Crochet Hook Bandolier/Roll Up Case

Hi peeps,

My couch, like the couches of many other moms, is a veritable treasure trove. Cheerios, Hot Wheels, bobby pins, miscellaneous junk, fifteen pounds of dog hair, candy wrappers and unidentified objects. I could clean it. But I don't. So when my crochet hook falls in between the couch cushions, it's kind of a problem. When it happens all the time, it's a major problem.

"Don't you have a case?" you ask. Yup. But seeing as I lose anything not attached to my body, I always forget to put them back. Plus, there was no place for scissors, yarn needles or stitch markers in it, so everything just sat in there in a jumbly mess.

Bruce Willis-approved.

Then one day I had a dream that all my fingers were crochet hooks a la Edward Scissorhands (but slightly less dangerous) and I woke up thinking, "Wouldn't that be awesome?!? I would never lose my crochet hooks again!" And then the sleep fog cleared and I thought it through and ... well, let's just say it was a bad plan. So I decided instead to attach my crochet hooks to my person in a non-permanent way. I'm calling it a bandolier because it evokes images of explosions and gives me license to use dumb action movie quotes.

Yippee ki-yay.

Not gonna lie, wearing a bandolier has the side effect of making you feel like a bad ants. Even if it is in a fun vintage print and is full of crochet hooks. It technically has a weapon in the form of scissors.
So there.

And if you don't want to wear it all the time (grocery store, bathroom, showering, cooking dinner), you can use the handy dandy ties to roll it up for easy storage and travel purposes.

All rolled up

It's quite simple to make. I can imagine Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon whipping up one of these in his dinky little trailer in between getting shot at and cursing excessively.

Don't point that thing at me.
I said, "Maybe".
Sheesh.

Maybe.

You will need 2.5 to 3 yards of fabric and some ribbon as well as the basic ability to sew a semi-straight line and measure things semi-accurately. If bandoliers came in sizes (do they?), this would be a small. You can adjust the measurements to make sure it will fit you.

Now, let's get down to bidness.

Go ahead. Make my day.

Step 1: Cut
Cut three 27 inch by 11 inch rectangles. If you'd like a medium or large, increase the length of these pieces as much as you deem necessary.

Take one of those pieces and cut it on a diagonal from 8 inches to three inches. This is the piece that will hold your paraphernalia.

You'll now have three pieces that look like this:

The pattern is crooked on this fabric. I really did cut it straight.

Step 2: Sew
Hem both long sides of the back piece (1/2 inch folded under twice is what I did), one side of the front piece, and the diagonal edge of the slanted piece.

Now place the RIGHT side of the slanted piece on top of the WRONG side of the front piece (so the WRONG sides of both pieces are facing you). Sew along the bottom (1" seam allowance). I did a double seam with very small stitches to make sure none of my smaller crochet hooks and needles would slip through. Trim.

Flip inside out. Now you have a machine gun pocket. Ho ho ho.


Place your pocket on top of the back piece with RIGHT sides together. Add your ties between layers on the side with the long edge of the slanted piece. Sew up both short sides (1 inch seam allowance). Trim and press seams flat.



Now, sew all your little pockets onto the front piece. I made decreasing sizes to accommodate my crochet hooks and a few large ones for my scissors and measuring tape.

For large crochet hooks - 3/4 inch pockets
For medium crochet hooks - 1/2 inch pockets
For small crochet hooks - 3/8 inch pockets
For large scissors - 1.5 inch pocket
For little scissors - 2 inch pocket
For needles - 1/4 inch pockets
For the measuring tape - 1 inch pocket

Now for the shaping. Fold the top of your bandolier in half and re-sew along the seam. This makes it less unwieldy but still allows you to adjust the width at your leisure. Finally, sew a 2.5 inch dart directly behind the bottom seam. This makes it lay flat against your body and is very flattering (as flattering as a bandolier can possibly be, in fact).

go home, camera white balance. you're drunk.

Step 3: Wear it. Feel like a total bad ants. Or roll it up, carry it around and still feel like a total bad ants.

That is all. Hasta la vista, baby.

P.S. I promise to start ironing my backdrops. Maybe.

Linking up at these lovely places:

Petals to Picots