I first made these a couple of years ago and they remain popular gifts. They are basic crocheted string bags that hold a bar of soap and hang from the garden tap. When coming in from the garden just hold the swinging bag under the water and massage it around your grubby hands to remove the worst of the dirt.
I started making my soap batches back in September so they would have about 6 weeks of curing time to harden. As you know I make a tallow/oil soap. Some batches are scented with essential oils which are very popular but I also make large quantities of plain soap for our home use and I have quite a few people with sensitive skin whom I supply.
The off cuts and odd shapes are perfect for bagging into these gardeners soap bags. They can be crocheted from common string and I favour an all purpose natural string/twine from the hardware store. I use a 5mm hook and start with about 7chain slip stitched into a round. I then make as many trebles (US dc) in the middle that will fit and again slip stitch the last to the first. Next round chain 3 and continue making tr (US dc) into the tops of the previous stitches but increasing slightly by making 2 tr into the tops of some stitches so that I have increased by about 8tr. Slip stitch the round again and continue in this basic manner. You may or may not need to increase any more stitches as you go. Basically you are just making a very rough tube shape. When you have it to the length you want bind it off and make a very long chained tie that you simply weave in and out of the last row of trebles to create a gathering pull tie.
You can very easily attach a tag and there you go. If you are not a soap maker of course you can just pop in an ordinary bar of commercially made soap but I would recommend the cheap as chips tallowate soap usually marketted as laundry soap bars. They are harder and last longer.
Another gift done
Other gifts for gardeners include:
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Pea straw or Bags of cut Lucerne
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Seed packets are always appreciated by the seed savers and a great project to do with the kids
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just go to Cafe Garden here for some free templates to print and make with tons of different designs.
Thank you for this what cute little designs for seed packets x
ReplyDeleteHow awesome are these bags. Anyone who wants to give me one for Christmas (this is a suggestion for you Jessie) i will treasure it always.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and thoughtful handcrafted gift.
ReplyDeleteI can't crochet despite my grandma teaching me when I was about 12 (she refused to show me again when I was about 25 as she said she'd already taught me once and that was enough - she's passed away now) but I reckon I could knit this easily enough using large needles. :)
ReplyDeleteGardeners are such easy people to buy for.......love all your ideas Tanya, so certainly put alot of thought into it.
ReplyDeleteClaire x
Hello Tanya!! I've just spent a bit of time reading back over all of your posts that I've missed and must say that you have a great store of Christmas ideas here! I'm running way behind in the making of goodies this year but organised ahead of schedule in others.... one year I hope to have it all coming together just so!! These crochet soap bags look easy enough to whip up over a few spare bits of time and I think I'll do just that. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness these are wonderful Tanya... :))
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea, I could certainly do with one hanging on my tap!
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