This is my first ever original design and written up crochet pattern. I never dreamed I would be to this point yet, but here we are!
I started thinking of this design when my husband gave me the Nintendo Switch game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons when we were on our week long, stay home honeymoon (thanks Corona.) For total transparency, I am pretty awful at video games. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to play a game where I have to move my head and the camera at the same time. Way too much going on there. So when some of my friends got Animal Crossing, Corey knew this would for sure be my speed of game. And boy was he right! I quickly got really into it. I even brought my (his) Nintendo Switch to work with me so I could check turnip prices and do some fishing on my lunch break.
This resulted in total destruction of the Switch screen (sorry honeys!) It became a victim of my bottomless purse filled with receipts, random nail polish bottles and the real culprit of the Switch’s downfall, a nail file. I randomly woke up one morning and thought, “I need to make myself a Switch cover!” I didn’t need a case; it’s not like I had intentions of throwing it on the floor. I just needed something thin and durable to put my Switch in before I throw it onto the battlefield inside my purse.
I did a quick Google search to see what it had to say about some of the sturdier crochet stitches. This is when I came across the lemon peel stitch. I now love this stitch and cannot wait to use it in so many more patterns. It gave such an awesome texture to the pattern and the fact that it is reversible makes it so much more mindless when it comes to finding the front and back side of your project. I’m discovering that I love finding new stitch patterns that use very basic stitches but in unique ways. Like this stitch for instance, just uses single and double crochet stitches. If you’re anything like me, double crochet was the first stitch I ever learned and single crochet I learned shortly after. It also works up quickly because of the height of the double crochet in each row.
What you will need to make this pattern:
- 5.0 mm hook
- About 140 yards of weight 4 cotton yarn
- I used almost a full skein of Sugar n’ Cream cotton yarn
- One 3/4 inch button
- Yarn needle
- Slightly smaller needle (to fit in the button holes)
- Scissors
Some abbreviations you will see in this pattern:
- Ch = Chain
- Sc = Single Crochet
- Dc = Double Crochet
- Sk = Skip
- St = Stitch
- ** = repeat instructions inside the asterisks across the row until otherwise noted
Special stitches you will see in this beginner pattern:
- Decrease by one for lemon peel stitch: Essentially you will be crocheting a sc and dc together. Insert hook into first stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through remaining 3 loops on hook
- http://ilikecrochet.com has a lot of good visuals for help with this
- Crochet 3 together for lemon peel stitch: Insert hook into first stitch, pull up a loop, insert hook into second stitch, pull up a loop, yarn over, insert hook into third stitch and pull up a loop. You should have 4 loops on your hook. Yarn over pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over, pull through remaining 3 loops on your hook.
Gauge:
- A 4″ x 4″ square should be 14 stitches long, alternating between dc and sc and about 13 rows tall.
- For a better sizing method for this specific project, the final dimensions prior to sewing should be about 10.5 inches wide and 13.5 inches tall for the larger Nintendo Switch.
Notes:
- First and foremost, this is NOT a Nintendo Switch case. This is strictly to try to prevent scratches on the screen. I am not liable if you drop your Switch in this case and it breaks. It is not the purpose of this pattern at all. 🙂
- As previously mentioned in the gauge section, this pattern is written for the larger Nintendo Switch. It can easily be modified for the smaller version, but in this pattern, the dimensions are for the larger one.
- To make a smaller version, ch an odd number to your desired length and change the amount of rows to your desired height.
- My pattern testers made multiple of these for their Nintendo Switch Lites with little change to the pattern. For a snug fit, they used 30 stitches across which can vary with each crocheter’s gauge.
- This pattern uses the lemon peel stitch. I tried to word this pattern to be beginner friendly, but if assistance is needed, Google had a lot of information on this stitch that I found very helpful.
- Each row’s final stitch count will be in parenthesis at the end of the row’s instructions.
Alright, now that you have all that you need to know prior to starting this fun pattern, we are ready to get started!
Pattern:
Ch 35
Row 1: sk first chain from hook, *sc, dc* repeat across, ch 1, turn (34)
Row 2: *sc, dc* repeat across, ch 1, turn (34)
Row 3-26: repeat row 2 (34)
Row 27: decrease by one, *sc in next st, dc in next,* repeat across until there are two stitches left, decrease by one (32)
Row 28: decrease by one two times (in the first four stitches), *dc in next st, sc in next,* repeat across until four stitches are remaining, decrease by one two times (28)
Row 29-30: Repeat row 28
Row 31: decrease by one, *sc in next st, then dc in next,* repeat across until you have two stitches left, decrease by one (18)
Row 32: decrease by one, *sc in next st, then dc in next,* repeat across until you have two stitches left, decrease by one (16)
Row 33: decrease by one, *dc in next st, then sc in next st,* repeat across until you have two stitches left, decrease by one (14)
Row 34: decrease by one, *sc in next st, then dc in next st,* repeat across until you have two stitches left, decrease by one (12)
Row 35: decrease by one, *dc in next st, then sc in next,* repeat across until you have two stitches left, decrease by one (10)
Row 36: decrease by one, sc, dc, ch1 and sk st, dc, sc, dc, decrease by one (8 including ch space) *This is the button hole row*
Row 37: decrease by one, dc, sc, sk over ch space, dc, decrease by one (5)
Row 38: decrease by one, dc, decrease by one (3)
Row 39: crochet all three stitches together *see special stitches section of pattern*
Tie off and weave in all ends.
To assemble the cover:
- Lay the bag out flat with the triangle shape at the top.
- Fold the bottom half of the rectangle shape to the bottom of the triangle portion of the bag.
- Sew up the straight edges of the sides of the pouch using a whip stitch and your yarn needle. *see photo below
- Sew in all ends that you may have after sewing the sides of the bag up.
- Place the button on the front of the pouch so that it will fit with the button hole that you made on row 36.
- Sew the button securely on with the thinner needle.
And there you have it! You now have a weapon of your own to protect your Nintendo Switch from all the chaos in your purse. Now you can play Animal Crossing where ever you want.
If you enjoyed this pattern, please share it with your friends! You can purchase this pattern on Etsy by clicking here. If you would like to make one one day, please pin it on your Pinterest board! Click here to open up the pin on Pinterest. If you make one, I would love for you to tag me in your creations on Instagram so I can see all the different ways you guys made them your own. Also, feel free to use the hashtag #SwitchinItUpNintendoSwitchCover when posting your pictures.
My awesome pattern testers did an incredible job with this pattern! Check out my Instagram page to see all of their Switchin’ It Up Nintendo Switch Covers. Also be on the lookout for new updates and new patterns on Instagram, along with more blog posts too! I have a couple more original patterns of mine in the works. If you have a question about this pattern, please feel free to message me on Instagram or email me at [email protected].
Happy crocheting!
Feel free to make as many of these as you would like and feel free to sell them. I just ask that you please acknowledge Madison’s Makings when you do. Please do not steal or copy this pattern and/or my pictures and credit them as your own work. Thank you!