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Five crochet bag straps that don’t stretch
If you’re looking for a low to no stretch crochet strap for your crochet handbag, tote or purse this is the post for you. There are several different ways to make a non-stretch crochet bag strap, each with its own unique characteristics and techniques.
I will go over several of them this post so you can see a variety of no and low stretch crochet bag straps. You can see which one might suit the crochet bag you have in mind.
Table of Contents
I have some principles that go into making straps that have little to no stretch and the straps listed below use one or both to create a no-stretch crochet strap for your bag, purse or guitar.
Avoid simple single crochet rows because they will make a bag that droops to your knees!
You may like this new free crochet drawstring bag pattern
How to keep straps from stretching using these no stretch crochet strap principles:
- Use stitches that have a very small amount of space between them. This can be done by using a small hook in relation to yarn size or the stitch itself. Expect to go down a full 1 to 1.5mm hook using the same yarn as your bag was made with.
- Supporting stitches: These are stitches that are worked either into the stitch below or the stitch beside it to give it extra support and not be prone to droop.
Because stitches are tight and/or woven into each other they can take more time than you might expect a strap to take but it’s worth it to have a bag that doesn’t droop to your knees! Some straps will need to be attached to hardware while others can be worked directly into the bag’s final top row or round.
You may like this post on Five No stretch crochet Stitches to make crochet garments and crochet shawls that don’t lose their shape over time.
# 1 – No stretch strap using the thermal stitch
The thermal stitch uses principles that prevent stretch. It’s a woven look strap well suited to hardware that will be attached to the bag.
This is a low stretch stitch and not a no stretch strap. Keep the hook small, stitches tight. Too small of a hook will make the stitch difficult to work so find the happy medium. I used a 4mm crochet hook with category 4 yarn for this particular strap shown in the image.
The foundation rows are worked onto the hardware then it is a simple one-row repeat until you achieve the length you like. Then a special way to attach the low stretch crochet strap to the other end of the hardware to make the whole strap look seamless.
See my video tutorial of this strap or the written instructions here. It is a beautiful strap and would work well as a crochet guitar strap too.
It’s used in the crochet crossbody bag pattern.
#2 – No stretch woven look strap (no hardware needed-the most sturdy strap)
This stitch combination has very little stretch making it a great choice for a crochet bag strap. Each stitch is fully wrapping the row below for the ultimate in stitch support. It looks woven like the thermal stitch above but very different. These are beginner-friendly stitches. What crochet skill level are you?
This strap can be worked directly into the top of the bag and does not need hardware to attach it. This one is ideal for crochet market bags because the contents can become very heavy. I have found two market bags I have crocheted droop down to my knees with just a few things in them and I am nearly 6 feet tall! Now I make my market bags with this non-stretch woven look crochet strap.
See details how to work this woven look crochet strap in the written post or the video demo.
T-shirts and project totes for crocheters available in my Etsy shop!
# 3 – A thin decorative no stretch crochet bag strap
This strap will barely budge which, for how thin it is, is a bit surprising. This strap has the additional reinforcement of being worked vertically which doesn’t pull as much as stitches worked horizontally.
This was designed for a fashion bag and needs to be attached with hardware. While I used a substantial set of bag hardware from bringberry, you can use something as simple as a D ring. You can work a whipstitch around the long edges if you want a more snazzy look when it’s done.
This is an easy stitch combination to work even for beginners, see the instructional post or video tutorial here.
Camellia designer crochet handbag
Even with a bottle of water and a heavy wallet inside, these crochet straps aren’t budging!!!!
#4 no stretch bag strap is a woven look crochet strap
This strap is for an experienced beginner or intermediate skill level. I find it a bit more challenging to work especially with the hook size you need to make it low stretch.
It has a very different structure than the previous stitches using internal support almost like a crochet row girdle!
It needs to be used with bag hardware of your choice. I used a swivel style for this one but a simple D-ring will suffice.
See the video tutorial of this woven look no stretch bag strap.
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Check off style tracking with room for a note on each row.
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#5 -Tunisian bag strap worked with a regular crochet hook
This strap uses the beautiful and simple Tunisian crochet but without having to get a different crochet hook. That’s right you can use your current standard crochet hook to work this Tunisian low stretch bag strap.
This is because there are just a few stitches that easily fit onto a standard crochet hook.
The stitches are woven and worked such that there is minimal stretch following the principles mentioned at the start of this post.
Check out the free instructions to make this low stretch bag strap.