I made my first purse (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Arielluria/nordstrom-crochet-hobo-bag) and it took much longer to find handles than it did to make and line the bag!!!!!!!! Now I'm going to search for the handles FIRST! So I wondered where and how you found adequate straps or handles for knitted or crocheted bags?

I searched online, in thrift stores, etc to no avail. I finally came up with a great solution, a man's woven belt from Walmart. Here's a KA for it I started on KH and links to the strap post (http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1227705#post1227705) I made.

Pattern link (http://shortylamcrochet.blogspot.com/2006/11/nordstrom-hobo-bag.html) & Ravelry Link (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Arielluria/nordstrom-crochet-hobo-bag)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3476986457_4ed152d15a.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3640/3402405872_09aab76c3b.jpg

Great idea! :thumbsup:

I've seen a lot of knit/crochet bag patterns call for an I-cord for a handle. Perhaps that would work?

You could sew a fabric handle much like you would for a sewn/fabric bag (vs. knit or crochet) - cut a looooong rectangle and fold it in on itself twice (use an iron to press it nice and crisp and flat) and stitch around the outer edge. That might be a bit more work than you want, though.

When I made a felted crochet bag I just used single crochet stitches and chained as long as I wanted the handle and then did 2-3 rows. So like a sideways scarf, which you could do either in knit or crochet to create a handle. For knitting, cast on however many stitches long you want the handle to be and work only a few rows (in the stitch pattern that matches the bag or just garter if you wanted) until you achieve the width of the purse handle you want.

Good luck with future purses and bags -- yours is absolutely lovely! :)

These are all I've ever been able to find. THey're a little shorter than I would have liked. I was thinking of linking 2 together.
http://www.knitpicks.com/Purse+Handles+13+Inch_ADPurseHandles.html?

My Joann Fabrics has a pretty good selection of handles.

I've also seen these used: belts, ribbon, pastic tubing (like for an aquarium), chain (try hardware store), fabric tape measure,