Perfect Ovals for Mosaic Crochet Bags
Want to make a mosaic crochet bag on a flat oval base, with the exact number of stitches you need for your pattern? Look no further, I have the formula!
No more guessing how large to make an oval for a bag. It's easy to make your designs fit exactly where you want them to. With this tutorial, your seam will end up at the center of one side, making it easy to start adding your mosaic pattern directly to the base. You can also use this tutorial to make straps to finish your bag.
Oval Construction
The oval is constructed around a foundation chain, starting with a round of SC stitches, and DC stitches added for the remaining rounds. Working from the front side only, the oval starts with a half arch, turned to side A (flat with no increases), an arch at the other end, turned to side B (flat with no increases), and finished with the other half of the arch.
This tutorial will show you how to create 4 different sized ovals. An oval with 2 DC rounds is good for a narrower bag, great for books or a tablet. An oval with 3 DC rounds is good for a standard sized handbag, and an oval with 4 rounds is good for a wider bag. You can also create straps using an oval with 1 or 2 DC rounds. Keep in mind, the final width of the oval will be a little larger after adding another round of DC's with no increases.
The overall size of your oval will depend on your yarn weight and tension. It's best to do some samples to know how wide you would like your base. This example uses a worsted weight cotton yarn. One round measures about 1 1/4" wide, and each round increases by a little less than 1".
Chain Count Formula
Start with the total number of stitches needed for one side of the bag. Use the multiples listed in the pattern to determine how many stitches per repeat. Minus the number of stitches for the oval rounds (see below), plus 5 stitches.
Oval with 2 DC rounds: minus 16 sts
Oval with 3 DC rounds: minus 22 sts
Oval with 4 DC rounds: minus 28 sts
For example: the Dreams pattern calls for multiples of 8 plus 1. For a bag with 5 repeats on each side, multiply 8 x 5, plus 1, for 41 total stitches. For an oval base with 3 DC rows, minus 22 stitches (19 stitches remaining). Add 5 for 24 stitches total. You will start your oval with 24 chains.
* When calculating the base for a pattern with multiples plus 3 (like the Jack pattern), use multiples plus 2 instead. Then add a DC decrease in the final round as shown here: Final Round with No Increases
Making the Oval
For this example we will start with a foundation chain of 24. Use the chart above to determine the number of chains for your project. Be sure to note the number of chains in your foundation chain, as you will need to know this number for adding SC and DC rounds later.
Half Arch and Side A
Start with 2 SC in the 2nd chain from the hook.
Begin side A with 1 SC in each chain, 3 less than your foundation chain. (21 sts for this example)
Arch and Side B
Add 3 SC in the last stitch, turn to side B.
Crochet over the tail, 1 SC in each stitch (large hole, both loops) same number of stitches as side A. (21 sts for this example)
Half Arch Finish, Start DC Round 1
Add 1 SC in the last stitch (center hole). Slip-stitch into both loops of the 1st stitch after the chain.
Chain 2, and 1 DC into the first stitch at the base of the chain. For all stitches in the oval, crochet through both loops.
DC Round 1 Half Arch
2 DCs into next 2 stitches. (5 DCs total after chain)
DC Round 1 Side A
Turn to side A, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain (19 DCs for this example). This will be the same number of stitches on sides A and B for all remaining rounds.
Use stitch markers to mark the first and last stitches of the DC rows on sides A and B. This makes it easier to clearly see where to add increases on your arches and half arches.
DC Round 1 Arch
2 DCs in next 5 stitches. (10 DCs total)
DC Round 1 Side B
Turn to side B, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 1 Half Arch Finish
2 DCs in next 2 stitches, 1 DC in last stitch. (5 DCs total)
Slip-stitch into the 1st DC stitch after the chain.
DC Round 2 Half Arch
Chain 2, and 2 DCs into the first stitch at the base of the chain. Add 1 DC, 2 DCs, 1 DC, 2 DCs, into the next 4 stitches. (8 DCs total after chain)
Turn to side A, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 2 Arch
Add the following sequence into the next 5 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC, 2 DCs, 1 DC, 2 DCs. Repeat the sequence again for the next 5 stitches. (16 DCs total)
Turn to side B, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 2 Half Arch Finish
Add the following sequence into the next 5 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC, 2 DCs, 1 DC, 2 DCs. (8 DCs total)
Slip-stitch to join to first DC in round.
