Coal Bag Ornament

Oh my, did I have fun with this one!

It’s Week 5 of the 6 week series where I’ve released a new thread crochet pattern for an ornament that doubles as a gift card holder.

This week, I was feeling a little playful! Do you have someone on your list that would appreciate a good gag gift? A relative or coworker? How about Secret Santa?

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How funny to give someone a bag of coal, but…SURPRISE!…it has a gift card inside!

The coal bag can be used as an ornament for your tree or as a cute little treat or trinket bag.

If my oldest son wouldn’t have seen me making it, he surely would’ve gotten one of these! He’s 12 and at the perfect age for me to mess with him a little bit. I keep telling him that I’m going to wear curlers in my hair and my pajamas to the bus stop. You should see the terrified look on his face when I tell him this. You can tell that he’s not quite sure if I’m serious. Some might say that’s mean to mess with your kids, but I can’t help it. That’s the kind of sense of humor I have. 🙂

My neighbor’s son is in his first year of college and a few years ago I got him a pooper scooper for Christmas! (He kept borrowing ours all the time and didn’t always bring it back. With four dogs, we need that thing constantly.) He thought the gift was so funny! He may have to be the recipient of the coal bag this year. Hee! Hee!

This little bag was an absolute breeze to make even though I was working with the dreaded black thread. The letters are cross stitched onto the bag, but you always have the option to cut the letters out of felt and hot glue them on or use white puff paint and write it on. Whatever’s easiest for you is fine.

I’ve provided a graph for the letters. Each block represents one “X” stitch worked on one single crochet stitch. Have you ever cross stitched on crochet before? It’s not that difficult when you’re working with single crochets.

Here is a pin for your Pinterest board so you can save this pattern for later…

In case you’ve missed the previous week’s patterns for the series, they are here…

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Add this project to your Ravelry queue here…

Coal Bag Ornament/Gift Card Holder

Materials Used:

• Small amount of Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread Size 10 Black – 300 yds /274 m
• Small amount of Artiste Crochet Thread Size 10 – Porcelain – 400 yds
• B (2.25 mm) hook — My favorite hooks! I use them daily!
• Tapestry Needle
• Decorative Ornament Hook
• Baby pin or stitch marker

Finished Size Approximately:

2 3/4” W x 5” H

Gauge:

17 sc stitches and 20 rows in a 2” square.

Special Stitches:

Back Loops Only (BLO)

Abbreviations:

FC – foundation chain
BLO – Back Loops Only
ch(s) – chain(s)
sc – single crochet
sl st – slip stitch
st(s) – stitch(es)

Notes:

• This pattern is written to complete every row with a slip stitch, but I recommend working in the round instead. You can choose which method you’d like to use. If I made another, I would work in the round beginning with Round 2. It’s just easier.
• If you don’t want to cross stitch the letters on, you can always cut them out of white felt and hot glue them on the bag. Either method is fine.

*** American crochet terms used throughout.

Instructions:

FC: Ch 23

Round 1: Work in BLO. In 2nd ch from hook, sc. Sc in next 20 sts. In last ch, 4 sc. Working along the opposite edge of the FC, sc in next 20 sts. In last st, 3 sc. Sl st in 1st sc made of round. (48 sc)

Note: You can either begin working in the round from this point on (just keep track of your rows) or you can follow the instructions for completing every row.

Round 2 – Round 22: Ch 1, sc in same st ch 1 comes out of. Sc in every st around. Sl st in 1st sc made of round. (48 sc)

Pull your loop a little larger and gently remove your hook. Attach your baby pin or stitch marker to your loop to ensure that none of your stitches come undone as you are cross stitching the letters onto your bag.

Lay your bag out flat. You will be working into Row 22 as the top row of your letters. Three stitches in from the left edge of your bag will begin the letter C. Each sc stitch is the equivalent of one “X” stitch.

Using a tapestry needle and Porcelain (white) thread, begin cross stitching the letters onto the bag according to the provided graph.

Finish off the Porcelain. No need to worry about the strings on the inside of the bag. No one will see them anyway.

Remove your baby pin or stitch marker and reinsert your hook back into the loop. Continue working with black either in the round or following the instructions below.

Round 23 – Round 45: Ch 1, sc in same st ch 1 comes out of. Sc in every st around. Sl st in 1st sc made of Round. (48 sc)

Finish off. Weave in end.

Tie

Ch 50. Finish off end. Gather the top of the bag and tie the tie around the top as shown in the picture.

I hope you have as much fun with this Coal Bag Ornament pattern as I did!

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