There Be Dragons!

There is a stitch that has become really popular in the crochet community lately. It has a few names; alligator stitch, crocodile stitch, dragon stitch ... I happen to like Dragon Scales, so that's what I call it. It looks like rows of scales kind of like reptile skin. There are a number of tutorials and video's out there on how to do them. I like this one on YouTube from The Crochet Crowd best. And since there are SO many tutorials, I'm not going to bother with a pattern; I'm just going to show off.
I got some really pretty cotton yarn shot through with a silver thread (not sure if it's the real deal or not) from my most awesome sister, Margaret Sutherland. And I just knew I wanted to use it for something wonderful; something ... different.
But of course this is me and we know how much I love bags, purses and kits.
So what did I make?
You guessed it; a purse.
And here you're going to get a glimpse in to how my excuse for a brain works. I saw - actually SAW - as I was considering the yarn one afternoon. And I thought to myself "Self, you can't do that! It's not possible!" But I knew that the bottom section was possible, so I began with a pretty simple SC bottom.
When I got the bottom/sides as deep as I wanted them I spent days literally sweating over what to do next with this pretty, sparkly albeit shallow-ish basic sack.
And then I thought "Oh, what the hell! Try the dragon stitch thingies. If you have to you can fiddle with a stitch or two, or rip it back and start over. So I forged ahead with a timorous heart and more than a little trepidation.

SC bottom and sides with Dragon Scale rows.

And this is how it came out. You could have knocked me over with a feather. It's nice. I mean really nice! The photos really don't do it justice, because you can't quite see the glittering from the silver thread. I just sat there for the best part of a day admiring it. I'm pretty sure Steve thought I'd lost my mind.
Then the question came up, "What do I do the strap in?" If you could see my Google+ it would look as if I decided on it pretty quickly. In fact I didn't even post my conundrum for a couple of days. That may not seem like much to you, but it's a huge span of time for a bi-polar Gemini; trust me, it is so. But post it I finally did, and my go-to-girl Angela Gallant gave me the inspiration to do it in more Dragon Scale, like this! I chose to work it in two parts, up from both sides, and then carefully join them in the middle. This has turned out really well! And, when I get the chance, I'll add the phenomenally-simple pattern for doing it. Seriously, you'll be gobsmacked.
And this is how it turned out.

 I'll grant you it needs to be lined and have some nature of closure added, Perhaps a bit of rigid something could be secured at the bottom to give it more defined form ... or not. I'm not really so good with bits' of sewing like this, mind you. I can sew an entire medieval gown and accoutrements, but I have problems lining a bag...typical. Maybe if I am very lucky I can find a friend to do it for me...Any takers?