Two monkey bags for two monkey girls.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a post on the crochet subreddit showing a finished bag for a little girl. The bag was a simple rectangle, and the applique was of a doll's face. Really cute!

My little girls being in this i-like-holding-bags-like-mommy-does phase, and loving putting things in and out of containers, I decided to try my hand at a bag.

First question: what applique do I want to make?
Answer: MONKEY! Indeed, the girls love monkeys. From the "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed", to the plush monkey toys they have, from themselves climbing everywhere like little monkeys, this was the answer which came naturally.

Second question: which colors?
Answer: Monkey. Jungle Theme! The Monkey will be brown so let's go green (representing trees) and yellow (representing bananas).

Third question: which shape?
Answer: Let's go for a simple rectangle bag for now, with one strap. First time I was going to attempt a purse, so I tried to keep it easy.

Fourth question: which stitch?
Answer: Puff stitch to give it some texture!

With all these answers, I was ready to go head first in this project.

How is it done

The purse is made out of 2 rectangles, a strap and an applique.

Back rectangle

21 fsc (fundation single crochet), then alterning between rows of [1sc, 1puff, 1sc], and [1sc], with a turning chain 1 at the end of each row.

Front rectangle

It's the same as the back, except that some puff stitches are being removed and transformed as hdc to leave the space flat to sew the applique on.

Then I put the rectangles together, sc all around.

Strap

Chain 60, 3 times (2 of one color, 1 of the other color), then braid them. Attach on both side.

View of the inside.

This was a fun project, and easy to make. It allowed me to try my hand at the puff stitch, and for the next bags, I'll try another stitch to give another texture.

Thanks for reading and happy crocheting!

My cuties discovering their bags.