Bento-Style Carrier

This past week I struck out on something totally new and different for The Itsy Bitsy Spider... I made a crochet project that was NOT amigurumi!

I know... *gasp!* Right?

I'm not saying that I'm done with amigurumi -- far from it. But I had so much fun with this project that I decided to write up and release the pattern. I give you... my bento-style lunch/leftovers carrier!

The carrier is my attempt to solve a couple of common problems. First off -- if your family is anything like mine, you have a ton of these:

I swear... re-usable plastic tubs were invented just for the people in my family. We probably eat at least 15 meals a week out of them! The ones I've shown here -- in particular, are the freebies you get when you buy deli meats from Hillshire Farms. I'm not even going to try to count how many of these we have, but given my husband's love for sandwiches, I'll just concede to say we have a lot.

But here's the problem with these containers... first off, EVERYONE has them. If you put that sucker in a crowded fridge at work it is definitely NOT the easiest thing to find. Secondly, they don't have handles... so, you plunk it in a plastic grocery bag which then falls over and the top pops off and... ugh. And did I mention that they're just plain ugly?

So, I got to hooking and came up with a little tote that disguises all the ugly parts of those plastic tubs -- while still giving me the convenience of take and toss. Plus, it even has a nifty edging on the handles to hold your favorite pair of chop sticks -- leftover lo mein, take that!!

You can get your pattern today on Etsy (for $5.00) or through Ravelry (only $4.00 with automatic download). Or use the Buy Now button to purchase without logging in to either site.

$4.00

And when you're done, I'd love to see how your carriers come out. Just swing on by my Facebook page and post your pic!