every girl's cradle*

There are several patterns for a crocheted bassinet/purse on the web. All are  little different, yet serve the same purpose. Most links do not work. This has caused problems in the past. I always share the links and when they don’t work it gets frustrating. I have never been able to find the very first link I used on the yellow cradle. I liked that pattern the best. As of now, I only can get one link to work, but I don’t care for its hood at all and it has more ruffles. I don’t think I have used the same pattern twice since I have never been able to get the same link to work twice!

With two birthday parties this weekend, one for a 4yo and the other for a 7yo, this is the perfect pattern for a gift.  The problem? No working links! Why keep sharing something that is broken? I can remember the body of the bag is only a chain with half doubles, completely around, even on the starting chain. I have used this same beginning for purses of all sizes. I remember the row with back loops only and the long trebles spaces to weave the cord through. The hood seemed it may prove to be more difficult, but it wasn’t.

Following is the pattern I came up with this week. I am sure it is similar to others, but at least this link works. I am very proud of the hood. I didn’t think I understood enough about stitching to get it the shape that I wanted, but I think it may even be better than some of the other patterns I have tried. I hope you enjoy crocheting a cute cradle bag for a special little girl (or two) that you know.

Cradle bag

Any 2 fun colors of worsted weight yarn (I have even used slightly bulky yarn)
 H hook.

Do not turn your work for the body of the bag. Chain 3 counts as a double crochet.

Start with a double crochet foundation row of 18, 4dc into same stitch as last dc. Now work along back of “starting” chain, dc in each st, putting 4dc in last.  (44dc)

Rows1-6: ch 3, dc each st around, slst to join. (44dc)

Row7: ch 3, working in FRONT loops only, dc in joining, 2dc ss around, slst to join. (88dc)

Row8: ch 3, dc in ea dc around, slst to join (88dc) Change colors.

Row9: ch 4, 3 treble in joining, *skip 3 stitches, 4 tr ss, repeat around, end with a slst to top of ch4 to join. Ch1 turn. (23shells)

Row10: (slst, ch4, 3tr) in space made between shells, *4tr in next space, repeat around, slst to join. Fasten off ends and weave in.

HOOD:

Fold down the last few rows and find row 6 (done on BOL). Fold cradle in half and find the middle stitch. Count 11 stitches on each side of the seam and mark. You will be working in the middle 21 stitches between the markers. I do it this way so I don’t need to remove the markers until I am done. Attach yarn with a slst.

Row1: ch3, dc 3x, dc2tog, dc 2x, dc2tog, dc, dc2tog, dc 2x, dc2tog, dc 4x, ch3 and turn. (17st)

Row 2: dc 2x, dc2tog, dc, dc2tog, dc, dc2tog, dc, dc2tog, dc 3x, ch3, and turn. (13st)

Row3: dc, dc2tog 2x, dc, dc2tog 2x, dc 2x, ch1 and turn. (9st)

Row 4: sc2tog 4x, sc, ch1 and turn. (5st)

Row 5: sc2tog 2x, sc. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Trim: sc along free loops of row 6 and along the hood. 

Cord for handle: For the handle, I made a cord. I took one very long strand, tied the two loose ends together. The tied ends need to be stationary, taped down or held tight.  Put a pencil in the looped end and twist until the yarn twists back on itself. Once twisted enough, match the tied end to the looped end. It should coil and twist back on itself to form a strong cord.  My husband   is very inventive, when he saw me doing this, he got out his drill and a hook to fit in the end to hold the loop.  This is much faster than the traditional way.  I weaved the cord through the spaces created on the last row and tied the ends together.

The doll pattern is available from Ravelry. Click here to view it.  The larger doll was made with an H hook, which does not fit in the cradle. I used a D hook on the smaller doll, it fits.

You may enjoy my patterns for free, even sell your finished projects, but please DO NOT claim my patterns or photos as your own and DO NOT sell them.