When stopping after Round 2, see section below: Final Round with No Increases
DC Round 3 Half Arch
Chain 2, and 1 DC into the first stitch at the base of the chain. Add the following sequence into the next 6 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC in next 2 stitches. Add 2 DCs into the last stitch of the arch. (11 DCs total after chain)
Turn to side A, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 3 Arch
Add the following sequence into the next 15 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC into the next 2 stitches. Add 2 DCs into the last stitch of the arch. (22 DCs total)
Turn to side B, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 3 Half Arch Finish
Add the following sequence into the next 6 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC in next 2 stitches. Add 2 DCs into the next stitch, and 1 DC into the last stitch (11 DCs total). Slip-stitch to join to first DC in round.
When stopping after Round 3, see section below: Final Round with No Increases
DC Round 4 Half Arch
Chain 2, and 1 DC into the first stitch at the base of the chain. Add the following sequence into the next 8 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC in next 3 stitches. Add 2 DCs into the next stitch and 1 DC in the last stitch of the arch. (14 DCs total after chain)
Turn to side A, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 4 Arch
Add the following sequence into the next 20 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC into the next 3 stitches. Add 2 DCs in the next stitch and 1 DC in the last stitch of the arch. (28 DCs total)
Turn to side B, add 1 DC in each stitch, 5 less than your foundation chain. (19 DCs for this example)
DC Round 4 Half Arch Finish
Add the following sequence into the next 8 stitches: 2 DCs, 1 DC in next 3 stitches. Add 2 DCs into the next stitch, and 1 DC into the next 2 stitches (14 DCs total). Slip-stitch to join to first DC in round.
Final Round with No Increases
3 rounds and 1 round no increases
When you've reached the number of rounds for your project, add an additional round of DC's with no increases. Start the round with 2 chains, 1 DC into the first stitch at the base of the chain, and continue adding 1 DC in each stitch all the way around. To connect the round, insert your hook into the first DC of the round, and slip-stitch with your new color. (see section below on adding a new color)
For Patterns with Multiples Plus 1:
On your last round with no increases, add a DC Decrease in the last 2 stitches of the round. This will decrease the number of stitches in the round by 1, leaving you with an odd number for that plus 1 stitch.
To add a DC Decrease:
In the last 2 stitches of the round, you will be connecting 2 DCs together into 1.
Start your DC and work the stitch until you have 2 loops left on your hook (pull through 1 loop, pull through 2 loops, stop).
Yarn over, start your next DC in the next stitch and work the stitch until you have 3 loops left on your hook (pull through 1 loop, pull through 2 loops, stop). Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.
Adding a New Color
To add a new color and start your mosaic crochet pattern, insert your hook into both loops of the first DC in the row. Slip-stitch with your next color. (When following a mosaic crochet chart, this will be Color B, and Row 2 of your chart.)
Tie the tail to the previous color on the wrong side. Chain 1.
Start your first SC stitch in the top back loop of the first DC stitch. (Same stitch as the chain.)
Continue adding SC's in the top back loops of every stitch for the remaining stitches.
Insert your hook into the top loop of the first chain to finish the row. Each row will end in the top loop of the first chain in the row.
To start the next row, hook color A from the back, and slip-stitch. Place the yarn loop on to the widest part of the hook and tighten both colors. Chain 1. Repeat these steps when starting a new row.
This begins row 3 of your mosaic crochet chart. You can flip your oval right side out and start adding your mosaic stitches to the outside. Remember to weave in any tails to the back of rows of the same color.
Sample Projects
For this little camera bag, I've swapped out the pink for black yarn. This Dreams pattern has a stitch count of multiples of 8 plus 1, so with the DC Decrease on the last round the pattern matches up at the seam. The bag stands up nicely on its own with a 3 round oval base, and one round without increases.
Here's a beach bag that uses a long oval base with 3 rounds, and 2 straps with 1 round.
Retro Sunglasses mosaic crochet pattern available in my shop page!
Thanks for reading and happy crocheting!
-Sixel
Visit my shop page for more mosaic crochet patterns
