Fresh stripes
Use your new i-cord skills to give any bag a new look with this fun, stripy strap by Becky Skuse.
YOU WILL NEED
■ Scheepjes Catona (100% cotton, 25g/62.5m), 1 ball of each: Parrot Green (241)
Icy Pink (246)
Shadow Purple (394) Cornelia Rose (256)
Soft Beige (406)
■ A 3.5mm (US E/4) hook
■ Sewing needle and thread
■ Any bag without a strap
■ Prym Knitting Mill Mini (optional)
For yarn stockists contact Scheepjes www.scheepjes.com/en MEASUREMENTS
Finished strap measures 3.5cm wide and can be made to desired length.
ABBREVIATIONS
For a full list, see page 92 Designer Becky Skuse says: “Once you’ve discovered the wonderful world of i-cords, you’ll be ready to use them in all kinds of projects. The strong and sturdy construction of i-cords makes them perfect for bag straps like this one. This stripy design is nice and cheerful for spring and works with all sorts of bags – we’ll explain below how to customise the stripy strap to make it the exact length you want. You’ll need to make five i-cords for the strap, which will be quicker if you use an i-cord machine, but we’ve given you instructions below for making them by hand. The choice is yours!”
NOTES
For our bag, we wanted to make the strap length adjustable, so we made it approx 20cm longer than needed (120cm in total) and then used a metal slider on one side. This is totally optional and only possible if your bag has metal rings at each side of the bag. If you’re confident using metal rings and a slider then you can do the same if you wish.
STRIPY STRAP
The strap is made up of five long i-cords, so you need to make one long i-cord in each of the five yarn colours.
You can make each i-cord using a crochet hook (following the instructions below) or an i-cord-making machine (following the instructions in the technical feature on the previous pages).
Make the i-cord to any length you desire, then add an extra 5cm for attaching the strap to your bag.
LONG I CORD
Make one in each of the five colours. Ch4.
Row 1 (RS) Insert hook in 2nd ch from hook, yrh and pull up a loop, keeping the loop on the hook, (insert hook in next ch from hook, yrh and pull up a loop, keeping the loop on the hook) twice.
[4 loops on hook]
Row 2 Remove hook from 3 loops and hold onto them to prevent them unravelling, yrh and pull through first loop, (picking up loops from right to left, reinsert hook in next loop, yrh and pull through this loop only) 3 times. [4 loops on hook] Repeat Row 2 until i-cord measures your desired length (plus 5cm extra for attaching the strap). To fasten off, cut the yarn leaving a tail approx 7cm, yrh and pull the tail end all the way through all the loops, tightening to secure.
Weave in ends inside the i-cord.
TO MAKE UP
Arrange your i-cords in the colourway of your choice. We arranged ours as follows: Parrot Green, Icy Pink, Shadow Purple, Cornelia Rose, then Soft Beige.
Using a sewing needle and thread, sew the i-cords together. Be careful not to pull the thread too tight or the strap width will become puckered.
Fold each end of the strap over by 2.5cm and sew in place.
Sew each end to your bag.