

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When you get to the corner stitch, work three stitches into it as before. Continue working around the remaining two edges.

After working around the edges in single crochet, now work around all four edges once more – but this time in single crochet through the back of the stitch. This is worked in almost the same way as regular single crochet – the only difference is that you insert the hook into the back leg of the stitch only, like this:

CrochetAlong_Step2_4

At each corner, you will make a single crochet decrease through the back of the stitch. Our video shows a regular decrease – follow the steps, but simply insert the hook through the back of the stitch instead.

You have now prepared your base for working the sides of the bag – after completing step 7 of the pattern, your piece should look like this:

CrochetAlong_Step2_5

Starting from scratch? Catch up with the Carrie on Tote CAL Week 1.

Remember to share your own progress on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the tag #crochetwiththegang!

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