Recycled Sari Silk Bag
I recently bought 100 gms of recyled sari silk to try out. Can’t say I was impressed.
The yarn was very stiff & rough (even after gentle washing) and seemed, to me, to be rather fragile. Since it was too rough for a scarf, I decided it wanted to be a bag. But, bearing in mind its fragility, I though it would be a good idea to combine it with a fine but strong yarn (such as mohair). The strap was crocheted using 100% cotton on the grounds that it would be reversible, wouldn’t stretch as much as a woollen strap and would still be comfortable to wear in summer on a bare shoulder.
The final bag was approximately 6 inches x 8 inches and took only about an hour to knit. The strap and lining took another hour. Still not too bad for a Saturday morning’s work. The following is what I can recall of the pattern (which I pretty much made up as I went along).
Materials
- 100gms recycled sari silk
- Approx 20 gms mohair yarn
- 25gms 100% DK cotton
- One 10mm needle
- One 12 mm needle
- 4.5mm crochet hook
- 1″ button
Notes
You may want to gently wash your recycled sari silk to soften it before you use it.
This pattern really does use odd needles but if you don’t fancy the idea, they’re not essential. Try using to 11mm needles instead.
Directions
Bag Body
Using the larger needles and 1 strand each of the sari silk and mohair, cast on 12 stitches.
Work in garter stitch (knit every row) until you either:
- Run out of sari silk
- Or have worked a piece that is approximately 1.5 times the length of the bag you want
Bind off all stitches.
Fold the piece into three widthways to form the bag body with the flap on top.
Sew the side seams for the bag body and weave in all ends.
Strap
Using the cotton yarn, work 8 single crochet (sc) stitches at the top of the bag body near the side seam where you want the strap to start.
Work 2 rows of single crochet
Row 3: sc, sc, dec 1, sc, sc, dec 1 (6 stitches)
Continue working in single crochet until the strap is the desired length.
Next row: sc, sc, inc 1, sc, sc, inc 1 (8 stitches)
Slip stitch the strap to the other side of the bag body.
Weave in all ends.
Finishing
Attach the button to the bag body. It should fit relatively easily through the stitches of the flap to secure it. You may also want to line the bag with cotton or t-shirt material.
hi, just wondering where you got this lovely yarn from??? xxx
I bought the sari silk on eBay.