Water Season

Although you should be drinking water all year round, many people don't carry their water around with them until the warmer months.  I've been on the fence about the sewn water bottle holders.  I like them, and that they're sturdy, and can be tailored to hobbies, men, children, etc.  What I don't like...I'm not a great sewer (as hard as I try to be accurate and precise, it just doesn't seem to happen), and the sizing is not as flexible as crocheted ones.

I had this white and red holder finished last year...but it just needed a button!  I made the strap extra long so it could be worn cross body or on the shoulder, and the button can be placed anywhere along the strap.  Somehow this holder turned out a little wide, which is great for the larger, odd shaped bottles.  Or, you can also tuck other things in with a smaller bottle!

I changed the pattern part way up cause I was bored.  One thing I have problem with is doing double crochet in the round.  I never know where to put the first DC after the chain 2 (or is it ch 3?).  It's really noticeable in the white one, a diagonal line starting from the bottom right of my watermark up towards the left of the holder. 54 grams.

 My niece likes pink and orange, and I knew she needed a new holder.  Although her mom said a "sewn holder because her's broke".  Not knowing the size of her bottle (and the fact that kids often have more than one bottle), I opted to use this cheery yarn, called "Cool Crochet" by Bernat (discontinued of course).  I used it a few years ago to crochet a cardi. I thought it would be good because it's 70% cotton, 30% acrylic, so it shouldn't shrink when washed, and I didn't think it would stretch too much.

 I started with 5 DC for the strap and then at some point increased up to 8, then back down.  But, I realized, that's kind of silly because the shoulder section is different if worn cross body vs on the shoulder.  So I redid it with 8 DC.  And I made a second one for Megan.  35grams each.
I tested it out, and I don't like how much it stretches!!!  I'm going to use some twill tape, and sew it down the backside of the strap, along the edges.  This will mean I don't need to sew button holes, as the button can still go through the strap anywhere.  It's great to have some stretch in the holder part, but not in the strap.  I'll report back later how that works.

I still have some fabric cut up and waiting to be sewn into holders, from last summer.  I like variety.  That's the True Tracy Way!

Yarn In:  1776gr
Yarn Out: 124gr + 3589gr = 3713gr
Balance: 1937gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $97.58 /129 days = $0.76/day