Handy Shower Gel Hanger: New Pattern!

Shower Gel Hanger
+
60 ml bottle
=
fun gift
 

Hooray! My first shower gel hanger has been revised. I sat myself down with the graph paper and properly worked out a neat join for chain mesh in the round.  The much-improved pattern (and chart) is now here for you to use!

Please show your appreciation by reserving this pattern for personal use only. Please do not republish the pattern elsewhere but feel free to share links back here.

If you make a shower gel hanger of your own, I would love to see your picture(s). I have set up a Google+ "Community" (named "Lupey Loops"–what else? hehehe) for sending messages and sharing WIPs* etc. between friends or leave a comment about where you have shared your work.

Handy Shower Gel Hanger

Designed to hold a small 60 ml (2 US fluid oz) bottle of shower gel, this crocheted mesh cosy allows you to hang your shower gel from a tap or a shower rose to keep it within easy reach.

There's no need to bend down to pick it up off the floor and it will drain and dry freely in the air, not sitting in a wet puddle on a shelf. It would be especially handy on holidays, for camping, in a caravan, in hospital or for sleepovers.

A longer loop,
more hanging options.

New features of this revision are a longer drawstring loop (60 chain stitches instead of the 40 chain stitches of the first version). That's so you can hang the shower gel in even more places, like over a towel rail or shower curtain rod - simply lay the loop over the top of the rail and thread the bottle through that loop (See photo at left).

The mesh sides are worked in rounds with simpler and neater joins.

Shower Gel Hanger
front view

Method

The base is worked as a flat circle until the desired diameter is reached. To begin the sides, work a round of stitches into back loops for a more defined edge. After one or two rounds of solid stitches at the base of the sides, the pattern changes to an open mesh made of 4-chain loops. Nearing the top of the shower gel hanger, the chain loops get shorter until the chain loops become 2-chain spaces into which the drawstring will be woven.

The drawstring is a single chain joined by a slip stitch to form a round. Any kind of cord or ribbon could be used as long as it is thin enough to be woven through the top rows of spaces.

A collection of 4 ply cottons
(Milford Soft pictured here)

Materials

Yarn: any 4-ply crochet cotton; e.g. Milford Soft.
Hook: 3.5 mm crochet hook
Notions: stitch markers


Abbreviations

This pattern uses Australian/UK terms.**

BLO - work in Back Loop Only
ch – chain
cm - centimetres
dc - double crochet (Australian/UK)
htr – half treble (Australian/UK)
lp(s) – loop(s)
pm - place marker
RS - Right Side
sl st - slip stitch (also known as single crochet in Australian/UK terms)
sp(s) - space(s)
st(s) – stitch(es)
rnd - round
tr - treble crochet (Australian/UK)
WS - Wrong Side

**Stitch Conversions
Aus/UK  =  USA
sc / sl st   =  sl st
dc            =  sc
htr            =  hdc
tr              =  dc



Technique: How to Make a Magic Ring

Wrap loose end around finger twice to make a 2 rings on top of each other, ending with loose end on top. Hold the loose end against the circle to keep a closed circle shape.

Insert the hook into the centre of the ring, pull the thread of the back ring through the middle of the top ring to the front (1 loop over hook), yarn round hook and pull through the loop on the hook (1st chain st made).

Work 6 dc of Rnd 1 into the ring by inserting the hook into the centre each time. Join with slip stitch to first dc.

 
Alternative Techniques: Work into a Single Chain or Chain Ring

If you don't want to use the magic ring technique, you can work 2 chains and work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook; or make a ring of 3 or 4 chains, join with slip st and work 6 dc into the chain ring.  Use the loose end to weave into ring at the end and then pull tight to close the ring. Weave the end in well to prevent it from coming loose otherwise the ring could open up again.

Base details

Crochet Instructions

Base

Rnd 1: RS, In magic ring*  work 6 dc. Sl st into first dc.

Rnd 2: ch 3 (not counted as a st) 2 tr in next dc and next 5 dc around,

sl st in top of first tr (ignoring the 3-ch turning chain). [12 tr]

Rnd 3: ch 1 (not counted as a st),  2 dc in first tr, 2 dc in next 11 tr around, sl st into first dc. [24 dc]

At this point the diameter should be 3 cm (1¼ inches)

Rnd  4: ch 1, 1 dc in BLO of each dc, sl st in top of first st of the round. [24 st]

Rnd 5: ch 1, 1 dc in BLO of each st around, sl st into first st of the round. [24 st]

Shower Gel Hanger
(rear view)

Sides

Rnd 6: ch 1, dc in same st,  (ch 4, miss 1 dc, dc in next dc) 11 times, ch 2, 1 htr into first dc of round, pm in first dc. [12 ch lps]

Rnd 7: ch 5, miss first dc (marked st of previous rnd), dc in next 4-ch lp, (ch 4, miss 1 dc, dc into next 4-ch lp) 10 times, ch 4, sl st into first of 5 chains at start of round. [12 4-ch lps]

Rnd 8: sl st across next 2 ch, (ch 1, dc) into same 4-ch lp, pm in dc,  (ch 4, miss next dc, dc in next 4-ch lp) 11 times, ch 2, htr into first dc. [12 4-ch lps]

Rnd 9: repeat Rnd 7.

Rnd 10:  : sl st across next 2 ch, (ch 1, dc) into same 4-ch lp, (ch 2, miss 1 dc, dc into next 4-ch lp) 11 times, ch  2, miss htr, sl st into first dc. [12 2-ch spaces]

Rnd 11: ch 1, dc into same dc, dc into 2-ch sp, (ch 1, dc in next 2-ch sp) 11 times, sl st into first dc, fasten off. [25 sts]


 

The drawstring chain
enters and exits the final round
from the inside (WS)
of the mesh bag.

Drawstring

Ch 60 (long enough to loop around bottle, 32 cm long (approx 12”), do not fasten off but cut yarn and secure live loop with marker etc.

Thread tail onto wool needle. Weave through ch-sps, entering and leaving from the WS (inside) at the back of the bag.

Remove marker, insert hook into last ch and sl st join to 1st ch, fasten off. Weave in ends and twist chain drawstring into body of mesh so join is hidden; weave loose ends of ch into underside loops of the ch.

Thank you for reading through my pattern.

I hope it is easy  and fun to follow.

Please tell me what you think!

References

Lupey Loops, "Shower Gel Hanger", blog post, 28 January 2016: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/shower-gel-hanger.html

Walters, James & Cosh, Sylvia, The Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitches, ISBN 07111 0028 4, Lyric Books Ltd, London, England, 1986.

*WIP: Work-In-Progress