（ずいぶん長くなってしまい本文の日本語さぼります・・・でも写真いっぱいなので是非！）
Excuse me for my Needlework Tuesday post ... ;) I finished the basket last night but it was too dark to take photos.
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I followed this pattern to form the base of the basket:
Star Stitch Tote - Free Crochet Pattern | Craft Passion – Page 2 of 2
The way I made the handle was unique. It was my first time to try this technique. I like the way handle is really integrated to the basket body while the connection part of the handles to the body can be a bit stronger.
How to make handles for a hemp crochet bag
(This blog post is written in Japanese but crocheter ladies will figure it out with the photos)
An egg case fits well and I can carry it straitly. It's one of the features I wanted to have. With my daughter I have to go out with a bit backpack and especially at a market it becomes like a puzzle to pile up everything fine inside the backpack ... Then I started thinking about making a small market bag I can carry fragile items such as eggs and tomatoes separately.
I can roll it small. It's pros and cons. I'm happy that I can store it on the other hand it would be nice the basket keeps shape more firmly.
The design and color combination are inspired by Zulu craft. According to Wikipedia,
The Zulu (Zulu: amaZulu) are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Zulu people - Wikipedia
You will see a lot of people are carrying African style baskets at markets in Germany, especially in southern Germany (according to my observation ;) ). I like them and had one too but its handles were broken. Now it became a toy basket for my daughter.
One of the most popular styles is the one from Burkina Faso. They have large base and firm. I want to have one but unfortunately I cannot carry both my daughter (or baby buggy) and the basket at the same time ;)
Google image search result of "Burkina Faso market basket"
Then I did some more search for African basket design. The color combinations, vivid colors and patterns are fascinating and I continue seeing image search results quite a while ... And I came across Zulu design. They use geometric patterns with brown, black, white as basic colors.
Google image search result of "Zulu craft"
Another reason I tried Zulu-ish design is that the hemp yarn I used didn't have much color variations.
This time I limit the colors to three and used two colors at the same time as I worried that the basket may become too thick when I crochet in two or more colors in stitches. But I was overcareful. I think I crochet in two string at least, which means I can use three colors at the same time. I can try more adventurous designs for the next project.
I may make an experimental mini basket with more colors for my daughter. I have some leftover hemp yarns :)
Other than the basket, I quickly sew a light shirt as it's sooooooo hot in Germany these days.
#NeedleWorkMonday is initiated by @crosheille. Thank you for hosting a wonderful & fun weekly tag!
針仕事の月曜日こと #NeedleWorkMonday は @crosheille さんがホストしているタグで、毎週月曜日に和気あいあい洋裁、和裁、編み物、ビーズワークなどなど針仕事にまつわる投稿を読んだり書いたりするコミュニティーです。 #japanese からも一緒に参加しましょう！英語のテキストがあるとよいようです。わからないことなどあったらお手伝いします :)
What a beautiful basket! Or is it more a bag? Whatever, it is well done. I love the contrast of the black and white and then the earth-color framing it. And I wouldn't have thought that you could roll it up to be so small - I thought the yarn would be more stiff. How much of the yarn did you use?
Yes, I made it myself ;) One day I'm going to write about it for #needleworkmonday because I'm quite proud about how I designed the handles and the upper border :)
And I like the top you made - what a beautiful flowery fabric!
The mesh style is also nice. It's also in my kniting/crocheting queue ... Certainly it looks nice with fruits inside :) And I look forward to reading about the basket.
I used almost two brown and half or less yarn balls for black and white. Would be nice the yarn was stiffer but on the other hand it was friendly to my hand ;)
Lovely work and great post, @akipponn. Thank you so much for also including the links :D
Thank you cryptocariad! I wish the links help others to get inspiration from African design and more :)
すごくいい感じのデザインですね！使いやすそうです^ ^
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ありがとうございます。意外と思ったようにできてよかった！もうちょっとしっかりした感じでもよかったのですが、小さくなるのではじめてのバッグとしては OK かな、また今回学んだことを活かして作ってみたいです :)
折りたためて便利そうですね^ ^親が洋裁の仕事をしているのですが、小物は服より難しいと言っていました。ものを0から作れる人ってすごいなぁと思います^ ^
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うらやましい！うちは祖母が洋裁の仕事をしていてその影響もあって私もずるずる大好きになってしまいました。AI＆ロボット時代、人間は暇になるかな、よい趣味だと思っています :)
小さく折り畳めていいですね！私は友達から貰ったエコバッグを使っていたのですが、いつの間にか穴が空いてしまいました。これ、ひとつ売って欲しいくらい素敵です（笑）
シャツも縫えるなんて～✨凄すぎます。
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あはは、ありがとうございます。照れます、でもうれしいです。
エコバッグ、環境先進国ドイツということもありうちに大量にあるのですが、底に厚みないので卵がまっすぐ運べなくって。あと、自転車のハンドルに吊るすと微妙に足に当たるのが気になっていて。ないのなら作ってしまえホトトギスで作ってしまいました。
縫うことや作ることについてもいずれ書きたいのですが、多分街で自分が本当にほしいものを見つけるよりも簡単なのかも、なんて。子どもの様子みながらできるのもよいところです（パソコン開けると「なになに？？なにやってるの〜」となるので仕事はできず ;)）
手作り！？
売れるレベルですね…
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ありがとうございます。。。セブンさんのコメントに続いて照れます :D
That is a gorgeous market bag. I am in love with the color scheme and those hemp handles give it so much character. Great job with this!
Thank you mrscwin! I'm happy that some experiments I did by making this bag worked fine/OK. I learned a lot from this crocheting work after a while and would like to try some more baskets and crocheted objects :)
Hi @akipponn. Great work. I like basket...
Thank you jicrochet. I'm motivated to be back to crocheting by seeing a lot of nice crocheting works on NeedleworkMonday :)
I love the finished bag and as you stated, I also had a hemp basket for the market where the handles broke (cryyyyy) I tried to fix them with tape, but no…..
I think your reduced pallet is perfect, so the geometric design can stand out much better and its fits into the super hot weather right now. I am not sure If I already asked you this: is the yarn hard on the hands?
Thank you for also providing all the links <3
Yeaaaah ... it was 37 degrees in our place yesterday ... We need different clothings and accessories. The yarn was fine. I didn't have pain after crocheting few hours. Not sure my hands are trained well from baking bread though ;)
What a nice finish! This is one of the cutest market bags I have yet seen. I love the handle design and the Zula design! I like how small it is when rolled up too. This was a great post with beautiful pictures! Thanks so much for sharing the links :D
Beautiful top as well~
Do you use a professional camera for your posts?
Thank you Crosheille. I think I could finish it earlier as the bag received comments last week.
Talking about my camera, I use iPhone. I had a semi-professional before one but now it's not easy to carry my daughter and a big camera at the same time. I look forward to being back to photo shooting in 3-5 years :)
You’re welcome!
Oh wow you do a really good job with your photos. I have an iPhone too but take most of my photos with our Cannon.
Ooo your market bag is really beautiful @akipponn! And being able to keep it handy in your bag by rolling it is a convenient touch! I really like the Zulu design. Thank you for sharing the links. The light sleeveless shirt is so fun looking and comfy for hot weather. I like the fabric pattern.