I thought I would share my own project with you that is great for beginners. This is perfect for cheap or leftover yarn and could be used for so many different things.
I used a pattern from this website: http://www.stephthornton.co.uk/crochet/drawsbag.htm
except that I changed it a little bit to fit my needs. Here is the pattern:
Foundation Round: Ch6, sl. st. to first chain to form ring. Round 1: Ch2, 11hdc into ring, sl st. to join. (12 sts)
Round 2: Ch2, hdc in joining ch, 2hdc in each st around, sl. st to join. (24 sts)
Round 3: Ch2, hdc in joining ch, (hdc in next st., 2hdc in next st.) around, sl. st. to join. (36 sts)
Round 4: Ch2, hdc in joining ch, (hdc in next 2 sts., 2hdc in next st.) around, sl. st. to join. (48 sts)
Round 5: Ch2, hdc in joining ch, (hdc in next 3 sts., 2hdc in next st.) around, sl. st. to join. (60 sts)
Round 6: Ch2, hdc in joining ch, (hdc in next 4 sts., 2hdc in next st.) around, sl. st. to join. (72 sts)
Rounds 7-11: Ch2, hdc around, sl. st. to join. (72 sts)
Round 12: Ch3, sk. joining st., (sk. 1 st., dc in next st., dc in previous st. {forms twisted double dc [tddc]}), work tddc around, finishing with dc in joining st., sl. st. to top of first ch3 to join (forms last tddc).
Repeat Rounds 7 - 12 until desired bag height is achieved (I did 5 repeats total), finishing off with 1 repeat of Round 7.
Edging Round: (Ch3, sc in first ch, sk.1, sc in next st.) around, sl.st. to join.
Fasten off and sew in ends.
Drawstrings: Chain the length you want your drawstrings to be. sl. st. into the chain. Insert the string through the edges of the bag and tie into a bow.
Ta-da!!! You are done.
I used this one as my nail polish holder for polished I use less often. It would make a great travel make-up bag as well.
