[CENTER]I’m currently working on a beach bag for my boyfriend’s mom. I made it a little bigger than the pattern was written, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips on this matter.
I want to make handles for her to be able to carry the bag over her shoulder, but I’m afraid that since the bag is bigger, the handles (as written) won’t be strong enough to hold the bag without a ton of stretching.
Can anyone help or send me a link to somewhere that can show me how to crochet strong handles that don’t stretch? Or at least… not a lot?
Thanks, ladies & gents! :woot:
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How does the pattern say to knit the handles? I did a long shoulder strap and used slip stitches which helped. There is still stretch but not too much. I don’t recall exactly how I did it, maybe it was half linen stitch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzBwB5xJh_c Linen stitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHTX8xDWmtw can be a pita but when I worked it in cotton it had very little stretch. The size of needles and how tight your stitches are will affect stretch also.
Would I-cord work? Could you double the yarn to make the handle more substantial or is that too much?
I’m trying to crochet it now & it seems to be working. I just made sure to try to do the stitches really tight. I’m hoping I won’t have to do anything else. Lol. I’m probably going to do an extra row or 2 around the outside of the handle, too.
If you have a way to secure it to the inside of the bag, you can crochet around clothesline. You can also line a knit strap with nylon webbing and sew it down inside the bag. I’ve done both. If you make denim straps and turn the edges under, those also work very well.
Unfortunately, I’m not a sewer. LoL. I only knit & crochet. The crocheting around a wire is a good idea, though! If what I’m doing doesn’t work out the way I want it to, I’ll be trying that next! Thank you so much!!