Author: Zoe Collen

It was seeing an amazing pink and red striped Raffia handbag, being carried by one of our fabulous customers at Wool Monty earlier I this year, that confirmed I had made the right decision to stock a Raffia yarn. So a pink and red bag was high on the list of samples to make!

What I used:

1 Ball of RaffiaLuxe in ‘Strawberry Daiquiri’

1 Ball of RaffiaLuxe in ‘Paloma’

10mm crochet hook

Tapestry Needle

Method:

I followed the pattern exactly as written- However, because I wanted to combine the 2 colours, I crocheted using 1 strand at a time, but carried the second yarn through the piece- trapping inside the stitches, swapping colours at intervals around the circle. There was no set place to change. I just made sure that the changes weren’t lining up, on each round and I was using similar amounts of each colour.

When making the gusset band, I swapped colour every 2 rows, to give a striped effect.

Assembling the bag, and adding the handles was done exactly as the pattern. I chose to do it all in the red colour. I did find I needed more Double Crochets to cover the whole handle at the end…I ended up with around 65.

We’d love to see what you create with the RaffiaLuxe yarn – please your pictures on Instagram tagging us @maggieandme.co.uk

Xxx

As soon as the RaffiaLuxe arrived, I knew the first thing I had to make was a Coastline Bag!

It has quickly become a fan favourite, and the combination of the structured hexagons and this amazing summery yarn were always going to work well together.

What I used:

2 Balls of RaffiaLuxe in ‘Espresso Martini’

1 pair of Veg-tanned leather handles

10mm crochet hook

Tapestry Needle

Method:

I followed the pattern exactly as written, for making the shapes (3 hexagons and 2 squares) But, all were made holding 2 strands of raffia together.

I wanted to keep the density of the fabric, and using one strand, the bag felt too open, and would probably need to be lined. This would look fabulous too, but not the look I was after!

When it came to joining the pieces, I again, followed the instructions- but used just one strand of Raffia. There is plenty of strength in one strand and it is easier to manipulate.

Because I chose to add the leather handles to this bag, I did not follow the step for ‘The Handles’ on page 6. Instead I skipped to page 7, and continued as follows:

Starting at ‘D’ Sl St through the front and back of the bag, working towards the handle for 3 stitches. Continue to Sl St into each stitch through the front of the bag only, ending 3 stitches before point ‘A’

Turn the bag over and repeat the process.

Position your leather handles onto your bag- making sure that the holes line up with a dense bit of stitching. Thread your tapestry needle with a single strand of raffia, and sew the handle to the bag ( I did this twice) Tie off on the inside of the bag, and weave in the ends.

You can find our leather handles here.

If you’re customising your Coastline Bag- there are so many things that you can try!

• Hold 2 strands of different colours together
• Hold one strand of RaffiaLuxe with 1 strand of cotton
• Use one strand of RaffiaLuxe, and line your bag with calico
• Join your shapes together using a contrast colour 
• Stitch your handles on in a contrast colour

We’d love to see what you create with the RaffiaLuxe yarn – please share them on Instagram tagging us @maggieandme.co.uk

Xxx