Whenever I go to shows there are always 2 things more than anything that people want to make, one is the pom pom cushion and the other is the Troon Shopper. The shopper is so quick and easy to make that I have made a number of versions in different yarn.
A friend gave me a cross-body bag that fell apart, so I salvaged the strap and decided to turn the shopper into a cross body… and I am very pleased with the result!
Materials
Magic size Butterfly Loom
Prym pom pom maker set
Prym braiding star
10mm crochet hook
The yarn I used
300g New Lanark Chunky in Ecru
50g New Lanark Aran in Sandstone
I also used
Bag strap, mine was recycled, look in the local charity shops for a bag you can deconstruct. Fabric for the lining - I used a pillowcase
Instructions
Follow the instructions for wrapping & knotting in the instruction book, following the daisy pattern.
Wrapping 4 rows make 8 squares
Damp press the squares for a neater finish. Using the Double Butterfly Twist technique join 4 squares together, repeat with the other 4 squares to make a back and a front. It is quite stiff to twist the central ones, if it is a problem, twist them alternately, it will stay in place, you want it to look neat as this is the centre of your bag.
Using the Butterfly Twist technique join the sides and bottom together. When you get back to the top Butterfly Braid the top of the bag to give it a neat finish.
Follow the finish instructions to end your work.
Lining
I used an old pillow case, you might want to use something prettier. Once you have made your lining turn your bag inside out and using a normal sewing needle and thread attach the lining, I went from knot to knot.
If you use a pillow case and want the pattern on the inside and to show through your daisy pattern:
Measure the width of your bag and cut the pillow case to fit, leave the length.
With right side together sew the side up but leave a gap of about 3 inches from the end. Pull the case inside out to bring the right side to the outside. Fold one half inside the other to make a bowl shape. You are now ready to press the top and use this as the lining.
Finishing touches
To attach the handle, I simply used a length of yarn and my darning needle to sew it to two corners of the bag, wrapping around one or two of the loops made on the Butterfly Loom
I then made an i-cord and a few pompoms to finish off – the i-cord was made using the braiding star and the pom poms are size 5.5 and 4.5 cm
The Magic Butterfly Loom is available from my website butterflyloom.co.uk