My most recently finished version of the Pixie Pocket Belt design is all about bright, sunny yellows and saturated greens! Each of these belts I make are inspired by plants, crocheting a richly textured piece with fiber art elements fit to be worn by the spirits of the plants themselves. “Ruta” is the name of this swishy skirt belt, after Ruta Graveolans (Common Rue), a plant which is highly regarded in Italian folk magic as an herb, a medicine, and a ward against evil.
I followed the original totally free Pixie Belt Tutorial Series to create this one, looking over my PDF version and updating it with my new contact info and a few other layout changes – and as I’ve been doing with these pattern updates, the newly smarted-up PDF version of this pattern is going to become available on special sale exclusively through my Ko-Fi shop for only $5 – but hurry, this one’s only up on special sale until the end of May!
I think it must be pixie belt season, as I’ve been seeing a lot of pixie belts in the wild web – cute ones, freaky ones, even a BEETLEJUICE themed one! These are super inspiring and I can’t get enough of seeing people’s projects – it’s like getting to crochet vicariously 😉
My favorite details on this Ruta belt are the sweet leafy ties on the front of the belt (used my original leaf wrap pattern for free on my blog), the soft deep yellow flower petals on the velveteen drawstring bag pocket, and the little metal charm centered on the front of the circular pouch. The charm is called a cimaruta, which means “sprig of rue” and it is a traditional charm used in Italian witchcraft containing symbols like birds, moons, and keys that is used to ward off the evil eye.
Soft yellow and beige cotton and linen plain weave strips were ripped for the ragtag skirt, combined with strips of ribbon, a few bells here and there, and some extra yellow velvet ruffle. The matching, detachable mushroom pouch has a hidden pocket in the stem and can be worn around the neck to hold useful things like lighters, chapstick, money, etc! I do love the little yellow spots on this one – I have a totally free tutorial for several different kinds of small crochet mushroom pouches – check out the Morel, the Amanita, and the Jack-O-Lantern tutorials I have for free 🙂
Oh, and if you like all the free tutorials and whatnot, but don’t need to buy my PDF copies, perhaps you’d be willing to support me by contributing to my Tip Jar? It’s always super appreciated and some very lovely donations have been coming in lately <3 They really do help me keep making art and sharing it with the world, I am so grateful for everyone who has already contributed 🙂
Oh, one more thing! The super AMAZING green flare pants with the mushroom print I am wearing, along with the comfy yellow halter top with moon phases, are both from the incredible apparel company Purusha People – please check them out, their products have quickly become staples in my wardrobe!
-MF
