hey everyone, im working on finishing up a really big knitted bag, and i plan on making it my WIP carrying bag. its done all in basket weave st, and its pretty tight, but should i put a lining in it anyway?? cuz’ i really hate doing lining, cuz im not the best at sewing, and i cannot use the sewing machine(its straight from the pits of hell, i swear) so can i just do it by hand?? and about the strap, what stich should i make it in, and should i line it too?? ok, thats more Q’s than i wanted to ask, but i really need help!!!
You could always use stitch witchery… make a test swatch and see if it’ll work. 
I suggest putting a liner in, because it’ll help eliminate needle pokage yanno?
Ah, the wonder that is stitch witchery. I very much second that suggestion. But yes on the liner in the bag, because it will eliminate needle pokage and it will help if something tiny like a stitch marker or a tapesrty needles omehow gets loose. It’ll just stay in the liner.
thanx guys, thats makes my decision easier, but whats stitch witchery??
Its this roll of scratchy stuff that you line the edges of your liner with and then you iron the lining in the bag, and it sticks. Hold on, I’ll find a picture, because its kind of hard to describe. Here we go!
http://www.enasco.com/prod/images/products/43/AC021871.jpg
And heres a set of instructions on how to do it:
http://www.stanssewingsupplies.com/catalogs/store.asp?pid=237840
Great info on the Stitch Witchery. I had never heard of it before. Good idea for lining bags with. Thanks!
Yes, the bag may stretch, anyhting sharp will poke through, etc. without being lined, but you really only need a fabric bag slightly smaller than the knitted bag, likely just rectangular? not too fussy. Could you get someone else to do it in return for knitting them something? Or buy a cheap fabric bag and sew it in.
Does this sick to felted bags when lining?
thanx so much drummerboi202!! im going to go buy that stuff instead of trying to sew it!!
will the stitch witchery damage the yarn?
Stitch Witchery is an iron on product. I recently used it to “hem” a halloween costume for my daughter. It bonds very tightly when ironed properly so make sure you have it where you want it before ironing. 
*That being said… I [I]strongly suggest[/I] testing in on a swatch [U]BEFORE[/U] you use it on your purse. Also acrylics can melt so depending on what you used to make it keep that in mind. Better to test it on something so you don’t ruin all your hard work. 
I agree on the test swatch because I’ve never used it on anything knitted. I know my Grandma used to use it to patch my jeans and I once used it to put tye dye fleece in the seams of some jeans for a hippie costume. But please post if it damages the swatch or not. That way, we’ll know for future reference. Ad now I’m going to drag myself away from the computer to go knit.