One of my favorite bag designers is Svetlana Sotak of Sotak Handmade out of the Netherlands. The drawstring bag pattern I use is one of hers. I love that buy purchasing her patterns she licenses handmade craft businesses to sell them on a small scale, all she requests is that you credit her as a pattern maker, like I’ve done in my Etsy listings in the past. (Note she sells her patterns on Etsy and that is where I purchase them in the US market)
I have several of her patterns and I recently tried out the pattern Lagom Storage Bins:
Image credit – sotakco.nl
Here are the three Lagom Storage Bins I made in the smallest size (the pattern has 5 sizes!!!) as gifts for friends:
The first one was made with Marimekko fabric from Finland was sent to my friend W in Central Oregon. The cool shark fabric is from my friend D when she came for a quilt retreat to my house in May (she brought awesome fabric for me as a hostess gift). The Asian fabric is from my stash and was actually selected by my sister for a future project she’d like me to make her for Christmas – a whole backpack out of that fabric.
As far as the Marimekko fabric one, here is how my friend W is using it in her home(thanks to W for the photo!):
The other two storage bins were given as welcome gifts to my friends MJ and J when they arrived at my home for a little quilting/girls retreat a couple weeks ago (I’ll share a post someday about that):
I didn’t enjoy making the baskets as much as I enjoy making the drawstring bags but I might just need to make more of them to get a true feel for what it is like to make them.
They do use two types of interfacing, which makes them a little more expensive to make that the drawstring bags, but they do not have a drawstring to have to thread at the end of the process (which is sometimes a little tedious when you just want to be done!).
I haven’t decided if I will offer them someday on my Etsy shop or not. First I have to grow to love making them 🙂
Oh and speaking of baskets, here is an amazing giant bag made out of recycled plastic grocery shopping bags my friend MJ brought me as a hostess gift when she came for the retreat. A friend of hers crochets them from her stash of grocery bags.
I always appreciate a thoughtful hostess gift, especially handmade!
wishing you great sales ^^
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Thanks so much!
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You are a great friend and a generous host. The bins are pretty and practical, but alas less fun if you don’t enjoy the process.
The gifted yarn tote is a great repurpose. Years ago a local artist one an award for crocheting sleeping mats for people living on the street. I think the politicians should step out of the way and let artists fix this troubled world.
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Won not one.
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Thanks so much I really appreciate that!😀
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Thanks so much I appreciate that!
How wonderful that local artist to crochet sleeping mats! There are so many kind people in the world (yourself included I remember your posts about your community services) and they seem to be the solution!
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Thank you!
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You can never have too many storage baskets, in my opinion, and for me, these would be more useful than a drawstring bag. I made myself a load of something quite similar in all different colours to store my folded fabric stash in the Cupboard of All Colours. I should have used a stiffer interfacing like these beauties, but they do the job. Great gifts, and they are sure to sell very well.
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That. is true! Thanks for the thoughts and maybe I’ll make a couple more and see if I want to list them on my Etsy. Cupboard of All Colours – love that name!
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I really like these. But I do totally understand about needing to love making what you’re making. I like how you’re auditioning them!
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Thanks so much and I am going to try making a little more and see if my feelings change 🙂
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me on “gotta love what you’ve making” – maybe that is one of the reasons, I tend to make a “one off” and then “cycle on down the making path”
but I’ve loved making the postcards of late and 7 more are waiting for “toppings” – and I used up some scrap papers for their underskirts
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Recently saw some of your creations on IG and they are amazing!
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These are just terrific!
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They are cute but I’ve still got to have a Tierney large drawstring bag! AND I have a friend visiting her dad in the states at the end of next month 🤔🤔🤔🤔
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I better get my act together on my Etsy shop 😉
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🙏🙏🙏
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Aha! Something useful to do with crochet! So far my only accomplishment is dish cloths.
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I’ve made a lot of cotton dishcloths in a simple single crochet stitch and use them all the time. 🙂
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Wow, you’ve been busy, well done!
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Thanks so much 🙂
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Those baskets are very cool. I’ve made something similar in the past and also didn’t enjoy them. I made the mistake of skimping on the innards and just using what I had around and they all went kind of floppy after a couple of weeks
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Thanks so much and it does get kind of spendy to make them using the two different types of interfacing they require so they have a chance to stand up!
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Love the look of these storage bins
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Thanks so much! 😀
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Love, love, love these!!!! That shark one would be perfect for kids toys like Lego’s and they can carry it easily! I can see why you bought this pattern!
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Thanks so much! You inspire me to make some more 😀😀😀
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So cool! I love the shark one the best, though they are all lovely!
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Thanks so much!
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