Tip For Making Crocheted Pouches

A few weeks ago, I posted some advice for threading drawstrings through pouches with eyelets.  This week, I want to share a method for starting crocheted pouches.

Often, crocheted pouches are started by making a chain as long as you want the pouch to be wide, stitch across the chain in one loop only, and then rotate the piece, continuing to stitch back across the remaining loop. Then you continue making the pouch by stitching in a coil.

There's nothing wrong with doing things this way, but it can be a little fiddly to work twice into the same chain row, especially if the gauge is small.

Practical Crocheter has written many times about the benefits of using foundation stitches. If you start your pouch with a row of foundation single crochet (fsc), you have two loops on the bottom of each stitch that are easy to work into.

This is Foundation Single Crochet.  I photographed it wrong-side up so that you can see the row of loops along the bottom where you easily can insert a hook.

As an example, here's the beginning of the pattern provided for the pouches I've been making:

Chain 18.

Round 1: 2 sc into back loop of 2nd ch from hook; sc into back loop of each of the next 15 chs; 2 sc into back loop of the last ch. ROTATE, DO NOT TURN, and repeat from * to * one time. Do not join. (36 sts around)

Here's what I've been doing:

Fsc 18. Rotate so that the fsc row is upside down.  Do not turn.  Sc across the bottom of fsc row. (36 sts around)

Here, I've worked across the underside of the fsc row and around, back across the top of the fsc row.

Both methods accomplish the same thing, but it takes me a lot less time to do the latter than the former, and I'm much less likely to split my yarn. Foundation stitches for the win!

This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Wonderful Wednesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friendship Friday, and The Stitchin' Mommy.