This is a crochet pattern review of the World of Stars Yoga Mat Bag pattern by designer HHHxo Art. Review done by A Stitch Shy of Normal for EyeLoveKnots.
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It’s me, Abigail with A Stitch Shy of Normal.
After I had my son last fall, I’ve found that my flexibility is nothing like it used to be before him. And that wasn’t even that great, I’ve never been the most athletic person. I try to take care of my body but I’m not very consistent about exercising. I go through phases of being decent about it but then I get busy at work and fitness just slips into the background. But our workplace now offers free fitness classes during the day, and I have time to sneak in a class once or twice a week. One of them that I’m really enjoying has been yoga!
I used to do yoga casually in my teenage years, just in my room at home with various books or those DVDs you could find at stores. I was never anything you’d consider “good” at it, but I was able to do a lot of the basic poses. It felt good to be able to do those things, and regardless of athletic ability I think yoga can be very helpful for the body. Specifically for me, after pregnancy (and now carrying around a chunky baby) I experience a lot of stiffness and soreness that yoga really helps with.
So although the work gym has community mats to be used, I wanted to invest a little bit in doing it myself so I bought a decent mat for myself, and of course I had to make my own bag to carry it. I truly enjoyed this project, it’s a very fun stitch pattern and a simple pattern to follow. I recommend it! Plus I definitely recommend trying out yoga if you haven’t, but I’m not any kind of authority to talk about it so look into classes near you if you want! It’s satisfying to let your body stretch out and it’s very closely tied to relaxation and finding peace in yourself. And I’m so lucky to be able to do this during my work day, when I can return to my desk feeling way more chill!
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What Materials Do I Need to Crochet a Yoga Mat Bag?
- Weight 3/DK cotton yarn, about 450 yards. I used Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend (which is unfortunately discontinued), one mostly-full cake and a small chunk of another when I ran out.
- H8/5mm hook – I use Clover Amour
- Scissors and yarn needle for assembly
- World of Stars Yoga Mat Bag, Paid Crochet Pattern via Ravelry from HHHxo Art
Material Notes:
Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend is one of my favorites, but unfortunately it is discontinued. If you’ve been following me on any social media for any period of time, you’ve probably figured out my obsession with it. I love it for wearables, bags, and anything else I can find an excuse to make with it. My stash contains so many cakes of this yarn, partial or full, that I bought at one point over the years and didn’t end up using. Now that it’s gone I’m so grateful for that, they’re nice little surprises of a yarn I can’t buy anymore! When I found this mostly-full cake on my shelf, and then found this pattern that actually suggests this yarn, I knew it was meant to be.
I have always loved the softness of this yarn, so I know this bag will be comfy to toss over my shoulder to bring to the gym. And the color looks so adorable! I have previously washed things made with this yarn so I’m confident it should hold up pretty well (although in general I’d just be careful not to wash it more than you need).
If you haven’t noticed in the pictures, I did run out of the variegated colorway towards the beginning of the strap. And I couldn’t exactly just get more of this yarn anymore. Plus since I’m aiming to get things out of my stash, I wouldn’t have wanted to purchase another cake for half of the strap, it would have just left 90% of a cake back on my shelf! So I grabbed the same yarn in another colorway from my shelves and just kept going. No, the gray doesn’t really “go” with the white/blue/purple mixed colorway. But it’s not jarring, and it’s the same yarn so I knew the sizing would work out. If I get any comments on it when I bring this to work I’ll just say I did it as a conversation starter.
I would use this again in this pattern without a doubt, if I find any more of it. I found it to be easy to work with in this stitch, I love how the colorway came out, and it was an affordable option if it ever returns for sale. I would be interested to see what this looks like in a solid shade as well to really let that stitch texture shine. But if you’re wanting to make this with something you actually can buy today, I might try something like Lion Brand Coboo. It’s a cotton and rayon bamboo blend, but it’s a very similar weight and it’s similarly soft and comfy. You would need two full cakes and that might be cutting it close though. I’m not sure of a perfect substitute for Comfy Cotton Blend so let me know if you know of a better one to suggest!
