When I started making Mochilas, crocheting a bottom was no fun for me. I could never get the bottom to lay flat. Fortunately I found out that I just needed more than 8 increases to make a flat and firm bottom. Since then, I love making bottoms.
In the summer of 2020, I had the idea to make a mandala with the Mochila technique. Around that time it became very popular in the Netherlands to make mandala’s in lace crochet technique.
It is such a shame that you never see the bottom of a bag, so I thought: Now it is time to show off how beautiful a ‘big bottom’ can be. And what better way to show a bottom than to hang it on my wall.
What does mandala mean?
The word mandala comes from an ancient Indian language, Sanskrit and literally means “magic circle” or “magic wheel”. The circular designs symbolises the idea that life is never ending and everything is connected.
The outer edge of a mandala is round, this is also called the “circle of life”.
The inside of the circle offers a safe protective space, in which you can find peace and tranquility with yourself.
The dot in the middle, the center, symbolises the combined primal force. Where everything is connected.
The number of repeats in a mandala also have a meaning. My mandala starts with a 6 repeat and later it is a 12 repeat.
(If you made 10 increases, the mandala starts with a 5 repeat and later it will be a 10 repeat.)
The number 6 is one of the most harmonious single-digit numbers. It is a sign of completeness. The number 6 is the embodiment of the heart. It represents unconditional love and the ability to support, nurture and heal.
The number 12 is considered a perfect number, it symbolises god’s power and authority.
12 is a symbol of cosmic order. 12 is the number of space and time. There are 12 months in a year. Maybe that is why it took me 12 months to crochet this mandala. 😄
In September 2020, my husband and I went on a super relaxing holiday to Gran Canaria. On this beautiful island I designed this mandala. The Mandala is named after our hotel.
When we came back home, I started crocheting it. The first 20 rounds went really fast. It is so much fun to see a new project grow, right?
By round 24 it didn’t go so fast anymore, I already had 275 stitches in that round and every 2 stitches there was a color change.
When I started this project, I thought that it would be less work than making a Mochila bag, but boy was I wrong.
My husband calculated how many stitches there were left to do. This was a shocking number, 21.605! 😳
21.605 stitches left to do, this is crazy. Then I got to thinking: How many stitches are there for the side of an average size Mochila. When you have 250 stitches and the side pattern is 55 rounds high, you have to make 13.750 stitches. So making this madala was much more work than making a normal size Mochila bag. I never would have guessed that.
I didn’t have the nerve to calculate how many stitches there are in the complete mandala, while I was crocheting it. Afterwards, I did make the calculations. This mandala has almost 25.000 stitches!
The bigger the mandala got, the harder it was to work on it. Because of the hyper-mobility of my hands, I took breaks and I worked on other projects. That is why it took so long to finish it.
Reference: Mandala Cordial
I’m new to mochila (well, actually new to all crocheting, but so far so good) and I found your (stunning!) pattern. And you also make videos!!! So I’m gonna get into this and will make a choice soon, and for sure it will be one of your patterns. Looking forward to my new project, thank you for your colorful inspiration!
Kind regards,
karin
Stunning work and as always beautiful
You took on quite a high task BUT it’s BEAUTIFUL!!!!!