Sari silk bags
Sari silk yarn is a recycling idea. It looks wonderful in the skein because of all the bright colours mixed together. The sample shown here is knitted in moss stitch.
The yarn is made in 2 ways. Some of it is old fabric torn into strips & knotted together. The result is a ribbon like yarn of various widths. I don't mean you choose whether you buy thick or thin - the width of the ribbon can vary every few inches, particularly if the strip wasn't torn along a straight edge. Other yarn is made from shredded fabric which has been re-spun.
The result has some disadvantages, including:
I've used mine for the main remaining "shapeless" item - bags.
Isn't it interesting how use of words affects perception? Sari silk sounds exotic. Blouse silk would sound silly.
The yarn is made in 2 ways. Some of it is old fabric torn into strips & knotted together. The result is a ribbon like yarn of various widths. I don't mean you choose whether you buy thick or thin - the width of the ribbon can vary every few inches, particularly if the strip wasn't torn along a straight edge. Other yarn is made from shredded fabric which has been re-spun.
The result has some disadvantages, including:
- the dye isn't always fast, which makes washing risky.
- the varying thickness means it is difficult to knit a predictable shape & size.
- the knots are sometimes not very stable.
- some of the yarns, particularly the re-spun ones, are quite scratchy, which is another reason why it is not very useful for garments.
I've used mine for the main remaining "shapeless" item - bags.
Isn't it interesting how use of words affects perception? Sari silk sounds exotic. Blouse silk would sound silly.
A gig bag
Lets be honest - this was just an excuse to have the wonderful colours. It is a gig bag for my Washburn Rover travel guitar. It never Roves anywhere, because I take my silent guitar on trips. If it did, it is supplied with a beautiful velvet lined hard case. My story is the hard case is a bit bulky.
Anyway, the method can be applied to any required bag, cushion, or other squarish shaped item.
I've added a pocket to hold a spare set of strings on one side. It is 2 pieces of "square" where I cast off before the third colour change. The flap has button holes half way up the lower section.
Anyway, the method can be applied to any required bag, cushion, or other squarish shaped item.
- Work out a size for your square so you can fit a row of whole squares into each side. If necessary you could use half squares, but that means you will have to pay more attention when making your squares.
- Using trial & error, cast on however many stitches you need to make that size square. Mine are 6 inch (15 cm) squares which needed 20 stitches.
- Knit for about a third of a square, change colour & knit another third, change colour again for the final third.
- You might want to vary the stitch as well, but don't bother with anything complicated as it won't show up. Stick to the basics of garter stitch, stocking stitch, & reverse stocking stitch. Moss stitch works well if you want a change.
- Sew the squares together to form the bag. Mine has gussets down each side made by picking up stitches down the side of the piece & knitting for a few rows.
- As mine is to give protection, it is lined with some wadding & a piece of cotton fabric. A zip along the top holds it all together.
I've added a pocket to hold a spare set of strings on one side. It is 2 pieces of "square" where I cast off before the third colour change. The flap has button holes half way up the lower section.
An amp bag
This is a bag to contain a small practice amp & the associated wires. I started on small needles to knit a firm square as a base. It was beautifully firm, but hard to knit, so I went for bigger needles. When the bas was big enough, I picked up stitches along the edges & knitted in the round to make the bag sides, then changed back to ordinary needles to make the flap.