RUBY DIAMOND - free tapestry crochet pattern

Hello everyone!

I know I've been a little bit absent of the virtual world, but I really needed some time to refocus and enjoy crocheting again! I was getting caught by the stress of social media performance, which was putting me into a creative rut, making me loose sight of why I started crocheting in the first place and taking the fun out of it all.

I started learning tapestry crochet because it appeared to me as a beautiful, intricate and challenging crochet technique. I immediatly fell in love with it, with all the creative possibilities, like a whole new world in front of me. I hoped that with my work I would be able to bring more peolple into trying and loving tapestry crochet. Now, I'm slowly getting my crojo back and one of my resolutions is to create some FREE PATTERNS. That way I can really share with you my journey and what I've learned and still am learning!

For my first free pattern I decided to design a pragmatic cute little pouch. 
Measuring approximately 16cmx11cm it's perfect to carry your beauty essentials with you. It's also great for when you just have to make a quick run to the grocery store, for example.

If you feel like it, you can change the pattern as you want. Making the bag bigger or smaller to fit your needs and add your personal touch. You'll find information on how to adapt the pattern in the tapestry chart section. It’s up to you to transform it as it pleases you.

BEFORE WE START: I'm trying to make this tutorial beginner friendly with pictures and more detailed explanations, but you need to know the basics of crochet. If you are a more advanced crocheter and don’t want to go through the step by step, you can go straight to the written pattern, scrolling down to the end of the post!

What you'll need:

- Katia Capri in 4 different colors (or another equivalent yarn)

- 3mm hook (but depending on your tension you may need to use a smaller or bigger hook to match the measurements)
- stitch marker (or yarn of a different color)

- Darning needle

- Scissors

- Zipper (or other closure alternative of your preference)
- Patience :)

Stitchionary:

- Chain: ch
- Slip stitch: sl st
- Single crochet: sc

- Back loop: bl
- Yarn over: yo

Get your fingers ready and let's do this!!

- Take your 3mm hook and Ch 96 with the Black yarn to create the foundation chain. Make sure to leave a tail of approximately 35cm/14in that we’ll use later to sew the base.

- Sl st in the first ch st of the foundation chain to create a circle, making sure that it’s not twisted.

How to: identify the first ch st, insert the hook, yo and pull directly through the loop you have on the hook.

1st row- Chain 1. This first row is entirely black, but we will add now the other yarns (red, grey and white) that will remain hidden until you need them. 

Tip: Even if you won't use any of them in this row, I like to add them anyway to keep the entire crochet evenly thick.

How to: place the yarns to add as shown in the first image and do a SC in the same St as you did the Sl St. Insert the hook, yo the Black yarn (working yarn) and pull up a loop so you have 2 loops in the hook. Now yo and pull through the 2 loops to have your first SC made. Put a stitch marker in it to mark where the row begins, where the first stitch is. You’ll move it every time you start a new row, because from now on you'll be crocheting continuously, without joing the rows.

- Keep SC till the end of row 

Note: Remember that you have to keep the hidden yarns as hidden as possible. After doing some SC you may see them popping out of the stitches and your crochet may start to curl. This is perfectly normal, but it’s NOT what you want. All you have to do is to pull the hidden yarns to straighten the crochet and tighten the stitches together. You’ll have to pay attention to this througout the entire crochet and pull the yarns when necessary.

Rows 2 to 22 - Now is the time to follow the tapestry chart, but before doing that, let me give you some more usefull information.

- From now on you’ll have to crochet only in the BL (back loop) of the sts, except where you'll see an X which means to crochet on both loops. You can see on the image on the right how to identify the back and front loops of stitches.
Tip: This will allow the design to be straighter and cleaner.

- As you know, you'll have to change color in the middle of the crochet. It's really easy to do, you just have to insert the hook and pull up a loop as usual, then, instead of YO and pulling through the 2 loops with the same yarn, you’ll do it with the yarn color of the next stitch.

Now we are ready to take a look at the tapestry chart and start following it.

I'm not sure if you can see the image above clearly, which represents the entire pattern, but each square is one stitch and it is made by repeating 3x the enlarged section below. 
TIP: If you want to make this pouch in a bigger size you just have to make more repetitions of this section, making sure to adapt the foundation chain accordingly and leaving a bigger tail as well.

Reminder: You have to crochet in the BL (back loop) of the stitches except where there is an X, which means to crochet on both loops! Pay attention to the hidden yarns, making sure that your crochet is tight and straight.

After making some rows, you'll see the pattern emerging. This is one of my favorite parts!

I was loving how the pattern was turning out so I started making another pouch with the same color combo, but swiping the black and grey and it looks good too, don't you think?

Row 23 (optional): I've made a last row of slip stitches to create a cleaner border for the pouch, but you can make a different border or none at all!

After finishing the pattern, you need to weave in the ends, keeping the tail to use in the next step. The great thing with tapestry crochet is that you can make a colorful and intricate design with very few ends to weave at the end! Only 7 of them in this particular case!

Now that you’ve finished the tapestry pattern, it’s time to sew the foundation chain together with the tail we’ve left at the beginning.

How to: turn the crochet inside out, grab the tail to help identify the first st, then place the foundation chain side by side so the sts of each side match. Take a darning needle and start sewing, making sure to pass the yarn 2 times in the first st to secure it. Keep sewing, always in the same direction. Once you reach the last st, pass the yarn 2 times as you did for the first st.

Weave in the rest of the tail as you would for any other yarn end. Turn your pouch outside in and VOILÁ!

At this point your pouch is all sewed up and all is left to do is to sew a zipper, buttons or any other closure alternative of your preference. You can even make a lining for it. This is why I'm not gonna cover this part here. It's entirely up to you and there are lots of tutorials online on how to do those things.

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WRITTEN PATTERN

Note: You can transform the pattern as you want. If you wish to make this pouch in a different size, see information in the tapestry chart section of this post!

- Chain 96, leaving a tail of approximately 35cm/14in (to sew the base) and slip stich in the first chain sitch to create a circle.

Row 1: Chain1. Add the other colors and single crochet the entire row with the same color (making sure to do the first sc in the same st where you did the sl st). Pay attention to the hidden yarns, keeping them as hidden as possible and keeping the crochet straight and tight.

Row 2-22: Crochet according to tapestry chart (scrol up). Crochet only in the Back Loop of the stitches except where you see an X, wich means to crochet in Both Loops. Once again, pay attention to the hidden yarns, keeping them as hidden as possible and keeping the crochet straight and tight.

Row 23 (optional): Make a last row of slip stitches to create a nice and clean border.

- Cut the yarns and weave the ends

- Turn the crochet inside out and sew the base with the tail you left at the beginning. Weave the end of the tail and turn the crochet outside in 

- Sew a zipper or use another closure alternative, make a lining. It's up to you!

- ENJOY YOUR NEW LITTLE POUCH!

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I hope that you'll enjoy making this cute little pouch and that you'll enjoy using it! I've been using mine a lot! LIKE A LOT!!

Let me know what you think of it and don't hesitate to leave a comment below!

I would LOOOOVE to see yours, how you put your personal touch to it, so share with me some pics on instagram (@thestoryofamulberry).

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram (@thestoryofamulberry) and Pinterest to see beautiful crochet goodies, sneak peeks of my work in progress, giveaways and hopefully be inspired.

If you'd like to do more tapestry crochet, check out my Etsy Shop. Maybe you'll find your next project!

See you soon,

The Story of a Mulberry