Terry-Jean's Braid or Purse Strap

This is a lovely braid or strap made with 4 crocheted I-cord ropes, that can be used as an embellishment for the front of a bag or as a fun and colorful bag strap. If you decide to make it into a strap, calculate enough braid to fold over the purse ring that you'll use to attach the strap to your bag and sew on the back side.

This braid is based on the crochet I-cord, if you do not know how to make this cord or rope, please refer to this tutorial:
How to Make Crochet I-Cord Ropes

Materials-
Worsted weight yarn of your choice in 4 different colors to match or contrast your bag
Crochet hook size H
Scissors
Pins
Pillow to pin ropes to for braiding
Measuring tape (if you need to measure length of braid to fit your bag)
Purse rings of choice (if using for a strap)

Make balls for each color you will be using. Work 1 rope or I-cord per color. Make each rope twice as long as the finished item.
Leave one end of the rope attached to the yarn in the ball, just in case you need more rope. Once you finish your strap, you can easily fasten off, but if you miscalculate and do not have enough rope and have severed the yarn, you then have to start all over again, whereas if you run out of rope before you're done braiding, you can easily pin the part you have braided to secure it and crochet the necessary length of rope and finish your strap or braid without a problem.

To make the strap, proceed as follows: 


Mentally number your ropes 1, 2, 3 and 4, counting left to right.

1- Bend rope 4 over the 2 middle ones and place it under rope 1. Bend rope 1 under the 2 middle ropes and bring forward through the loop
that formed when you bent the first rope, tighten a bit. Repeat. (Do not tighten too much, let the colors of the ropes be seen.)

2- Pass rope 2 over rope 1, pass rope 4 over rope 3, and cross the 2 ropes that are now in the middle one over the other, left to right.

3- Repeat step 3.

4- Repeat step 1.

Repeat these 4 steps for as long as you need to to make your braid or strap.

There is an immense amount of variations to these beautiful straps, as many as the ideas you get for new bags, totes and purses, so experiment and have fun with them!

Look Beyond Today. . .

Norivette Braid

This is a pretty 4 rope braid that can be used as an embellishment for the front of a simple tote or large bag or as an
eye-catching strap. If you decide to make it into a strap, calculate enough braid to fold over the purse ring you will be using and sew on the back side.

This braid is based on the crochet I-cord, if you do not know how to make this cord or rope, please refer to this tutorial:
How to Make Crochet I-Cord Ropes

Materials-
Worsted weight yarn of your choice in 4 different colors to match or contrast your bag
Crochet hook size H
Scissors
Pins
Pillow to pin ropes to for braiding
Measuring tape (if you need to measure length of braid to fit your bag)
Purse rings of choice (if using for a strap)

Make balls for each color you will be using. Work 1 rope or I-cord per color. Make each rope twice as long as the finished item.
Leave one end of the rope attached to the yarn in the ball, just in case you need more rope. Once you finish your strap, you can easily fasten off, but if you miscalculate and do not have enough rope and have severed the yarn, you then have to start all over again, whereas if you run out of rope before you're done braiding, you can easily pin the part you have braided to secure it and crochet the necessary length of rope and finish your strap or braid without a problem.

To make the braid proceed as follows:

Mentally number your ropes 1, 2, 3 and 4, counting from the left to the right.

1- Cross rope 2 over rope 3 from left to right, place the end of rope 3 over rope 1, and the end of rope 2 underrope 4, moving from left to right.

Repeat the same steps for as long as needed to complete your embellishing braid or fancy purse strap!

Do You Trust Him?

Mereille's Strap

If you make bags or purses, you can never have enough strap ideas to "pretty-up" even the simplest project!
This is an easy way to do it.

Materials-
Worsted weight yarn in at least 4 colors
Crochet hook size H
Pins
Scissors
Cardboard or pillow to pin to


For this strap you will need 4 ropes, each of a different color. You will make them double the length that you want the final strap to be.
If you are unseru about what that length would be, before you start, make a ball of yarn for every single rope you will need, crochet from that ball and do not cut the yarn off the ball until you have made your strap, to make sure you will have the length you want. If you have too much, you simply unravel a bit, you you need some more, you simply make a little bit more.

If you need to learn how to make our ropes, please go here for the original tutorial:

http://craftypursenalityshoppe.blogspot.com/2011/03/embellish-it-with-ropes-faux-cabling-1.html

Once you have your ropes made, pin them onto a cardobard or a pillow to be able to comfortably work with them.
To make the strap, proceed as follows:
1- Cross the two center ropes, the one on the left over the one on the right. Now cross rope 4 over rope 3 and rope 2 over rope 1.
2- Repeat step 1.
3- Repeat step 1.
4- Bring the first rope on the left over the one next to it, bring end to the back and through loop that formed, tighten a bit. Bring first rope on the
left over the rope next to it, bring end to the back and through loop, tighten a little. Repeat these steps once more.

Repeat steps 1 to 4, as many times as needed, to form your strap until you have the length of strap you want.

Look Beyond Today. . .