What is it about food-themed clothing and accessories that we love so much? Whether we’re sporting a doughnut sweatshirt, cupcake earrings, or sprinkles on our shoes, we love celebrating food. Maybe it’s because food is one of the things that makes nearly everyone happy, maybe the bright colors make us feel good, or perhaps it’s the hope that someone will see and comment on our foodie attire and connect for a moment. If you’re one of the people that can’t get enough of wearable food, then you may want to consider making (or purchasing) this Slushee Drawstring Bag from Twinkie Chan, the girl best known for her playfully designed food scarves. She has graciously provided the pattern for this Slushee bag free of charge, though if the thought of constructing this darling drawstring is too intimidating, you can of course purchase one made by Twinkie Chan instead. This is a great project for someone who has a lot of colored yarn and not enough projects to use them all up.
If you want to make your own Slushee Drawstring, you’ll need to collect the following: a size “I” crochet hook (5.5mm), blue, cherry, aqua, and white yarn (the pattern recommends using Loops & Threads Impeccable Brights Popsicle Blue, and Loops & Threads Impeccable Cherry, Aqua, and White, though if you want to use cotton for easier washing, you could use something like Sugar ‘n Cream, though you might need to test out the gauge and adjust the crochet hook size accordingly), scissors, a tapestry needle, a plastic takeout container (the ones for soup work best), and whatever materials you want to spell out “Cool” or “Frosty” or “Freeze” on the side. You can purchase a “Cool” patch from Twinkie Chan if you want to get as close to the original look as possible.
The bag might seem a little complicated, but the most difficult part will be switching out the colors. Twinkie Chan has an excellent tutorial on the subject, along with a list of crochet stitches you’ll need to be comfortable with before you begin, which include single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), single crochet two together (sc2tog), and skip. They’re all relatively easy, even if you’re a beginner. If you begin to get confused, watch a few videos on YouTube about the specific stitches and you’ll figure it out in no time.
The pattern begins with the bottom of the Slushee cup, trading out blue and red every so often. Once the cup is finished, you’ll crochet the Slushee part separately, and then join them together with the white yarn. After affixing your patch or felt onto the cup and pulling the drawstring tight, you’ll be ready to show it off on the next beach trip, backyard BBQ, or day trip excursion. Of course, if you want to go all out, you can slip a red straw into the yarn to complete the look.
Sound like something you’d enjoy making? You can find the free pattern on Twinkie Chan.
