Making Good - Crochet String Bag

When Agy invited me to join the Making Good Blog Train and share my own repair project I initially planned to work through a bag of clothing items that needed minor repairs, replacing a button, reattaching a cord to tie a closed a cardigan, restitching the underarm on a top where the stitching had given way.

When I went through that bag to fix those items I realised only the black cardigan with the missing button still fitted me and I didn't really want to write about stitching on a button. Besides black is really hard to photograph so you probably wouldn't have seen much anyway.

Instead I decided to fix something that I have already shared with you and not yet taken any action to fix. This is in keeping with my goal to work my way through unfinished objects (UFO's) to reduce the clutter in my life.

I chose to repair my crochet string bag for these reasons:

• I've shared it with you previously
• The original project was never completed
• Since crocheting the bag it has been damaged and repairing stuff is what the Making Good blog train is all about!
• If I don't fix this project it's clutter and has no business in my life 
• If it's clutter I have been wasteful of my time, my energy, the space in my home and the materials it was made from
• I don't want it on my to-do list any more

The first thing I needed to do was find the right materials to repair it with. I didn't want to go and buy anything. I was sure that I could find something that would be perfect for the job.

I ended up finding another UFO. A tablet weaving project I started goodness knows how long ago.

The colours were fairly neutral and should look okay with the bag. The yarn was wonderfully soft and I knew I would never finish the weaving so this was just the right project to get this UFO out of UFO status.

To remove the cards I cut the yarn just after the cards which allowed me to separate the project from the yarn and slide the cards off easily.

It really needed a wash so I tied the loose threads together to stop them from tangling and hand washed it in cold water with wool laundry detergent. 

While I waited for the yarn to dry I had planned to remove the damaged shoulder strap from the bag. However my bag had been stolen by Geri The Wonder Dog. How could I disturb that cuteness? 

It was easy actually. I whipped that bag out from under her. She looked at me with an expression somewhere between confusion and annoyance then went straight back to sleep!

While Geri snored I removed the shoulder strap. 

Once the yarn was dry I crocheted the new strap in place using repeated rows of double crochet. Each row is 11 stiches wide and the lengths of yarn were long enough to do 2 rows each.

I went with a wider finish for the shoulder strap this time so it would be more comfortable if the bag had heavy items in it.

Making the drawstring was the most frustrating part of this repair. 

At first I had planned to use the remaining yarn scraps from the tablet weaving to make a drawstring but it quickly became apparent there would not be enough yarn. 

Instead I crocheted a decorative double foundation chain with the yarn scraps which I wove through the top row of the bag to tie the jute and yarn colours and textures together. 

For the jute drawstring I tried a half double crochet strap, a double crochet strap, a strap with a mixture of both and I was not happy with any of them.

In the end I settled on the following method of making the drawstring.

To begin I crocheted a double foundation chain using the natural coloured jute. When the chain was the length I wanted I switched to the green jute and single crocheted along the length of the double foundation chain. 

It was a nice simple solution and I really like the contrast of the two colours. 

I've learnt a lot about crochet since I first made this bag. I would make it again but I would make quite a lot of changes to the pattern (which I totally made up as I went) and I would use a much softer fibre. 

This post is part of a blog train hosted by Agatha from Green Issues by Agy  on "Making Good". 

What is repair, and why do we even bother to repair the things we have?  

Some see repair as a way of reconnecting with our possessions as we extend their lives. Others see it as a form of creative potential and an avenue to express their craft.

The rewards for mending varies from feeling immense satisfaction to prolonging the life of the product. 

Click here for a list of all the participants in the "Making Good" blog train. 

Did you catch the fabulous "making good" repair over at 2 Crochet Hooks yesterday?

Over at 2 Crochet Hooks you will find the lovely Millie and her awesome daughter Kristina, a brilliant mother-daughter team, sharing fun crochet and craft tutorials. Every month they host a new craft challenge, using different recycled materials and they also sell a whole bunch of unique crochet designs, including some really awesome kid costumes!

I would also like to introduce you to Adeline from Accidental Mom Blogger.
Adeline will be sharing the next article in the "Making Good" blog train with us on the 5th of May 2015. I can't wait to see what she makes!

Adeline is a stay-at-home-mum and a home based jewelry artisan at Adeline's Loft, based in Singapore.

Her passion and interest in creating handmade lifestyle jewelry spans over 9 years. A self-proclaimed "beadaholic", she finds immense joy and satisfaction when her clients give her free rein over styling a piece of jewelry that suit their personalities. Adeline also enjoys cooking for the family and loves dabbling with photography.

Follow the "Making Good" blog train this month and see what we have repaired and reconnected with. Have you mended anything today?

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