DIY Transparent Beach Tote Bag

Sewing free Tutorial and Pattern: DIY Transparent Beach Tote Bag. 

I wanted to make a new beach bag and my attention was dragged by these clear beauty.  Particularly, I loved the Dolce & Gabbana one. Only I wanted mine clear.  And with some texture.
And I ended up making the bag, and having enough material to make the matching cosmetic clutch (tutorial HERE!)  that fits all my "beach needs". 

 

supplies needed:

* Ribbed Shelf Liner 24"x10'
* Cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter
* Hand Punch Circle 1/8"
* Crochet Hook, 2.75mm
* White cotton yarn -  about 2 balls of crochet yarn used in 2 and  4 strands
* spool knitter
* Nylon Braid Rope, White, 1/4-Inch

DIY beach bag template

the how-to // tutorial:
Trace on paper the template of the beach bag with the actual measurements.

Cut the parts - I cut the central panels keeping the ribs vertical and the side panels with the ribs horizontal. I cut one part of the bottom in vertical and one in horizontal, just to keep the pattern interesting.
Use a marker to trace a 'dot' every 3/8"

use the punch hole on all the marks
(you might need to clean the leftover marks with some alcohol)

crochet a single crochet in every hole.
In the corners, proceed with 1 sc- 1ch-1dc-1ch-1sc 

the straps
I thought what is comfortable and what is NOT while at the beach.
when you are a bit sunburn on your shoulders... you want something soft.
I could have used ready made rope, but that would have been scratchy.

I used my spool knitter to make about 3 yards of cord - and cut in half.
Then pinned a safety pin onto the end of the nylon rope and wrap some painter's tape around it.
Thread the nylon rope into the knitted rope, creating the core.
Once done, close the i-cord with the nylon rope on both sides with few stitches.

Starting from the bottom of the central panel, sew an the cord onto the crochet edge

Then sew the side panel, and the the other side connecting to the next central panel

Once all the pieces are sewn together, sew the bottom part. I used a mattress stitch.

Note: the bottom is cut in two parts.
Punch the holes for your crochet base keeping the two pieces together (place some double sided tape in between the two parts).
Then crochet the two parts together. On the round sides, crochet 2 sc every 3 stitches, so it won't pull.

detail of the bottom 

Once all the parts are stitched together, it's time to crochet the scalloped edge.
7 dc into the same stitch - sk 1 st - 1 sc - sk 1 st - 7 dc into the same stitch

....ready for the beach!