A Wingspan project ...

...of a board game and crochet kind.

My Mum and one of her friends play Wingspan weekly, a relatively complex, yet factual, board game about birds. While on the Island this Summer, Mum and I decided it would be a fun thing to 'upgrade' her game storage and voila, my crochet hook and I whipped up some baskets/nests to store the 'food' and 'egg' pieces.

This is the kind of project I like to hook: useful, fun, thinking outside the box, and versatile!

I started off by doing a quick search on t'internet for 'Wingspan crochet nests' and got an idea for what is already out there. Then, after a quick consultation with Mum about her own needs, we settled on draw string bags (rather than nests) as it meant the pieces could be stored without them falling out, in colours to match the items: brown for the eggs, blue for fish, pink for nectar etc.etc. We mixed up the colours for the draw strings just to give a bit of jazz!

I started off creating the bags by spiralling, without counting rows as I thought it would be faster...

...but I didn't like the finished look, it seemed a bit clumsy so after the brown egg bags, based on many other containers I have made over the years, I decided it was better to work in rows and on the 3rd bag I jotted down the pattern* as I went so I could make the rest the same.

To complete the set, Mum, a dab hand at paper craft, created paper boxes to store the playing counters.

Hopefully the storage set will last for many games to come! 

*Wingspan counter bags

I used DK wool and a 3.5 hook.

US terminology: st = stitch, ch = chain, sl st = slip stitch, sc = single crochet, hdc = half double crochet, dc = double crochet, st 2 tg = stitch two together.

Bag

Make a magic circle and chain 3 (1st dc)

Row 1: 11dc into magic circle, sl st in top of 1st st.

Row 2: ch2, turn, 2dc in each st round, sl st in 1st st to join.

Row 3: ch2, turn, 2dc in 1st st, 1dc in 2nd st, repeat (2dc, 1dc) all the way around, sl st to join.

Row 4: ch2, turn, repeat (2dc, 1dc, 1dc) all the way around. 

Row 5: ch2, turn, 1dc in back loop of each st, sl st to join.

Row 6: ch2, turn, 1hdc in each st, sl st to join.

Row 7: ch2, turn, 1dc in each st, sl st to join.

Row 8: ch2, turn, repeat (1hdc, st 2 tg) all the way around, sl st to join.

Row 9: ch2, turn, 1dc in each st around, sl st to join.

Row 10: ch1, sl st in each st around, cutting tail and pulling it through loop when at 1st sl st. Thread in tail. 

Drawstring

Chain 3, 1sc into 3rd ch from hook, then sc into 1st and 2nd chain, sl st into subsequent st until ball shape formed. 

Ch until desired length for draw string. Do not finish, but cut off tail around 10-20cm. 

Thread through row 9 of bag, through every other dc post.

Complete with another ball as at beginning: sc into 3rd ch from hook, sc into 1st and 2nd ch from hook, sl st into subsequent st until ball formed. Pull through tail to finish and thread in tail.