Lazy Girl's Crochet Hook Holder

Remember this project? 

I totally love it.  It's what I keep all my crochet hooks in.

But I got to thinking, is there a down and dirty way to make this without having to cut out fabric and piece it together?  Enter: the placemat.

It's a double sided, ready-made chunk of fabric.  And heck if I can turn it into a purse, I can surely sew it into a crochet hook holder.  It's a Lazy Girl Project (just coined that term, wonder if someone's already trademarked it??  A quick search shows that it is a blog, and they make purses, go figure!)  I digress, and again wonder what we ever did before google.

OK, back to the task at hand. Get yourself a cute little placemat.  I found mine at Target, and for once used my smarts and bought more than one cuz they were so darn cute.

Step One: Fold the bottom third or so of the placemat up towards the center.  Use your hooks as a guide to be sure you have enough top flap leftover to cover the hooks.  The hooks will stick out of the pocket.

Step Two: Fold a length of ribbon (approx. 20-24") in half and sandwich in between the two layers you just created on one side. Sew along the length on both edges.  Do as I say, not as I did on this one.  I didn't sandwich the ribbon, and ended up with this zigzaggy mess putting my ribbon on after the fact.

Step Three: Stitch the pockets.  Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and ending of each line.  Use your hooks as a guide for width, keeping in mind that the larger hooks are quite thick.  I sewed several pockets at a narrow thickness (maybe 1/2-3/4") and the rest at about 1".  I left a large pocket at the end for scissors, stitch markers, and stuff.

Step Four: Stitch along the length of the fold of the top flap.  This just helps to create a crease so that it folds in the right spot every time. 

Then fold it up:

 And tie it closed:

That's it! Seriously, a 30 minute project.  Give it a try!