How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Yoga Mat Bag?
This worked up quicker than I expected! I would guess I spent maybe 10 or so hours on this, and the assembly is almost nothing. You just weave the drawstring near the top, and attach both ends of the strap. This was a quick project.
Gauge & Measurements:
This pattern does not provide a gauge specifically, but the designer does mention when you finish the base, it should be 4-4.5″ wide. I found this to be a good way to check before I was too far into the pattern that I was on the right track, as mine measured just over 4.25″ wide.
There also is not a listed dimension, but rather a note that this bag pattern is written for mats about 24-25″ wide. This is the size I have, 68″ x 24″, which seems pretty standard. Mine is on the thicker side too but it still fits great into the bag.
My one note on sizing is that my bag did stretch out, but this is noted in the pattern as something that can happen! I factored that in when I was deciding my strap length, but I was still caught by surprise at the bag itself stretching out as much as it did. I’m not sure if my mat is heavy (it’s a thicker one), or my tension is too loose and allowed the stitches to stretch out more than expected. It’s a perfectly fine bag still, just with a few inches of extra space on top! I can get a wider mat if I want to one day, I suppose.
Pattern Notes:
I appreciated a lot of the small helpful notes throughout the pattern. When instructions might be unclear, you can expect the designer to pop in a quick note of “by the way this stitch might be hard to find but it’s —- ” or things like that. I like that sort of casual help, that you can use if you need it but it’s not in the way if you are more comfortable with the written instructions. The notes on customizing size are nice as well. My mat was a pretty standard size but I know they come in all sorts of sizes.
I also loved the pictures, it helped me make sure that my stitches were looking right! Every designer and every crocheter has slightly different interpretations of all sorts of terms, so I sincerely appreciated that this designer included little notes of how things were supposed to look by their intentions.
The stitches themselves in this pattern may look intimidating but they’re not that bad at all, trust me! I can’t remember if I’ve done a star stitch before in the decade-plus that I’ve been crocheting. I’m sure I must have tried it at some point but I don’t remember using it for something large like this. So it was a little nerve-wracking at first to discover that there’s still stitches that I don’t feel comfortable with! But it’s well-explained in this pattern, and there are very helpful pictures along with a very detailed tutorial to help you figure out this stitch. I was able to catch on after a few tries, and then got a lot of practice throughout this project. I would now consider myself decent at star stitch but I want more practice, it’s a fun texture!
I enjoyed the blocks of texture in this bag also. You work one type of stitch (the star stitch, or the mesh parts) for several rows, then you get a break with the ridged 3rd loop HDC section. Then you move to the other texture, and repeat! It’s just enough of each stitch that you can get into a rhythm but then you don’t get bored of doing the same thing for hours on end.
I would consider this pattern appropriate for an intermediate crocheter. I think this is not a super-complicated pattern, and it might even be approachable for a really ambitious beginner, but the different stitches might make it tough. But of course you can try anything you want, I’m just trying to suggest roughly where I think this might fall in terms of skill level.
I enjoyed this project from start to finish. It was a useful item that I can use in my everyday life, made with one of my favorite yarns, using a pattern that was very helpful and taught me a new stitch I can use in the future! I have no complaints about the pattern. Next time I make one of these, I’m probably going to leave out some repeats now that I know that either the yarn or my tension or something allows for more stretch than I anticipated–and that’s no fault of the pattern or designer! They clearly state to expect stretch. I just got even more of it than I thought I would, and that’s on me.
Do you take part in anything like yoga? I’ve wanted to try Pilates, and I’m always keeping an eye out for other low-stress fitness activities I can do to improve my flexibility and balance. If you enjoy one of these hobbies, please let me know what I should try!
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