So back in May I wrote about this "fancy" plarn bag I made. I was pretty happy with the little tote, but not long after finishing it I took that field trip to Chicago and found some nice plastic hoop handles at Soutache.The handles struck me as just the thing to elevate this little tote from "homemade" to "hand crafted" (if you know what I mean).
I've had the handles sitting around since then, moving them from pile to pile. When I realized last night that I had the whole evening to craft if I wanted, I thought of this project which had been waiting so patiently for so long and thought, "This is it. The time is now."
And so....
First thing: take out the old handles. I found the end and carefully picked out the final knots and raveled the top few rows of the bag. Yes, I could have cut. But--do I have to say it again?--I am a purist and would rather pull it all out and reuse the plarn.And I did. I crocheted a new top to the bag, this time leaving room for the handles to nest in the final three rows.
(The pink yarn is marking the centre; it won't stay there.)
I threaded a long string of plarn onto a big needle,
and sewed the hoop into place.
After the hoop was sewn into place, I then did a backstitch along the edge of the hoop stitching. I'm not sure why, it just seemed the thing to do at the time. And I think it did give a more finished edge.I can now give you the new Embellished Better Plastic Bag:
I see none of the greens match, but that makes it more charming, right?
That's kind of cool. I know you've taught classes on this, but do you think it can be done in knit with larger needles? I don't know how to crochet very well.
ReplyDeleteI know some people do knit with plarn (and yes, on bigger needles). I tried it once, found it very awkward and then broke my wooden needle. :( So that was the end of that.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to try for yourself...go forth and experiment! -christina