This project was completed from beginning to end at my COTL crochet retreat this year!

Approximate Finished Measurements:
Base: 13” x 11”
Circumference: 35”
Width when laying flat: 16”
Height: 13” (I added onto the pattern)
These measurements are almost exactly to spec, which is weird, because I had an entire skein left over of the variegated color when I came to where the pattern said to stop. So I added 12 extra rounds (4 extra reps of rounds 23 – 25) before starting the solid blue handle. This added about 3-1/2” to the height.

Notes on the yarn:
This was a well written pattern, and I would be happy to make it again, but with a different yarn! Beware this yarn! It was really hard on my fingers & hands. It helped me to use a fabric wrap like a thimble on the middle finger of my left hand. Otherwise, I think I would have gotten a blister.

Also, the ends are extremely difficult to weave in! If you split the fabric of the yarn with the needle, it’s next to impossible to pull it through. It makes a snag & the needle gets stuck trying to pass through. Either that or it pulls the thread out with it. I definitely recommend a pliers! That was what saved me.

And it also rubs off dye onto your fingers & crochet hook!

Other than that though, I love the finished project! I guess it was worth all the suffering. It’s a little bit floppy when empty, but stands up fine when it has stuff in it. A friend of mine at the retreat said that her son is a machinist and, for the price of a can of Coke, can cut a piece of scrap plastic to fit the base of the bag. Yes. Please! That’d be awesome!

I used the J hook for the body & the K only for the slip stitch edge.