I knitted and felted a lovely rainbow bag and purchased some nice leather straps to finish it. I'm not sure what is the best way to sew the handles on. They have pre-poked holes, but do I use the same wool yarn, or do I need to use thread? Do I use the holes and sew kind of a backstitch in a straight line, or do I sew through the hole and then the side of the strap (into the bag) and back into the next hole? In other words, am I supposed to keep my stitches ON the handle or what?!

I usually just use i-cord and thread it through, but this is intended to be an extra-nice bag for my mom's Christmas present. Advice is appreciated!

TIA!

Try here
http://www.gibsongirldesign.com/gibknits/2005/07/how-to-leather-purse-handles.html

Thanks. Those are cool handles, but mine don't have hardware, just holes for sewing directly. I think I'll try to find a sturdy brown thread. I think it would look funny with yarn over the leather.

A backstitch, pull the needle up from the back/purse side, over to the next hole, then under up to the next hole, then back over and so on. If you'll google "Backstitch", you should be able to find some detailed instructions. Use a very stout thread and a color close to the leather color will look nice. Quilting thread is good. Hope this helps... Mary