FO: Lady Bug Bags

It has been SO LONG since I last made an amigurumi-type item to share. So here are two to make up for lost time :)

My twin girls turned 2 in April and I wanted to make them something for their birthday. Since they came on the scene 2 years ago, I've basically had almost no crafting time due to obligations with them, work, crazy life events like divorce, being exhausted, etc. So I've really never made much for them no matter how much I wanted to. Now that they are 2, I have things much more under control with my time and schedule, so I've been able to start making things again. A few months ago, I realized that my girls are the perfect age for me to use a pattern book I've had for years but never really made much from: Amigurumi On The Go! by Ana Paula Rimoli. I was obsessed with her designs when I first started making amigurumi, so I bought all of her books. I made the Turtle Tote from this book for my nephew, but then never made anything else. Fast forward to now - I have 2 adorable little girls that are loving purses at the moment, and I knew I needed to look through this book again. 

This pattern is the Cupcake and Lady Bug Snack Bag, and as the name implies it give directions for making this simple draw string bag shape as either a lady bug or a cup cake. I went with lady bugs, obviously. I have a ton of Vanna's Choice yarn in Scarlet, Black and White that was given to me by a church member years ago when his mother died. Think blanket quantities of this yarn. So anything with red, black, and white is a big yes from me just to try and use this yarn up. 

Cute little back view :) The spots and center line are applied onto the solid color blocked bag after the fact. I'm a big believer in this yarn for any projects for kids. It's kind on your hands as you work (unlike Red Heart Super Saver), it's inexpensive, it washes great, and it's durable to hold up to toddler abuse.

The pattern has you make a holed tip edge and then a simple crocheted draw string...

So you can cinch it closed like this :) I will say - my girls accidentally pull the string out all the time and I have to re-thread it around the top, so I think I may sew it to the center back just to keep that from happening and them losing the string. Those ling thin cords were my least favorite part of this project so I'd like to not have to make them again.

Since my girls love purses, I wanted to make a strap for these bags so they could carry them around. This was a super easy addition - I just made another draw string as per the pattern and sewed it to the side top of the bag. Easy peasy. It's the perfect length for a toddler shoulder.

All in all, I totally love these little bags and my girls do too :) I made these in a few hours over the course of a few nights and gave them to them for their birthday. I would like to make them each something for their birthday each year, and this was a fun start to that tradition. I hear them say, "My purse!" and point to the bags quite frequently, then they stuff some random toy inside and carry it around for a while. I love that these are cute AND functional, and even as they get older we can use these for snacks as the book suggests. So it doesn't feel like these will be a short lived thing. Yay for fun but useful projects!